Swordfish Catch Makes For Memorable Family Trip Offshore

Swordfish Catch Makes For Memorable Family Trip Offshore
A large family offshore trip last Sunday aboard the Git-R-Done resulted in some tuna as well as a surprise swordfish. Submitted Photo

OCEAN CITY — One local family on a first annual offshore fishing trip to celebrate a child’s birthday got the opportunity of a lifetime last weekend when they hooked a 200-pound swordfish just 22 miles off the coast of Ocean City and hauled it in after an epic three-hour battle.

Last Sunday, a local family was fishing on the Git-R-Done with Captain Dave Schulte near the Chicken Bone just 22 miles off the coast when they hooked a big fish while trolling for tuna. Young Katie Burton, who was celebrating her birthday during her family’s first annual offshore trip on the Git-R-Done, was next up on the reel when the fish was hooked in about 20 fathoms on a sea witch and ballyhoo.

For three hours, the family and crew, which also included Dave and Debbie Schulte, Megan Higgins, boat owner Spencer Allen and eight total kids ages two to 10, combined to battle the big fish they believed was a blue marlin. Three hours later, the crew was surprised to learn their catch was instead a swordfish and a big one at that at 200 pounds and over six feet long.

What made the catch even more remarkable was the time of day and the distance from shore. It’s not unusual for swordfish to be caught off the coast of Ocean City, but they are typically found in much deeper water considerably farther offshore and not typically in the middle of the afternoon.

“It was very unusual to catch a swordfish in 20 fathoms, or around 120 feet of water and just 22 miles offshore,” said Higgins this week. “You just don’t expect to catch swordfish in that close and in water that shallow. They are usually found in 800 to 1,200 feet of water and even then they are pretty rare.”

Higgins said the big sword was boated after a team effort to bring it in that lasted several hours, much to the surprise of the adult crew and even more so to the young children on the boat.

“We were just on our way in and were trolling near the Chicken Bone when we hooked it up,” she said. “We all thought it was a blue marlin at first. Three hours later, we found out it was a big swordfish. It was definitely a memorable trip. It was family birthday trip and we were just trying to catch a couple of tunas, but we ended up with the catch of a lifetime.”

For birthday girl Katie and the other young kids on the boat, landing the big swordfish was their first brush with bigtime offshore fishing and certainly not their last after the remarkable catch last Sunday.

“It was the first time offshore for those kids,” said Higgins. “It was definitely an experience of their young lifetimes and now they’re hooked on offshore fishing. They want to know when we can go again. I hope they don’t think something like this happens every time out.”

About The Author: Shawn Soper

Alternative Text

Shawn Soper has been with The Dispatch since 2000. He began as a staff writer covering various local government beats and general stories. His current positions include managing editor and sports editor. Growing up in Baltimore before moving to Ocean City full time three decades ago, Soper graduated from Loch Raven High School in 1981 and from Towson University in 1985 with degrees in mass communications with a journalism concentration and history.