440 BBS

[RedSledTeam]

Originally Posted by RedSledTeam

Don't be so hasty to do battle with the "Gladiator" of the Sea until you really get to know him!

An old dive buddy of mine who introduced me to spearfishing told me a story about a legendary guy named "Outboard Jack" who was a very big guy with a lifetime of ocean spearing experience way back in the 70's who speared a Swordie off the Avalon bank. To make a long story short, there wasn't a happy ending to the story and all that was left of Jack was a brown stain in the 500' of 1/4 inch line he had attatched to his spear.

In my heyday of spearfishing, I chased a swordie in the blue water outside of Todos Santos Islands years ago but didn't get close enough to let the spear fly. I have also heard of others who have sought the swordie with no success. Then I met a Professional "Stick boat" Captain who enlightened me on the hazards of swordfishing who he appropriately named the "Gladiator of the Sea". He told me a story of a large 650 lb fish that he "stuck" one morning that came back to life after he thought the fish was dead while he was hoisting the fish on deck. That fish towed his bouys around all day (>12hrs) and appeared to be dead, until the fish's bill hit the side gunnel of his vessel and sprang to life and thrashed around and left a large gash at least 3/4" deep in 3 inches of solid fiberglass!

I've heard of swordies charging divers who were in pursuit, came straight at them and veered off at the last minute. Swordies do battle with Makos every day and are the meanest fish in the sea. So, I would not recommend getting anywhere close enough to feel the business end of the bill like in a kayak! 3 to 4 feet of wildly swinging "broad bill" with 200 to 600 pounds of fish attatched is just not safe to be around!

In retrospect, I think about that day when I chased down the swordie and remember the long exhausting swim in the bluewater and I can still see the gracious underwater beast in my mind and I wonder what if I took the the shot?