Johnny5
Well-known member
Jason Chockley has made a career out of catching big fish from little boats, but even he was impressed with his most recent accomplishment.
Chockley caught a 208-pound swordfish fishing 17 miles offshore from his 14-foot aluminum boat.
"It was incredible," said Chockley, of Hallandale Beach.
Chockley was fishing last week southeast of Haulover Inlet with his brother-in-law Efrain Soto. They took turns fighting the swordfish and needed just over two hours to get the fish to the boat using a Penn International 50 TW spooled with 65-pound Power Pro braided line.
Before you head offshore for swordfish in your johnboat or skiff, consider that Chockley, 25, has loads of experience fishing offshore in a small boat, and he's caught lots of swordfish — his biggest weighed 254 pounds — fishing on big boats with other anglers.
"I wouldn't recommend someone's who just getting into swordfishing to go out in that kind of boat," said Chockley, who works as a city planner for Cooper City. "I've been offshore fishing in small boats all my life. I started offshore in a 12-footer. I've fished in all kinds of seas, so I know what my capabilities are and what the boat's capabilities are.
"Your average guy who has a 16-foot Carolina Skiff and says, 'Let me try that,' I wouldn't."
I've written about Chockley many times over the past five years. He caught his first sailfish fishing from a kayak. There was the day he caught a wahoo, a dolphin, a kingfish and a 7-foot sailfish from his 12-foot johnboat. Then there was the trip with his girlfriend Anna, who is now his wife, when they landed a doubleheader of bull dolphin weighing 41 and 38 pounds.
The swordfish is the biggest fish he has caught on Dream Catcher, a V-hulled 14-foot StarCraft with a 25-horsepower outboard motor that lived up to its name.
Chockley rigged the boat for offshore fishing, installing a GPS, a VHF radio, a stereo, a baitwell, rod holders, LED lights and a cooler with a gimbaled rod-holder and a pad to sit on that serves as a fighting chair.
"A couple of weeks ago I got a 40-pound bull," Chockley said. "Before that I got a 50-pound wahoo.
"I kept telling people I will catch a swordfish."
Chockley and Soto weren't planning on fishing because of heavy thunderstorms. When the rain stopped and the skies cleared, seas were flat, so they went out of Haulover Inlet at 11 p.m.
At 1 a.m., Soto caught and released a small swordfish, his first, off Haulover that might have weighed 20 pounds. Chockley said Soto was prophetic when he said, "I don't think I want to fight a bigger one because that little one fought so hard."
They ran farther south and east and set up a drift with rigged squid — one on the surface and the others down 75, 125, 200 and 250 feet.
Around 3:45 a.m., Chockley was reeling up the 125-foot bait to check it when a fish grabbed the squid about 40 feet under the boat.
"I came tight on the fish and it had a good first run," Chockley said. "I handed Efrain the rod, and after 15 minutes he said it was kicking his butt."
Soto fought the fish a little longer while Chockley reeled in the other lines, then Chockley took the rod.
"The first half-hour of the fight, it was almost like the fish didn't know he was hooked," Chockley said. "He was running around on the surface. I thought it was only a 50-, 60-pound fish.
"I added more drag and more drag, and it seemed like the more drag I added the stronger the fish got. After an hour, I realized it was a bigger fish. It was pulling drag at 20 pounds."
The swordfish finally came to the boat a little after 6 a.m. Chockley gave the rod to Soto, grabbed a gaff and stuck the fish in the gill plate. Then Soto got a gaff and also gaffed the fish in the head. Then they carefully went about getting the fish in the boat.
As Chockley explained, both men couldn't be on one side of the little boat and lift in a 200-pound fish without the boat tipping over. So they walked the fish to the back of the boat and were able to swing its head over the side.
They also had to be sure the fish was dead before dragging it in the boat. There's no room for error in a small boat because a swordfish that still had some life in it could tear up the boat and send its occupants jumping into the bloody water around the boat.
"We were pulling on the fins and gill plate and we were finally able to get most of his body in," Chockley said. "Then we swung the tail and head around and got the fish between the boat's seats.
"At that point we tried to get out of the area. I knew how much blood was in the water. It was flat calm and we ran in at 27 mph. We came into Haulover Inlet where everybody was leaving to go dolphin fishing, so we were getting some incredible looks."
Chockley also got a flood of responses when his catch appeared on the Florida Sportsman forum. Most congratulated Chockley and told him he was crazy. But he plans to do it again.
After all, he has a talent for catching big fish from the little boat, the 14-footer is fuel-efficient — the swordfish trip burned less than 6.5 gallons of gas — and he loves catching swordfish.
"There's not much I can't catch in my boat, and with the way gas prices are … I will get a bigger boat, but right now I'm happy fishing out of mine," Chockley said. "Swordfish is by far my favorite fish to catch. You never know if it's going to be a 10-pound pup or a 300-pounder."
