WON Reader Report
BY CHRIS MADISON
OCEANSIDE— I had a short window after work to try a spot I scouted a couple days prior and was rewarded with my second swordfish from an inflatable.
The water temp dropped a couple degrees, but the bait was still present and there were signs of a moderate DSL in the area. I sent my squid rigged on an 18/0 circle hook with a plastic skirt down around 1,000 feet and started watching my rod tip for any signs of feeding squid, thresher or the elusive swordfish. After an hour of drifting and adjusting the bait up and down from 800 to 1,100 feet I got a hard strike while adjusting the bait depth. After about 2 minutes of playing the bait up and down and the fish actively chasing it I was hooked up and the sword raced to the surface putting on a fantastic show.
An hour later I sunk my flying gaff into its chest and let it fight a buoy until it went belly up.
A very successful 2.5-hour trip had me back in the harbor before dark with a 140-pound swordfish on deck! Super grateful to have the opportunity to target and land these amazing fish so close to home.
