Texas Fishing Reports - - Wildcat #1 goes swordin- 9-18/19 overnighter report - Set sail from Bridge Bait about 3:30pm on Friday on a mission to catch our first swordfish. Our expectations were low as we've seen many anglers more experienced than us come

highseasdrifter · ****STUNTER**** Joined: Feb 08, 2009 Posts: 139

Set sail from Bridge Bait about 3:30pm on Friday on a mission to catch our first swordfish. Our expectations were low as we've seen many anglers more experienced than us come back empty handed. That's not to say we wouldn't be disappointed as we put an absolute assload of prep work into the trip.

for example:

* 2 additional reels - 80W (not cheap)
* An additional savage rod
* ~$600 worth of line and leaders
* ~$200-300 worth of hooks, crimps, weights, etc..
* ~$400 worth of stupid lights that provide endless entertainment
* 100's of hours of research
* I must stop with the list as it reminds me the first step of recovery is admitting you have a problem. There is no problem.

So out we went. Into the deep blue. The waters seas were very choppy but very small close to shore and much uglier then what we've seen just a few weeks ago.

We saw a sailboat on the way out, and thought immediately of the thread Hog started- http://2coolfishing.com/ttmbforum/sh...d.php?t=233413
We drove about a mile out of the way to check it out and we convinced ourselves from memory it wasn't. Turns out it was the same boat- see picture below.

We got out to our spot with a few minutes to spare before sundown, and started rigging up. A wise man once told me to "get started very early, because it will take you a long time to get rigged up the first time"- he was right. Every step we took we had to think about, and that took a lot of time. First drift...nothin. We were very entertained by the creatures swimming in our lights though- 2.5 ft squid, baitfish. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9mhD5nmtAU

Second drift we had something screwing with our baits, bait check yields a slashed up bait- oh hell yeah. Something starts screwing with another, this time I hook up. Not a huge fight, a couple drag singing runs... and up she comes. Our first sword!!!! It was too close to call as far as the legal size limit was concerned so we released it unharmed- honest. No gaff. No harpoon. Actually, I'm sure it did well considering I didn't even hook the fish- I lassoed it. It must of been screwing around with my bait, and somehow the hook went around the fish and hooked on to the line so when I pulled tight it tightened the line around the fish. I'm not sure what the chances of that are. See picture below of Ben holding said fish.

A couple more drifts later and Ben hooks up. This one has a little more guts then the last it seems- probably due to not being lassoed. To our complete terror the fish managed to become tangled in every line out. Another highlight of the night was untangling 3 lines... one with a ****** off swordfish on the other end. Somehow I slashed a couple leaders off and got everything back! I even remember Ben telling me- "Try to save all the tackle, I don't care about the fish." LOL- see cost breakdown above. He appeared to be almost the same exact size as the earlier one, maybe a few inches bigger. We didn't show him the gaff either, and when I grabbed the bill the hook just popped out and I let go- perfect release.

I hooked up once more around 12:30 for not more then 5 seconds before the fish got off. Looking back on the trip we should have left then, but we stuck it out till 6:30am. No action. Literally nothing after 12:30. From 4:30-6:30 not even the caffiene could save us, we zombied it out half asleep with rod in hand waiting for the slightest tug.

We were back at Bridge Bait by 10:30 AM. Saw a TON of boats leaving and heading out. Lots of 2coolers I'm sure. I look forward to all the reports! Overall a great trip that we put a lot of work into. Can't wait to do it again, and get a bigun!

Digidydog · Posted: Sun Sep 20, 2009 8:23 pm Post subject:

Also, a BOOM size thanks to AJL and cap'n Dan for their input! And of course the BW Super map. Needless to say, we're hooked - andi thought tuna fishing was an obsession, i don't even know what to classify this as but it's beyond that!

SavageRods · Posted: Mon Sep 21, 2009 4:36 am Post subject:

Great job on your sword. Everyone is getting sword fever. One of these days, I'll get mine. Until I do, keep posting
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www.savagerodsandreels.com

AJL · Posted: Mon Sep 21, 2009 7:08 am Post subject:

Way to go fellas! Not only 1 swordy but 2...thats a great trip in anybody's book. Look forward to seeing yall out there soon.

Anthony

Capt_Dan · Posted: Mon Sep 21, 2009 7:13 am Post subject:

Great trip and glad to help!
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F/V AMBUSH
DONT GET NERVOUS

tunahunter · ****CHUNK CUTTER**** Joined: Oct 28, 2008 Posts: 58

congrats!


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