I heard that Marina Girl & Co. boated several Swordfish last night.Tell me more.....Tell me more....

Yeah, Me too!! I heard that there was somebody doing an overnighter, or planning one this past weekend to do some swording...lets hear about it.

Wow !!!! What a night
We left out of Lynhaven Inlet around noon and headed for the deep blue. Perfect day. The seas were calm and it was clear as a bell. We were counting on it to remain that way. We found some warm water and picked up a couple of 35 lb yellowfin tuna(my first tuna) and a small black fin in about an hour. Saw some really awesome whales frolicking around on the surface. These appeared to be humpback whales and they were big. They would come completely out of the water and turn, revealing their white bellies and flippers. Made one heck of a splash.

We hurried on so we could get set up by dark to see if we could find what we had set out for in the first place. On the first drift, Jacob (son) hooked up and landed a small pup about 5 ft in length. This was the first sword any of us had ever seen in the flesh. What an awesome looking fish.

During this same drift, Randy (husband) hooked up what appeared to be a sizable fish, but it pulled loose. On the second drift, Casey Jones (adopted fishing son) pulled the hook on another decent fish and was saying a few choice words. He really wanted to catch that one. Still a good drift and Randy hooked and boated another pup that was smaller than the one Jacob got earlier. The third drift put one in the boat to keep. Casey hooked up on one that took him an hour to get to the boat. The fish weighed 64 lbs and was 53 inches from the lower jaw to the fork of his tail. We estimated that it was about 84 inches from tip of sword to fork of tail. What a fish. They can really hunker down and keep you at bay for a long time. The sword on these fish is really interesting. Very sharp on the edges and can cut without any problem . Jacob got a sizeable rip in his pants just from brushing up against it.

We had one drift with no hook ups. Then on the next drift, I (marina girl)(after almost knocking Jacob for a loop) got the rod and landed a very small pup. But I was happy that I had finally got my turn. After that things went kinda blurry. Around 2:00 am, Jacob hooked up with something unbelievable. We were fishing with Shimano 50's, which we thought were plenty. Not so sure of that now. Did I tell you that the weather was still absolutely gorgeous. No waves, clear skies, no boat traffic. The fight began. The critter took it and ran off a couple hundred feet of line. Then began the tug of war. We had preset the drags but could not gain on him no matter what. Slowly Jacob started inching the drag forward but it did not help. What Jacob would gain the fish would take back. We had marked the lines at 160 feet and that tag went back and forward all nite. Frustrated, about 6:00am, I said "just cut the line. This is bigger than we are". Poor Jacob was exhausted. His hands were blistered and he was coming out clothes. Hot!! Casey kept trying to doctor his hands, rinsing the blood off and putting bandaids on. My goodness. I did not think we would ever get it to the boat.

About 6:00 am, Jacob floored the drag. Pushed it as tight as it would go. At this point it was get the fish up or break him off. The fish continued to take back Jacobs gain. The runs were getting shorter. At 7:00am we saw it!!!!! and then it surfaced behind the boat at about 7:15am. We all just stood there and stared. Speechless!! I said "now that you got , what are you going to do with it". Jacob finally pulled it up beside the boat. Randy got the flying gaff in its head and Casey put a tail gaff on it. I held the tail gaff while Casey put another gaff in it. Then came getting it in the darn boat. We were all so tired that it was comical. Fortunately, Jacob and Randy had prerigged the boat with a come along and strap. We were able to get him over the side of the boat and into the cockpit. Even now writing this we sigh. We had to run into Rudee to use the hoist to get the fish up to weigh it. They were very nice and helpful. What did it weigh? A whopping 226 lbs and was 112 inches from tip of sword to fork. This was a trip that Randy had been waiting and preparing for for months. He and Jacob and Casey had preplaned and preplanned and preplanned. All they needed was the window of opportunity. What an experience. These are truly magnificent fish and extremely powerfull. ONE TRIP WE WILL NEVER FORGET.

Congrats and thanks for the great report!

Sorry, forgot to tell you that pics are coming.

Thats awesome!! Did you guys get any pics??

Congrats

226 #er, Wow!

That is a great story. Jacob is the man!!!

Before my next swordfishing trip I need to pick up a flying gaff and a tail gaff.

I know about as much about swordfishing as I know about Japanese transmissions, so I was under the assumption that it was a Sept-August thing.

Eric

Wow, pretty work. Nice story too. Can't wait for the pics!

Pictures

WOW, WOW, WOW!!

Did you guys just run out to the temp break? How deep were you?

Tom

what a great story! congrats you guys, what an effort!

Bo

WOW.

Congrats Virginia, Randy, Jacob, and Casey! Sounds like the trip of a Lifetime.

Pete

Good Work!!! Great story!!!

SWEET! That is friggin' AWESOME!!! Congrats and kudos to Jacob. I am so extremely jealous - a big sword is one of my dreams.

One day...

I'm not too experienced with Swordfish but that thing looks like a SLOB!!! I do know that it will look very good cut into 2" steaks resting neatly over a bed of cherry red coals for about 2-3 minutes per side.

--Brett

even though i had not slept in 36 hrs, 2 steaks still made it one the grill last night and boy were they delicious!!!! HARDEST FIGHTING FISH I HAVE EVER MANGLED WITH WITH NOTHING ELSE COMING CLOSE. I am glad the big one wasn't mine!!!! My hour plus fight was perfect. maybe i can step up a little next time. I start at the gym Jan. 1st!!! hehe

Casey

That is so awesome guys ! Congrats on that trip. One for the memories of a life time !!

Cool Story ,Good on ya mate.I have always said that Previous Proper Planning Prevents Piss Poor performance.Looks like you guys did alot of planning on that trip.

Congrats Marina Girl and Crew! That's an incredible story and a great fish! I remember reading in Saltwater Sportsman a couple of years ago about a poll of charter skippers across the country as to what they thought the toughest gamefish was, pound for pound. The vote was overwhelmingly Broadbill Swordfish, then Bluefin Tuna and Blue or Black marlin. So Jacob battled and beat the toughest critter in the sea! Once again congrats to the entire crew for the catch of a lifetime!

Speechless!!!

Wow.....Marty was telling me the story tonight and I just couldn't believe it until I saw the pics. Congrats to all...thats just awesome!!!!

Nice job!!!! That is a trip to remember....

Way to go Virginia!!! And congrats to Jacob on that awesome sword...thats fantastic!! Sounds like a great trip for all!!

thank you so much for posting such a detailed story!! that was awesome. the pics are great, i can only imagine catching one of those things!!! congrats again!

I am sooo jealous. What a great trip that must have been. Thanks for the post.

Super job Virginia and Crew!!! Randy's prep sure paid off. Thanks for the great post, feel like we were there...drinking your beer and cheering you on!
Tight lines.
Dave

I heard from another bird that STeve Richardson & Co. got in them also.(Back Lash)

WOW!

What a great fish /// cool write up too! COGRATSSSSSS!!!!!!

Awesome post and congratsss to all..

Congrats! Great write up!

That looks like the scales at the Virginia Beach Fishing Center!!! Should that pic be allowed here???

Congrats on a great catch!!!

lou that is the only place that was big enough to weigh the fish !!!!!!!!!!!
casey

VBSF loves the VB Fishing Center also Skip and the Rudee Headboats help us pay our bills.

In fact if any of you guys are looking for some mid-winter action, you can beat the Rudee Headboat Fleet. They are warm and dry all day and the sea bass and Tile fishing is super!!! Their click link is at the top of the forum.