Monster swordfish breaks California record
SAN DIEGO (KSWB) — A San Diego fisherman had quite a catch on Sunday when he caught a massive swordfish that shattered a California record.
Luc Ofield, owner of Anglers Choice Tackle Store, caught the fish just half an hour before midnight after a more than four-hour effort to pull it in using a stand-up rod and reel.
According to The Marlin Club in Shelter Island, who weighed the catch, the swordfish came in at a whopping 666.2 pounds — more than 100 pounds above the state record set just last year by another San Diego-area crew.
"666.2 lbs weighed at the Marlin Club last night and it looks like this will take the new California State Record Swordfish!" the weigh station wrote in a post on Instagram on Monday. "Luc and Anglers Choice have been an amazing friend and supporter of the Marlin Club for many years and we are honored to weigh his record breaking fish."
The find comes roughly a week after fishermenlhauled in a 492-pound swordfish caught off the coast of San Diego on Monday, Oct. 14.
That fish, which was weighed by Dana Landing in Mission Bay took about three hours to be secured on the anglers' boat.
Both finds occurred at the end of swordfish season, which typically runs from late spring to early fall when the water is at its warmest.
According to San Diego Tuna Fishing, the nine-mile bank off the coast of San Diego and the area near the Coronado Islands are the two most popular locations for finding the creature in Southern California, as well as San Clemente Island in Orange County.
North Pacific swordfish is the type of broadbill endemic to the waters off the West Coast. Its counterpart is the North Atlantic swordfish, which is most common in New England.
Both species of swordfish are considered one of the biggest and fastest predators in the ocean: they are capable of swimming up to 50 miles per hour and can grow to 14 feet, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries.
As far as weight goes, some swordfish can become upwards of 1,200 pounds, NOAA adds, although most caught by fishing crews average about 50 to 200 pounds.
The biggest swordfish ever caught on rod and reel was a 1,182-pound broadbill pulled in by Lou Marron and the crew of the Flying Heart III back in 1953. According to the International Game Fish Association, the catch remains the world record for the game fish species.
Neither species of swordfish are considered overfished by NOAA despite being one of the more popular targets for anglers.