Now there's a fish story. Imagine hooking into a record swordfish and fighting it all the way in - nearly 4 hours of fighting. When you land him, you find out he's not only a record, he's a record by nearly 100 pounds. He's over 25% bigger than the previous record.
Don't let anyone tell you the fishing hasn't been good this year along the Alabama Gulf Coast.
Come to think of it, the fishing hasn't been good along the Alabama Gulf Coast this year. The fishing has been great on the Alabama Gulf Coast this year.
Swordfish sets Alabama record
Del Sawyer of Mobile reeled in a 448-pound swordfish in the Gulf of Mexico, the biggest swordfish on record in the state, Orange Beach Marina officials said Monday.
Jimmy Beason, dock master at the Orange Beach Marina, said he weighed the fish on the marina's certified scales and called officials from the Alabama Department of Natural Resources to verify the catch on Saturday.
The standing state record for swordfish is 350.8 pounds, nearly 100 pounds less than Sawyer's fish. Beason said DNR officials recorded the information, but the record will not be official until the governor signs off on it, which could take several months.
Sawyer fought the swordfish for three hours and 45 minutes after it was hooked about 3:45 a.m. Saturday while fishing from the Sea Reaper III about 70 miles southwest of Orange Beach, according to Ken Cooper, who promotes Orange Beach attractions and activities on a Web site.
"There's a good chance this is a Gulf of Mexico record," said Beason.
He said no official records are kept for the Gulf of Mexico but that he doesn't believe any other state has recorded a bigger swordfish caught in the gulf. Florida, he said, has a bigger swordfish on record, but it was caught in the Atlantic.