Swordfish were long thought of as a night fishery, but daytime deep-dropping changed the game. Broadbill spend the daylight hours holding deep, hundreds of fathoms down in the cold and dark, and by dropping a rigged bait into that zone with heavy weight, you can tempt a fish few anglers ever tangle with. It is gear-intensive, patient, deep-water fishing with an extraordinary payoff.
The concept
By day, swordfish sit deep. So you send the bait to them: a rigged bait (squid and strip baits are classic) is dropped on a heavy leader with a substantial weight to reach the fish, often with a small LED light above the bait to draw attention in the darkness. You hold the bait in the zone and wait for a bite you have to read from an enormous distance away.
What makes it hard
- Depth. Reaching the fish means a lot of line and heavy weight, which is why many crews use electric reels to manage the drop and retrieve.
- Detecting the bite. A swordfish tapping a bait far below telegraphs almost nothing to the rod tip; reading those subtle signs at depth is the real skill.
- The fight. Bringing a strong fish up from deep water is a long, grinding battle, and swordfish are powerful, acrobatic adversaries near the surface.
Tip Everything about deep-dropping rewards patience and attention. Watch the rod tip and line obsessively, mark your depth precisely, and resist the urge to reel up and check, a swordfish may be inspecting your bait long before it commits.
Gear
This is heavy, specialized tackle: electric or heavy conventional reels with the capacity for extreme depth, stout rods, heavy leaders and weights, and lights and rigged baits made for the job. Reliable, high-capacity reels are essential, there is no room for gear failure a quarter mile down.