TBH swordfish auction trip happened!!!

[Jaybo31]

Good stuff!

[eastxhunter]

Was Luiza barros and her friends the deck hands?

[ultralite09]

Awesome!!

Looking forward to more pics and videos

[rtp]

First of all let me say I have never fished with a finer crew than Ryan and his guys. They are truly great at what they do, yet humble at the same time. Im not the great storyteller like some on here but I'll do my best.

Catching one daytime swordfish would be a dream come true. Catching four in one day is simply unimaginable to me. This was the 3rd attempt at making the trip happen. Orginally scheduled for the first part of June, mother nature had other ides. We reschedule for about about a week and half ago. Myself and two other TBHers met up with Ryan to give it ago. It seems the weather forecasters missed badly on how the seas were supposed to be so about 15 miles out we abandoned our plans for swords that day and made lemonade out of lemons by catching a quick limit of big snapper and heading back in. This follow up trip was orginially slated for the coming week but with a number of conflicts Ryan and I talked late Friday and decided to make it happen Sunday. What a great decision that was. When I tell you Ryan knows what he is doing, it is no exaggeration. Everything he told me, happened to the "T". The ride out was a bit eventful with pop up storms all around but dodge most and drove through one to pop out on the other side near the honey hole. The comment was made that rain is all around but not one bit of lightening...thank goodness.

The first drift was a low percentage opportunity but would tell him what he needed to know to put us in prime postion the second time. And just like he said was probable, we strike out on drift #1. One the second drift, we drop two lines to the bottom. The first pole that was dropped hooks up before the second pole can even get to the bottom. The battle is on. The next two hours are spent winding, laughing, sweating, and humorously cursing at what this fish is doing to us. There is a mark at the 100ft point on the line. Eight times that mark was well on the reel and eight times that mark peeled off headed for the depths of the ocean. The ninth time was the charm. Near the end is when he surfaced and made the full body jump shown in the video. It was one of those things that just burns itself into your brain and will never be forgotten. A short time later the fish breaches about 10 yards out from the boat. TK, makes a perfect "double lung" harpoon throw and the fish is brought aboard. Remember the no lightening? Well the moment the fish is hoisted up and into the boat we hear a huge clap of thunder from a near by storm. Loud enough to get everyone's attention even in that moment of excitement. I look over at my buddy and said....that was just God giving us a round of applause for a job well done. Staring back down, the shear size of this fish just hits me. Ryan has shared plenty of pics with me but the pics just dont do these fish justice like seeing them up close and in person.



After a lot of high fives and a celebratory beverage we move back over to make another drift. BTW, I have my name on Ryan's wall of fame of sorts.....I have a gps mark with my name on it lol. During that two hours, something changed in the wind or current because we missed our mark and had to do a quick reset. The third drift was game on again...the two lines are dropped and within less than a minute we are getting our second bite. Boom! Fish number two on! This fish gives us a good run for the money but is done in under an hour. Repeat.....high fives, celebratory beverage and reset for drift number four. Same drill...double drop and hook up happens in no time. My buddy is on the reel and gets the fish to the boat quickly but things quickly get a little crazy. As we get to the leader, we realize this line has tangled with the other line that was out. The fish takes advantage of this situation and begins it dive for the depth. 30 minutes later the fish is back near the boat but the crew is busy untangling line so he can be reeled in far enough to be gaffed or harpooned. After a lot of shouting(nicely, lol) the lines are free of each other and the fish is gaffed boat side in short order.

Next drift, we get hit multiple times but no hook ups. Next drift Ryan and his guys decide to go with a rig they hadnt use before but want to try. Once the boat is in position the new rig is dropped first and it hooked up before the second one can get to the bottom. My other buddy is on the reel this time and he solos this one all the way in and we have accomplished a boat limit of swordfish by going 4 for 4 on our hookups. It was just incredible looking at 4 swordfish on ice at the same time. All four fish were caught within 100ft area. It was similar to crappie fishing, lol.

I know my words cant do this trip justice but hopefully yall get the idea of how extraordinary this trip was. Thanks to again to Ryan for delivering way more than he guaranteed. A couple more pics...

[Colton]

So bad***! Congrats

[hammer63]

That's a recap! Except we need picherz...

[rtp]

That's a recap! Except we need picherz...

You not seeing the pics I posted? They are showing up for me. Again, I suck at the internets.

[DZM]

Wow! Incredible day!

[captainsling]

That’s epic! Congrats!

[18ncs]

Was Luiza barros and her friends the deck hands?

Imagine the bid for that one

[JSBrit]

I can see the pics. Nice fish!!! Once in a lifetime trip.

[18ncs]

That's a recap! Except we need picherz...

Nice first write up Now get started with the details

Congratulations Richard!

[Buck Slayer]

Awesome!

[RedRaider323]

Really cool! I want to do this!

[whiplash]

That is a trip of a lifetime! Congrats!