The swordfish's reputation as a great sporting fish is widely known, but there are few anglers who have caught one. One reason for this is that the swordfish prefers deep water, 450 ft or more being its usual haunt. The other reason lies in the fact that it moves toward warmer water during the summer months and toward colder water during winter, thus making it very scarce during the fishing season.
The swordfish is one of the most somber of all sea denizens. Both its color and its habits are those of a creature that lives in dark, forbidding depths, far out of sight of man. It swims with steady purpose through the blackness below; it has no playfulness nor desire to please, no fear nor hatred of man. It is a killer that feeds upon other fish. It has little place in the life cycle of the sea. But when it appears in coastal waters, it is always an outlaw as much the enemy of all the world's fishes as is man himself with his slaughterers' guns.
Wherever this dark outlaw appears, it demands the attention of anglers. And for those who have never had the opportunity to know the thrill of fighting a swordfish, I can think of no better bait than one that has been dead for several days. Let me say here that only fresh-caught mackerel are good enough to use as bait, but that even then it is better to cut off portions of the tail and belly.
The reason for this is that the liver will often turn black, developing an offensive odor. The flesh itself smells very little but you can't fool a swordfish. I have caught far too many mackerel by making the mistake of using a freshly caught fish, only to have it lose its appeal before I could get the hook baited.
For bait, you will need a mackerel about 1 ft long. Clean out the cavity and run your finger back between the flesh and the backbone, removing all slime possible. Do this quickly the swordfish is not often fooled by putrid bait. Take a sharp, thin knife and open the mackerel like a book; then remove all of the entrails. Split it from top to bottom just back of the dorsal fin, but do not cut through it. This will leave it in one piece, with both halves spread out flat when placed on the hook.
Now take a pair of pliers and close the body cavity; then by pulling, tear off one half of the tail. The other half will serve as a flag for your bait—and there you have it! Outwardly it may look like any other mackerel, but to the swordfish, it is an invitation to come and dine.
As for the hook, use a No. 3 or 4 KB-Kevlar straight-shank worm hook with an extra-sharp point. A regular bait needle is fine to use in tying it on if you have one available. If not, just leave the skin of the fish on, which will serve as a kind of "needle" for the knot. Now, here's how to tie it on.
Put a worm on the hook just behind the dorsal fin and bring the point out through the gill opening, then push it up toward the head section. Draw it down toward you about an inch or so; then turn its eye back against the bait. This will terminate the head of the worm, and it is then easier to tie off the hook. Now, with a pair of pliers, grab hold of the eye of the hook and give it a quick twist, which will tighten it up against the neck of the mackerel
At this point, you must decide how long you want the flag section to be. Usually, I cut it off so that there is about an inch of it still remaining. The next step is to run two turns of strong thread back along the length of the body until you come to where you wish to place your peg—that is, a piece of cork or balsa wood shaped like a small cigar. If you are using cork, it has the advantage of being easily cut with a knife; balsa does not. Either one can be stuck on with glue for an hour or two and will then remain fastened securely.
The size of the peg to use will depend upon how large your bait is or, rather, how large you want to make it. Should you wish the mackerel to be visible from a distance, I would recommend that your peg be at least 2 in long and about 3/8 in thick.
Now that the bait for swordfish is ready, all that's left is for you to go fishing and may success attend you!
