Fisheries officers met fisherman Troy Dando at the boat ramp to make sure his latest catch – a 201kg swordfish, wasn’t under weight.
The former Dawnbreakers Fishing Club president achieved his dream of catching a big swordfish in South Island waters last week, a feat three years in the planning.
He says he had no idea he had the prized fish he wanted until he had it near the boat after a 90 minute effort to reel it in off the coast of Greymouth.
“When it first took the hook I thought it was nothing more than a baby shark, it just tapped the line.”
However, the moment it took off and churned through 150m worth of line he thought there was a chance he had hooked the fish dubbed “The Gladiator of the Sea” for its tenacious fighting ability when hooked.
Troy says he did it with a twist on a kingfish set-up on their line and it paid dividends.
“We had no idea what we had until it was right next to our boat.”
“After 90 minutes of fight it took another 60 minutes to haul it onto the boat, and when we managed that (the fish) took up most of the space on board.”
Troy says his mate on board, Gavin Williams, deserved a lot of credit for tying a great line and his role in getting the fish onboard.
“We also had a lot of great advice from locals on the best spots to fish and the areas that they might be hanging out in, everyone was really supportive.”
Troy says he was fishing at a depth of 100m and 500m.
Initially he was fishing at 450m until his Simrad fish finder suggested there was something at 250m “Without that I would have kept fishing at a lower depth and the fish would have been swimming above me.”
Troy says the fish has now been cut up with the meat put in tins.
“It’s hugely satisfying, I’ve fished all over the world but to get that catch after so much planning is right up there in terms of highlights.”
“It was something on the bucket list and it’s great to finally say I’ve achieved it.”
