A New Jersey angler endured a grueling five-hour battle with a giant swordfish before bringing the remarkable catch back to shore.
Eric McDowell set out with three crew members on November 4, heading for Tom’s Canyon, roughly 85 miles from Ocean City.
The group left at about 3:30 a.m. aboard McDowell’s 37-foot powerboat, the Valhalla, which is named Premium Time.
At approximately 11:30 a.m., a swordfish struck their bait, launching a battle that would continue for more than five hours.
“Those things are probably the strongest fish in the ocean,” McDowell told Ocean City Sentinel.
“I’ve caught bluefin tuna weighing close to 1,000 pounds and blue marlin over 500 pounds, but this was probably the strongest fish I’ve ever fought.”
The swordfish measured 14 feet from end to end, including a 10-foot distance from its lower jaw to the fork of its tail and a 4-foot bill.
Dan Pettit, who works for McDowell’s insurance company, described the 622.5-pound fish brought to the Ocean City Yacht Club dock as a “catch of a lifetime” in an interview with NJ.com.
Pettit said the crew, which also included Jason Olsen and Jacob Bowell, intends to enter the catch for consideration as a New Jersey state record.
Eric McDowell and three crew members spent more than five hours landing the 622.5-pound swordfish off New Jersey on November 4
The swordfish stretched 14 feet in length, leading the crew to seek recognition as a potential state-record catch
Getting the enormous fish alongside the boat was a demanding effort, McDowell said.
He said the crew had to rely on patience as they slowly gained ground.
“You might recover only an inch of line at a time, and the struggle never really stops. We’d gain some line, then the fish would take it right back,” the angler explained.
McDowell said they could not judge the swordfish’s true size until it began leaping from the water.
“Swordfish don’t usually leap very often. About an hour into the fight, it launched half its body above the surface, so we realized we were dealing with a fairly large fish.”
“About an hour after that, it shot straight into the air. Its entire body came clear of the water, which is something you rarely see. Watching a swordfish jump like that had us incredibly excited,” he said.
The crew ended up following the fish for at least three miles during the fight, McDowell added.
McDowell praised the boat as “an awesome boat,” saying it helped the crew bring the fish up from approximately 1,200 feet of water and transport it back to the dock.
Pettit told NJ.com that the catch could be the largest swordfish ever weighed in New Jersey.
“We are submitting it for a state record,” he said.
According to Pettit, the previous New Jersey swordfish record stood at 531 pounds.
New Jersey’s previous swordfish record was held by a catch weighing 531 pounds
McDowell said the return to the dock became a celebration, with friends and relatives gathered to see the extraordinary catch.
“I’ve been lucky enough to fish in different parts of the world,” he said.
“But catching a fish like this in our hometown, weighing it at the Yacht Club and having so many family members and friends there made it an unforgettable experience.”
Jen Bowman, the Yacht Club’s services manager, told Ocean City Sentinel that the catch brought an unusual burst of excitement to the small community.
“At 8:30 p.m., our normally quiet little town suddenly became the center of a lot of excitement,” she said.
“As far as we know, it is the largest swordfish ever weighed in New Jersey,” McDowell said, as the crew waits to learn whether the catch will officially claim the state record.
McDowell said he ultimately gave the fish away.
After discovering that the swordfish would not fit in his pickup truck, he cut it into portions at the yacht club and distributed the meat to neighbors.
“We now have a lot of delighted friends and neighbors who received plenty of steaks,” he said.