Kiwi Broadbill Swordfish
Deep-dropping for New Zealand's giant swordfish.
- Published:October 28, 2020
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Asian surface longliners pounded New Zealand waters from the 1960s through to the mid-1980s, taking large numbers of billfish, swordfish and tuna until lobbying by the recreational sector pushed the longliners out of New Zealand waters in 1987. The game fishery rallied magnificently and in conjunction with the introduction of night fishing using light sticks, recreational swordfish captures began to take place on a regular basis.
Crews managed a few surface daytime captures as well, including a 643-pound beast taken on 50-pound tackle by Ian O'Brien in 1998, but most captures were taken while drifting baits at night. The introduction of night trolling with lighted lure/squid combinations on downriggers was popularized in 2001 by Capt. Bruce Smith, after reading an article on the method in an overseas magazine. His first attempt produced a new world record swordfish on 80-pound gear for angler Murray Hansen. The fish weighed 732 pounds. Not bad for a first attempt. It was also around this time that Capt. Geoff Stone first tried daytime deep dropping with baits for swordfish in New Zealand, having read reports of its success in Venezuela. Once he had sorted out a workable technique, results were quick to come. With a regular client, American Gerry Garrett, he beat the two-year-old men's 80-pound line class world record with an 813-pound swordfish in 2003. In 2009 and 2010, Kiwi light-tackle expert Guy Jacobsen brought home the 16-pound and 12-pound swordfish world records with swords of 296 and 207 pounds. There have been a number of junior world records for the species too, confirming New Zealand as a red-hot swordfish destination. Jim Gigger, crewman for Capt. John Gregory, New Zealand's most experienced and successful swordfish captain, hauled in the latest swordfish milestone in 2012 -- a magnificent 891-pound fish. While not all swords are world records, the average size of a Kiwi broadbill is pretty respectable with 300- to 400-pound specimens being fairly common. Some huge fish have been lost and local longline boats have brought in swords weighing 1000 pounds -- trunked with the head, gut and tail removed. If any fishery stands a shot to beat out Lou Marron's 60-year-old all-tackle swordfish world record of 1,182 pounds, caught in Chile, it's New Zealand.
"Anywhere you find a 900- to 1,000-foot canyon, and there are plenty within easy range of the New Zealand coast, is likely to provide action."
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