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NEWS
Paul Worsteling tags a broadbill
IFISH host scores angling’s Holy Grail (Xiphias gladius) in WACongratulations to our good friend, top rod and top guy and IFISH host, Paul Worsteling, for catching and then tagging his first ever broadbill swordfish (Xiphias gladius) while fishing off WA with the expert crew from Bluewater Tackle World Exmouth.
Paul’s mid-week broadbill release (opening photo) caps off a remarkable few months for recreational anglers and the prized species in Aussie waters. Everyone with a hankering for offshore fishing has been going gaga over the stunning broadbill swordfish catches, especially by adventurous anglers off Tasmania.
The local Tassie crew on Choonachasa has been reaping the rewards of its fieldwork, with several (pending Australian record) broadbill landed this year including a 141.7kg fish and a 136.2kg specimen on 24kg tackle.
But the biggest news was reserved for the estimated 180kg swordfish (second photo reproduced with thanks) they set free late last month. The fish swum away sporting a satellite tag, a first in this country, and everyone was on tenterhooks waiting to follow the big broady and learn more about this little-known emerging Tassie fishery.
Subsequent tracking reveals the fish probably didn’t make it after the two-hour fight on 37kg tackle. But all was not lost. The local Tassie swordfish fishery will most certainly survive and it was making international fishing headlines, as indeed will Exmouth following high-profile Worsteling’s release.
That you can do it in a trailerboat in Tassie adds to the potential for mainland sportsfishers hoping to catch the Holy Grail of rod-and-reel fishing. Ship your boat across on the ferry and give it a crack. If not broadbill then the southern bluefin tuna will be worth the trip.
Of course, there’s always a chance of catching a broadbill swordfish off hard-fished cities like Sydney. Although it was a pup, Sydney Game Fishing Club recently weighed a 17.5kg broadbill swordfish caught by Reel Smart at night on Browns Mountain.
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Meantime, we tilt our hats to our fishing friend Paul Worsteling and his WA crew from Bluewater Tackle World Exmouth, www.tackleworld.com.au/wa/exmouth.html, acknowledging that he has tagged his first broadbill swordfish (pictured above) in reverence to the magnificent transoceanic game fish considered the Holy Grail of rod-and-reel fishing.
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Written byBoatsales Staff
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