UTER
Photo: Xiphias_gladius.jpg: Derke Snodgrass, NOAA/NMFS/SEFSC/SFD derivative work: Haplochromis (talk), Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Xiphias gladius
How to catch Swordfish
Swordfish feed in 55–75°F water and bite best at 58–68°F. Fish Scouter's season calendar follows them in 14 waters; in October they are at their peak in The Outer Banks, The Chesapeake, Delmarva & Delaware Bay and 2 more.
250 pts · trophy at 70"Feeds 55–75°FBest 58–68°FIn season nowLedge / hard bottom
About
The broadbill: fished by daytime deep-drop in 1,500 feet off South Florida, or on the surface at night — a fish of the abyss that fights for hours and is the hardest fish in the book to put your name on.
How to fish it
A rigged squid or belly bait sent to the bottom in 1,500 feet on ten pounds of lead and an electric or two-speed reel, drifted along the edge. Or a night drift with lights.
What it eats
squid rigged on a deep-dropbonito bellieslights and a squid at night
Live bait for it
SquidStrips on a bottom rig for snapper, grunts and porgies; whole on a deep-drop rig.What to fish it with
the sizes that fish itLeader80–150 lb mono
Hook8/0–14/0
Braid65–100 lb
The rule
not confirmed hereFederal HMS permit required; minimum size and bag limit — confirm at NOAA HMS.
The current rule →Where it is, month by month
PPeakSSpawningAArriving·AroundLLeaving
Mid & North Atlantic