Day dropping for swordfish is a simple program once the boat is set up. Pick one piece of bottom you can cross on purpose, a canyon wall, a pinnacle, a spur, and get up-current of it. Send the eel a quarter mile down into 1,000 to 1,600 feet of water and hold it about 100 feet off bottom while the boat slow-trolls into the current. It started in South Florida and runs up the coast through Oregon Inlet, Virginia Beach, Norfolk Canyon and the canyons to New England.
Swordfish isn't light tackle. It's a short heavy rod, an electric reel, a lead that weighs as much as a bowling ball and a fight that comes up from a quarter mile. The Swordfish Angler waits on weather windows, and the eel waits with him: no freezer, no thawing, no sewing. These are the four colors I'd put under the tree.
Offshore angler who deep drops for swordfish in daylight, a quarter mile down on the canyon edges. Their trips are long runs offshore that wait on a weather window: wind, current and a free day all lining up. The outfit is a short, heavy rod on an electric reel, the lead can top 10 pounds, and a bite can be one tap on the rod tip. What they want is time in the zone, not time re-rigging bait.
If he knows his line-counter number for bottom on his favorite spot, this is him.
The full set is $179.80 MSRP. One in each color, so the look can change on the next drop and nothing else does.
What's in the package? One fully rigged 18 inch eel with its tandem hooks. He adds his own skirt, leader, lights and lead, the way his boat runs it.
Already has some? Eels get lost to fish, to bottom and to buddies, and this is a limited run. Going forward it comes around once a year.
Giving the full set? Print the guide and tuck it in the box.
THE LINEUP
1 Perfect Sword Eel “The Night Shift”
WHEN Stained water, a gray day, and the low light a thousand feet down. Black is my night color, and down there it might as well be night. In low light the outline does the work.
FISH IT Get up-current of the wall and feed it out with the current, stopping every 100 feet so it hangs straight. Clip on the lead, free-spool to bottom, come up 100 feet and slow-troll into the current at 1.4 to 1.6 knots. Touch bottom every few minutes and reset.
WHY THEY'LL LOVE IT The tandem rig is molded into the body. No open cuts, no glued seams, nothing to fail a quarter mile down. The original lasted a fish or two; many say this one lasts 20 times longer.
Add to cart | MSRP $44.95See details ›
2 Perfect Sword Eel “The Lantern”
WHEN The deepest wall of the day and the darkest water. Natural colors go dark down there, and Glow is the one I want showing on its own under the lights.
FISH IT Let the lights sell it. First light 45 to 50 feet above the eel, the second an arm's length higher, each on a cheap rubber band. The bands hold on the way down and break at the rod tip, so the lights slide down out of the gaff zone.
WHY THEY'LL LOVE IT UV-infused plastic under a heavy coat of iridescent glitter, a meal-sized shimmer at depth. Perfect is a name we don't hand out at Hogy. This eel earned it.
Add to cart | MSRP $44.95See details ›
3 Perfect Sword Eel “The Attractor”
WHEN Nothing showing on the screen and you need to be found. Pink is my attractor offshore, the low-light, deep-water color. When I can't see anything, I go Pink.
FISH IT Slide a squid or octopus skirt over the nose and crimp it to 5 to 7 feet of 250 to 300 lb mono. Work menhaden oil into the body and up under the skirt. The skirt keeps it tracking straight and holds the scent at depth.
WHY THEY'LL LOVE IT Squid and peckers shred natural baits on the trip down, and every ruined bait costs a quarter-mile retrieve. This one keeps fishing. A Florida commercial captain averaged two to three swords per bait on the original.
Add to cart | MSRP $44.95See details ›
4 Perfect Sword Eel “The Natural”
WHEN Squid tearing at baits on the way down tell you the zone is full of them. Amber is my natural squid tone, the quiet look for a fish with time to inspect.
FISH IT Answer the bite. Light tap: raise it 10 feet, drop back to bottom and reset. Hard bump: straight to bottom, then back up 100. Slack while you're winding is a sword swimming up with it, so keep cranking.
WHY THEY'LL LOVE IT Two 9/0 Mustad Knife Point hooks on bluewater braided cable, and the second hook keels the 18 inch body so it swims on every reset. The original Hogy eel landed a 528 pound sword off Oregon Inlet.
Add to cart | MSRP $44.95See details ›WHICH ONE, WHEN
| WHEN YOU SEE THIS | TIE ON |
|---|---|
| Stained water or a gray day, need an outline | 1 Sword Eel, Black |
| Deepest wall of the day, darkest water | 2 Sword Eel, Glow |
| Nothing on the screen, need to be found | 3 Sword Eel, Pink |
| Squid tearing at baits on the way down | 4 Sword Eel, Amber |
One dedicated outfit: a 5 foot 6 to 6 foot day-sword rod in the 80 to 130 lb class, readable tip, heavy midsection and butt, on a high-capacity electric reel. Spool 80 to 100 lb braid with at least 30 percent more line than the deepest drop.
Off the eel: 5 to 7 feet of 250 to 300 lb mono crimped to a stout swivel, a wind-on, then about 160 feet of 250 lb top shot. The lead clips to a loop up the leader. Six to 10 lb covers a normal day; more depth and current push it higher. The line tells you when the lead is wrong.
Releasing one? Keep it in the water. The last hundred feet is the wildest part of the fight, so the deck is clear before the leader shows.
Read How to Day Drop for Swordfish with a Soft-Plastic Eel and Gear Deep Dive: Hogy Deep Drop Swordfish Eel on hogylures.com. Fishing the Pacific side? Best SoCal Swordfish Lures is my guide to the Southern California day drop.
QUESTIONS ANGLERS ASK
What is the best lure for daytime swordfish?
A rigged soft-plastic eel. I drop the Hogy Perfect Sword Eel, an 18 inch body with two 9/0 Mustad Knife Point hooks on braided cable molded inside, so there are no open cuts or glued seams to fail a quarter mile down. There's no freezer, no thawing and no sewing, and squid and peckers don't shred it on the way down the way they do natural baits.
Where do anglers day drop for swordfish on the East Coast?
On canyon walls, pinnacles and spurs in 1,000 to 1,600 feet of water. The day drop started in South Florida and runs up the coast through Oregon Inlet, Virginia Beach, Norfolk Canyon and the canyons to New England. Pick one piece of bottom you can cross on purpose, get up-current of it, and wait on a weather window: wind, current and a free day lining up.
What color sword eel should I drop?
Match it to the light and the water. Black is my pick in stained water or on a gray day, because down there the outline does the work. Glow goes on the deepest wall and the darkest water. Pink is my attractor when nothing shows on the screen, and Amber is the natural squid tone when squid are tearing at baits on the way down.
