Southern California has deep water close to the coast, and in the fall of 2019 the day drop took hold there. Boats run out of San Diego Bay, Mission Bay, Dana Point and Newport to seamounts, ridges and canyon edges near the mainland and around the Channel Islands. By day the swordfish feed 1,000 to 2,000 feet down. The work is a controlled drift across one feature, with the eel hanging about 100 feet off bottom.
Hogy's eel and the method came out of South Florida and the East Coast canyons. On the Florida trip behind our how-to, a sword ate twelve minutes after the eel reached the zone. Same tool, carried west. These four eels are what I'd wrap for a SoCal sword angler.
A Southern California angler who deep drops for swordfish by daylight. A charter day runs about 12 hours out of San Diego, Mission Bay, Dana Point or Newport. The outfit is a bent-butt rod and an electric reel, with lead, lights and a long leader. Early charters advertised about one sword a trip, so one bite has to count. They watch drift speed and line angle more than birds.
If he names a contour line instead of a canyon, this is him.
The full set is $179.80 MSRP. Four colors on the same rig. Change the look between drops without touching the rest of the setup.
Only buying one? Make it Amber. Squid is the bait most SoCal sword boats drop, and Amber is the squid color.
Is it limited? Yes. Hogy brought it back as a limited production run, expected about once a year. If he already fishes it, spares are the right call.
Giving the full set? Print the guide and tuck it in the box.
THE LINEUP
1 Perfect Sword Eel “The Silhouette”
WHEN Gray mornings and off-color water. Past 1,000 feet it's dim at noon, and Black is my low-light color. A hard outline is what reads down there.
FISH IT Before the eel goes in, make one test drift across the contour and watch how the boat tracks. Set up so the drift crosses the line instead of running along it. Free-spool to bottom, wind up about 100 feet, start the pass.
WHY THEY'LL LOVE IT One bite can be the whole day, so the bait can't be the weak link. The rig is molded into the body with no seam to open, in a plastic about four times tougher than our original hand-rigged eel.
Add to cart | MSRP $44.95See details ›
2 Perfect Sword Eel “The Beacon”
WHEN Your deepest drop, where the light runs out first. Down there a natural color stops reading, and a UV body under a pair of strobes is the eel still showing.
FISH IT Keep bottom checks on a schedule. If the line angle runs past about 45 degrees or you lose bottom, the lead is light or the drift is fast: go up 2 lb, or pick up and reset the pass.
WHY THEY'LL LOVE IT Heavy iridescent glitter over UV plastic, built to flash where real bait goes dull. It can ride in the boat rigged for weeks, so when the weather, the current and a day off finally line up, they just go.
Add to cart | MSRP $44.95See details ›
3 Perfect Sword Eel “The Finder”
WHEN First passes over a new contour, with nothing on the meter to go on. Pink is my offshore attractor in deep water and low light, the color I send down when I need to be found.
FISH IT Calibrate the line counter on your own reel; every setup reads different. Hold the eel near 100 feet off bottom and watch the tip. Extra load, a soft tick or line going slack when it shouldn't can all be a bite.
WHY THEY'LL LOVE IT A stiff bait hangs like a stick on a slow drift. Braided bluewater cable runs through this body instead of wire, so the whole 18 inches bends and swims.
Add to cart | MSRP $44.95See details ›
4 Perfect Sword Eel “The Local”
WHEN When squid are the bait, show them squid. Most SoCal boats drop squid, and Amber is my natural squid tone, the switch when the bright colors aren't getting touched.
FISH IT Expect small bites. A tick on the tip gets a 10 foot lift and a fresh drop to bottom; a solid knock goes straight to bottom, then back up to working height. Line going slack on the wind means gain line fast until it loads.
WHY THEY'LL LOVE IT We call this one Amber Squid. It's the squid look with nothing to thaw and nothing to sew, and two 9/0 Mustad Knife Point hooks do the sticking.
Add to cart | MSRP $44.95See details ›WHICH ONE, WHEN
| WHEN YOU SEE THIS | TIE ON |
|---|---|
| Gray sky or off-color water, need a hard outline | 1 Sword Eel, Black |
| Deepest pass of the day, under the strobes | 2 Sword Eel, Glow |
| New contour, nothing on the meter yet | 3 Sword Eel, Pink |
| Squid around, or the bright colors get ignored | 4 Sword Eel, Amber |
The outfit: a short, stout rod, 5 foot 6 to 6 foot in the 80 to 130 lb class, often on a bent butt out here. The electric reel holds 80 to 100 lb braid with a 30 to 50 percent cushion past the deepest water you'll fish.
Below the braid, about 160 feet of 250 lb top shot, a 600 lb swivel, and 5 to 7 feet of 250 to 300 lb mono down to the eel. Lead runs 4 to 6 lb on a slow drift at 1,000 to 1,300 feet and 12 lb or more in hard current; change it 2 lb at a time. The first light rides 45 to 50 feet above the eel.
Keeping one or letting it go, decide before the leader shows. A release stays in the water, and everyone on deck stays clear of the bill.
The whole method is in How to Day Drop for Swordfish with a Soft-Plastic Eel on hogylures.com. The build of the eel itself is in Gear Deep Dive: Hogy Deep Drop Swordfish Eel, and the East Coast canyon version of this guide is Best Daytime Swordfish Lures.
QUESTIONS ANGLERS ASK
What are the best lures for swordfish in Southern California?
A rigged soft-plastic eel, dropped deep in daylight. I'd send down the Hogy Perfect Sword Eel: 18 inches on braided bluewater cable with two 9/0 Mustad Knife Point hooks molded in. Squid is the bait most SoCal sword boats drop, so Amber, the squid color, is the one to start with. Black, Glow and Pink change the look between drops.
Where do boats deep drop for swordfish in Southern California?
On seamounts, ridges and canyon edges near the mainland and around the Channel Islands. Boats run out of San Diego Bay, Mission Bay, Dana Point and Newport, and by day the swordfish feed 1,000 to 2,000 feet down. Pick a contour you can cross on purpose instead of a whole canyon, drift across it, and hold the eel about 100 feet off bottom.
How much lead do you need to deep drop for swordfish?
Start at 4 to 6 pounds on a slow drift in 1,000 to 1,300 feet, and go to 12 pounds or more in hard current. Change it 2 pounds at a time. If the line angle runs past about 45 degrees or you lose bottom, the lead is light or the drift is fast: go up 2 pounds, or pick up and reset the pass.
