I ran a couple tuna/sword trips this weekend with Jerry Tiller and crew from Dallas. The goal of these trips was to tuna fish in close till around 730 and then run and set the sword lines. We started out making bait on friday and rolled out to a nearby rig and within 10 minutes we had two 50-60 pounders on live bait and one on a frenzy popper. After we got that triple hookup the fishing just died. There was too much grass around to live bait so we headed inshore a little ways to another rig. We saw the tunas jumping and threw out a livie on 60 pound leader with a 6/0 frenzy hook and a frenzy popper. Instant double header on 40 pound class fish. We landed both of them and then it slowed down. In the next hour or so we put in two more 50 pound class fish before we shut the tuna fishing down and went swording. We had one small sword swim up to the boat and managed to miss two more on the strike before we called it a night around midnight with seven yellowfin in the box.
I had the same crew for the second night with the same gameplan. We made some threadfins on frenzy sabiki rigs and headed to the rigs. First bait out was a 70 pound yellowfin. Thought it was on then but it took us another 2 hours to catch another fish. Between 630-730 we put three yellows in the 40 pound class in the boat. At 730 we made the swordfish call. I had a good little run to get to my spot for the night and at 815 we were setting up the baits. I got the first bait down at the rigth depth and I am rigging up my cork to float it out when I felt the line get lighter. Thinking the weight must have popped off I held the line for a second and then a sword started jumping 10 feet from the baot with my bait hanging out its mouth. I have never cranked up 300 feet of line faster in my life but I finally came tight on him and luckily he was still hooked up. We put Tom in the harness and fought the fish about 30 minutes before we got the harpoon in him. It was a 52 inch fish that I guessing weighed somewhere in the 60s.
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
I had the same crew for the second night with the same gameplan. We made some threadfins on frenzy sabiki rigs and headed to the rigs. First bait out was a 70 pound yellowfin. Thought it was on then but it took us another 2 hours to catch another fish. Between 630-730 we put three yellows in the 40 pound class in the boat. At 730 we made the swordfish call. I had a good little run to get to my spot for the night and at 815 we were setting up the baits. I got the first bait down at the rigth depth and I am rigging up my cork to float it out when I felt the line get lighter. Thinking the weight must have popped off I held the line for a second and then a sword started jumping 10 feet from the baot with my bait hanging out its mouth. I have never cranked up 300 feet of line faster in my life but I finally came tight on him and luckily he was still hooked up. We put Tom in the harness and fought the fish about 30 minutes before we got the harpoon in him. It was a 52 inch fish that I guessing weighed somewhere in the 60s.
