Although it does look like other billfish such as Marlins and Sailfish, it is in a class
all by itself. For those interested in that sort of thing the scientific geneise name is
Xiphias Gladius. Extremely rare for Texas waters it has been seen and even rarely caught.
One of the reasons is it's solitary nature, and deep waters migratory habits. Another
reason is it's finicky nature in eating as well as being very leary of man and his
machinery. The bill or sword of the fish are larger than those found on other species.
which they can use quite effectively when stunning their prey or cutting leaders. Another
reason they are so rarely caught. And since they tend to stun their prey rather than just
eat it, combined with the fact that their mouth are soft in nature. Those lucky anglers
that finally get one to the boat should consider themselves fortunate indeed.
A deep water feeder the swordfish is usually caught trolling the outermost ledge of the gulf stream. The trick is to drift or slowly troll with a bonito rigged for deep depths than normal billfishing techiques call for. With hook ups rarely in producing anything that closely resembles getting the fish within sighting distance of the boat. A Texas angler that give a special offering to the fishing gods when he is lucky enough to bring one aboard. Highly prized as a sport species and for their meat, this would be the ultimate challenge for any Texas Saltwater Fishermen...
State Records: 317 Pounds
West Flower Gardens, July 21, 1979
J.P. Bryan
World Record: 1,182 Pounds
Iquique, Chile May 7, 1953
L. Marron