Chockley caught a 208-pound swordfish fishing 17 miles offshore from his 14-foot aluminum boat.
"It was incredible," said Chockley, of Hallandale Beach.
Chockley was fishing last week southeast of Haulover Inlet with his brother-in-law Efrain Soto. They took turns fighting the swordfish and needed just over two hours to get the fish to the boat using a Penn International 50 TW spooled with 65-pound Power Pro braided line.
Before you head offshore for swordfish in your johnboat or skiff, consider that Chockley, 25, has loads of experience fishing offshore in a small boat, and he's caught lots of swordfish — his biggest weighed 254 pounds — fishing on big boats with other anglers.
"I wouldn't recommend someone's who just getting into swordfishing to go out in that kind of boat," said Chockley, who works as a city planner for Cooper City. "I've been offshore fishing in small boats all my life. I started offshore in a 12-footer. I've fished in all kinds of seas, so I know what my capabilities are and what the boat's capabilities are.
"Your average guy who has a 16-foot Carolina Skiff and says, 'Let me try that,' I wouldn't."
I've written about Chockley many times over the past five years. He caught his first sailfish fishing from a kayak. There was the day he caught a wahoo, a dolphin, a kingfish and a 7-foot sailfish from his 12-foot johnboat. Then there was the trip with his girlfriend Anna, who is now his wife, when they landed a doubleheader of bull dolphin weighing 41 and 38 pounds.
The swordfish is the biggest fish he has caught on Dream Catcher, a V-hulled 14-foot StarCraft with a 25-horsepower outboard motor that lived up to its name.
Chockley rigged the boat for offshore fishing, installing a GPS, a VHF radio, a stereo, a baitwell, rod holders, LED lights and a cooler with a gimbaled rod-holder and a pad to sit on that serves as a fighting chair.
"A couple of weeks ago I got a 40-pound bull," Chockley said. "Before that I got a 50-pound wahoo.
"I kept telling people I will catch a swordfish."
Chockley and Soto weren't planning on fishing because of heavy thunderstorms. When the rain stopped and the skies cleared, seas were flat, so they went out of Haulover Inlet at 11 p.m.
At 1 a.m., Soto caught and released a small swordfish, his first, off Haulover that might have weighed 20 pounds. Chockley said Soto was prophetic when he said, "I don't think I want to fight a bigger one because that little one fought so hard."
They ran farther south and east and set up a drift with rigged squid — one on the surface and the others down 75, 125, 200 and 250 feet.
Around 3:45 a.m., Chockley was reeling up the 125-foot bait to check it when a fish grabbed the squid about 40 feet under the boat.
"I came tight on the fish and it had a good first run," Chockley said. "I handed Efrain the rod, and after 15 minutes he said it was kicking his butt."
Soto fought the fish a little longer while Chockley reeled in the other lines, then Chockley took the rod.
"The first half-hour of the fight, it was almost like the fish didn't know he was hooked," Chockley said. "He was running around on the surface. I thought it was only a 50-, 60-pound fish.
"I added more drag and more drag, and it seemed like the more drag I added the stronger the fish got. After an hour, I realized it was a bigger fish. It was pulling drag at 20 pounds."
The swordfish finally came to the boat a little after 6 a.m. Chockley gave the rod to Soto, grabbed a gaff and stuck the fish in the gill plate. Then Soto got a gaff and also gaffed the fish in the head. Then they carefully went about getting the fish in the boat.
As Chockley explained, both men couldn't be on one side of the little boat and lift in a 200-pound fish without the boat tipping over. So they walked the fish to the back of the boat and were able to swing its head over the side.
They also had to be sure the fish was dead before dragging it in the boat. There's no room for error in a small boat because a swordfish that still had some life in it could tear up the boat and send its occupants jumping into the bloody water around the boat.
"We were pulling on the fins and gill plate and we were finally able to get most of his body in," Chockley said. "Then we swung the tail and head around and got the fish between the boat's seats.
"At that point we tried to get out of the area. I knew how much blood was in the water. It was flat calm and we ran in at 27 mph. We came into Haulover Inlet where everybody was leaving to go dolphin fishing, so we were getting some incredible looks."
Chockley also got a flood of responses when his catch appeared on the Florida Sportsman forum. Most congratulated Chockley and told him he was crazy. But he plans to do it again.
After all, he has a talent for catching big fish from the little boat, the 14-footer is fuel-efficient — the swordfish trip burned less than 6.5 gallons of gas — and he loves catching swordfish.
"There's not much I can't catch in my boat, and with the way gas prices are … I will get a bigger boat, but right now I'm happy fishing out of mine," Chockley said. "Swordfish is by far my favorite fish to catch. You never know if it's going to be a 10-pound pup or a 300-pounder."
