How To Choose Bait For Swordfish

Best Baits For Night Time Swordfishing

The time is now! The conditions are right and the fish are hungry. You have been feeling them all day, but the sun is about to set on you and you feel compelled to go out swordfishing even though it may be a little past your best fishing time.

Is it worth going out one more night? It's better than never, so get your gear ready and head to the launch.

Try changing up your baits one more time tonight. Imagine this, you pull over a ledge, set out three baits and immediately hook up. Now it's getting exciting! The next thing you know you have landed 10 fish in less than an hour - that is great swordfishing.

The next thing you know, the sun is peeking over the horizon and you have just finished swordfishing at first light.

So what's your secret? Switching your baits up to match the conditions of the day, night or morning. I am not talking about fresh anchovies or mullet, either. You probably have been throwing those baits all night, and that is great if they are working for you. It's just that what may work best at sunrise may not be the same as what worked well at sunset or dinner time.

I bet you have a selection of baits you have been using throughout the day, but did you take a moment to consider a different bait to match the conditions of the night?

A little unconventional thinking may lead you to some new and exciting results. You can increase your hookups at night by simply changing your baits. In most cases, swordfish are feeding on one type of bait at sunrise and another type of bait as it gets dark.

Swordfish are not the only species that are feeding at night, but they are one of the more popular ones to target at night. The following is a list of good baits to consider for swordfish and other pelagics.

Note: Not all baits will work well in all conditions or on all fisheries so feel free to mess around with your open water bait selection, but these are a few of my favorites.

Night Time Swordfishing Baits: Squid The ultimate night time swordfish bait. Squid is the #1 bait to consider when targeting pelagics at night. I have been using squid for years and it has produced many swordfish over the years - especially in places like Southern California and Baja (night lights). The bait's activity, natural presentation and scent can create a feeding frenzy - especially if you rig it correctly.

When rigging squid: Don't cut the tentacles off! Keep them intact with the hook inside. If you cut the tentacles off, they will not glow in the water like they do when still attached to the squid. If you don't cut them off, they will continue to glow and that can keep a fish's attention for a much longer time. In fact, that glowing "trail of bread crumbs" will attract more swordfish than leaving the tentacles intact alone. A hookless squid won't last very long so if you want it to glow in the water longer, you need to keep it hooked. Once they are gone; everything is gone!

Night Time Swordfishing Baits: Live Bait Fish Some of my favorite live baits to throw during night swordfishing are pilchard (sardines), anchovies and mackerel. Most pelagic species love to eat these schooling bait fish. Anchovies may be the most popular live bait for swordfish, but pilchard and mackerel are catching up in popularity each day. A good option is to use a wire leader with some rubber skirts on one side of your spread while using the other side baits without leaders.

Night Time Swordfishing Baits: Crabs

Fisherman on the west coast love to use fresh dead crabs for swordfish. The crabs are typically fished on the bottom, but some anglers like to drift them on a wire leader while trolling. Shrimp or sand crabs work great. Live sand crabs will catch you more fish, but they won't last long (dead crabs typically won't either). The bait is typically fished on the bottom, but some like to drift them while trolling.

Night Time Swordfishing Baits: Eels

If you want to catch a mess of blue or black marlin; then try throwing some eels! Blue and black marlin will eat smaller ones, but you can also get away with throwing 1 or 2 larger ones (3ft. or longer). To fish eels: put the eel on the bottom and slowly pull it up while winding your reel in - this triggers their feeding instinct and they will strike. Don't troll them around because there is a chance other species may eat them too.

Night Time Swordfishing Baits: Other Baitfish

There are many different types of baitfish, but the ones mentioned above seem to be the most popular for night swordfishing. Sometimes you'll see guys throwing squid and live baits (i.e. Pilchard or other bait fish) on their swordfish trips; but those are usually the exceptions. In general, squid will out produce any

other bait for swordfish at night so a lot of times you won't see anyone fishing live baits or using crab.

There may be a few people throwing eels, but it's hard to say because most anglers that throw eels either don't talk about it or don't do it very often.

See more: https://fishinghacking.com/perfect-bait-for-swordfish-tips-for-new-angler/