Fort Lauderdale Swordfish Fishing

Fort Lauderdale fishing offers anglers a unique opportunity to encounter one of the world’s greatest sport fish, the Swordfish.  Swordfish can be caught in almost any of the world’s oceans but Fort Lauderdale’s offshore fishing offers exceptional opportunities.   

Our Fort Lauderdale fishing area has the good luck of being very close to the warm waters of the Gulfstream.  When you couple this with the naturally occurring bottom patterns offshore, you get excellent angling opportunities for Swordfish.  This is deep sea fishing at its finest in water depths varying from 900 to over 1700ft.  Canyons and underwater hills offshore of the Fort Lauderdale fishing area provide the structure to begin the food chain, which has the swordfish as one of its primary predators. 

Night Time Fort Lauderdale Swordfish Fishing

The Swordfish is no stranger to night feeding and therefore large numbers of them are taken after dark.  Around sundown many swordfish leave the relative safety of the oceans bottom and swim to or near the surface in search of their prey.  The Swordfish does this for good reason, because it is a proven fact that the greatest animal migration on the planet takes place every night of the year in our deep sea oceans.  Billions of small and larger animals travel from the depths to be near the surface to feed, and the Swordfish is ready. Let us put you there… 

Our Fort Lauderdale fishing Swordfish night charters are eight hour trips.  We leave our dock at the Bahia Mar resort and marina around 4:00 PM in the winter and 6:00 PM in the summer months.  On our way to the swordfish grounds we often encounter conditions favorable for Dolphin (aka Dorado, Mahi Mahi).  We will stop if there are fish in these areas and catch a few Dolphin, and occasionally Tuna, but quickly we reel up and head further offshore in our pursuit of the primaries species, the Swordfish. 

We generally fish four to five rods for night Swordfish charters.  Every bait has some sort of illuminating waterproof light.  It is widely held that Swordfish are drawn to light.  We use cylume light sticks and also sealed system flashing and constant glow light sources.  We also deploy a light at boat side called the Swordfish light, which illuminates the area immediately around the boat.  The Swordfish light allows us to see Swordfish on occasion right at boat side as they investigate the light source, and also the bait fish that are drawn to it. 

Our night Swordfish baits consist of  larger Squid, Bonito or Tinker Mackerel fished along with Blue Runners at depths staggered from 75 to 400ft. from the surface. Both live and dead baits are deployed, and one bait is held for possible presentation to a curious light attracted boat side Swordfish ( or a “follower”). Often a free swimming “follower” Swordfish will follow a hooked ( and imminent  landed) swordfish to the side.  Swordfish at night seem very confident and unafraid of the boat in most circumstances. 

Day Time Fort Lauderdale Swordfish Fishing

Fishing in Ft. Lauderdale for Swordfish has just gotten better.   There is a new and exciting twist to an old game.  Swordfish are readily available and now being taken on day time Fort Lauderdale fishing charters.  This fishing involves one swordfish line fished directly on the bottom in 1500 to 1700 feet of water.   Secondary lines involving live bait are fished on the surface for incidental catches of dolphin, tuna, etc.   The results of this day time Ft. Lauderdale fishery are very often positive in nature with excellent chances of  Swordfish successes.  The tremendous opportunities that this day time fishery has opened will surely result result in strict Federal management in the very near future of swordfish stocks.   The baits of choice are whole large squid and intact oily fishes.  The typical day charter hours are 8AM-4PM or 7AM-3PM.  These trips involve running directly to the offshore Fort Lauderdale fishing grounds with catching swordfish as the primary objective.  Be the first one on you block to experience this new and exploding day time fishery.

To enhance your opportunity for success and enjoyment for fishing in Fort Lauderdale, a qualified and professional crew and fully equipped boat are important.  At All Inclusive Sportfishing we offer you an experienced crew and a clean, licensed, and fully insured boat. We provide all fishing licenses and local, state and Federal permits.  Shimano and Penn International tackle is supplied with line breaking strength from 30 to 80lb (night) and 80lb (day) for your Swordfishing pleasure. 

Federal law mandates that a swordfish must have a 47 inch fork length to be taken. Our Highly Migratory Species Permit allows us to keep one legal size swordfish per angler per charter. This measurement is from the fork of the swordfish's tail to the tip of its lower jaw. Undersize swordfish will not be gaffed or taken. If you wish to keep your swordfish for eating, it will be dressed out upon returning to the dock. If you prefer catch and release, we respect your decision. 

Taxidermy is available for your swordfish if you choose to do so. The swordfish is one of the most imposing and beautiful game fish available in deep sea fishing. Stocky, muscular and neon blue to purple in color with a long flat bill approaching 1/3 of their overall length, they are an impressive and capable adversary. 

Respect the fishery for Swordfish 

Fort Lauderdale fishing for swordfish is a unique and productive fishery. We carefully adhere to fishery regulations and respect your wishes as fellow sport fishermen and women. The swordfish is returning to its peak numbers of the early 1970’s in virtually every federally funded study, and this is great news for fishing in Fort Lauderdale. 

This is a deep sea fishing resource offering terrific rewards for those who have the opportunity to participate. Fishing in Fort Lauderdale for swordfish is once again very strong and exciting for the "Gladiator of the Deep" (the recognized nickname for such a magnificent fish). Allow us to be part of your swordfish experience and join the ranks of our satisfied customers. We love what we do, and this is all we do. Let’s go!  

Captains Rick Brady & Steve Souther
Marlin My Darlin Sportfishing
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
(954) 761-8202