stuart, florida Swordfish Charters

Stuart, Florida Swordfish Charters

Epic Swordfishing in
Stuart, Florida

Many anglers consider catching a swordfish the ultimate in big game fishing. This truly is a bucket list experience and South Florida has become the epicenter of the action. 

Come explore this awesome fishery with the Florida Offshore Fishing Company, we’ll do everything we can to get you hooked up to one of these gladiators of the sea! An incredibly strong and fast fish, a battle with a sword can last for hours. No other fish can match the fight of a swordfish, these fish will test and find any weakness in the tackle, gear, or technique and leave you frustrated when they do. Swordfish can be very difficult to get to the boat once hooked, but it is an incredibly exciting way to fish that you may find addicting. Swordfish also provides awesome table fare. Check out these great swordfish recipes for some ideas. 

Come let us show you what it’s all about! Book your Stuart, Florida swordfish charter today!

Daytime Swordfishing in Florida

In the last 10-15 years, the daytime swordfishery off the coast of South Florida has exploded. For many years, swordfish were only caught at night, close to the surface, fishing that was dictated by the swordfish’s feeding patterns. At night, swordfish will swim to the surface and feed under the moonlight, and in years past this was the only time they could be targeted, as limitations on fishing line and equipment prevented recreational anglers from fishing the deep water where swordfish spend the daylight hours in South Florida.

During the day, the swordfish are close to the bottom, we target them in 1,100 – 2,000 feet of water. With the advent of modern braided lines, anglers were finally able to load enough line on a reel to fish these depths during the day. Using heavy weights, thousands of feet of line, and specialized techniques, daytime swordfishing was born! Come fish with us and we’ll show you what it’s all about!

Swordfishing FAQs

We catch swordfish year-round, with the bigger fish typically caught in the winter months. But, big fish are caught in the summer as well and the calmer weather lets us get offshore on more days. There is never a bad time to go fishing and your best fishing day ever could happen at any time!

Normally, we fish 20-25 miles from our inlet. We are very lucky in South Florida, the gulf stream and deep water are close, so our runs are not as far as they are in most areas. We can be setting our lines out 30 minutes after leaving the inlet.

We use Lindgren-Pitman electric reels on custom-built swordfish rods. Fishing in water up to 2,000 feet deep, we often have over 3,000 feet of line out, using up to a 12-pound lead to reach the bottom. 

During a typical day, we will fish several different areas and make several drifts, resetting the lines each time. Hand cranking a 12-pound weight with that much line out will make you appreciate the electric reels! Lindgren-Pitman builds the absolute best electric reels available, we won’t go swordfishing with any other type of reel.

Of course! If the swordfish meets the federally regulated minimum size. Swordfish have to be 47” from the lower jaw to the fork of the tail. The bag limit is 1 per person. However, we rarely keep more than 1 – 2 fish per trip and we do encourage releasing smaller fish, especially if we have one in the box for dinner.

That depends. Some days the bite is intense and we have early success. If a big fish is caught early, we head back to the dock immediately to get the fish cleaned and processed. If the fishing is slow, we might stay out all day waiting for the bite. Of course, we head to the dock whenever the client is ready to go in.

We fish 1 or 2 rods for swordfish. Sometimes, we’ll put out a surface bait as well, mahi-mahi or tuna are often caught on swordfish trips.

Sometimes we don’t catch any fish and we consider any day a swordfish is caught an awesome day. On some days, we have 8 or 10 bites and get several fish to the boat. If you want your best chance to catch a swordfish, it is best to book multiple days.

The swordfish we catch can range in size from 50 to over 500 pounds. You never know what size the fish is until you see it. The bite of a huge sword only translates to a tiny twitch of the rod tip and the fish will often swim up after being hooked, sometimes you think the fish is small and then a huge fish jumps at the boat, it is very exciting! Once the fish reaches the surface, the real fight begins and can last for many hours.

Yes, fuel is included in all of our charter rates. No extra charges! Just be sure to be prepared to tip the crew, as that is their main source of income. Normal tips are 15-20% of the charter rate.


555 NE Ocean Blvd
Stuart, FL 34996
(772) 202-0230

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