Florida Keys captain lands 480-pound swordfish with Pennsylvania family
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
A Florida fisherman recently changed his luck in a big way.
Capt. Jose Rodriguez Jr. of Cudjoe Key, Florida, takes customers four to five times a week to harvest trophy fish on his Florida Keys fishing charter. But he never came close to catching a monster 500-pound marlin.
On Feb. 18, Rodriguez, along with a Pennsylvania family, landed a giant 480-pound marlin, one of the largest of its kind caught in the Keys in recent years.
ELDERLY TRAVELERS BY SKIPING THE MAIN STEP BEFORE A POPULAR HOLIDAY ACTIVITY MAY BE PUTTING THEIR HEALTH AT RISK
“It was definitely a fight and a struggle,” Rodriguez, who helps run the family business Above & Below Fishing Adventures, told Fox News Digital in an interview.
“We wrestled with the fish for five hours and it took us at least another half hour to check the fish on the side of the boat before we pulled it to shore,” he said.
Capt. Jose Rodriguez Jr., pictured above left and wearing a hat, lucked out when he landed a giant 480-pound marlin, one of the largest of its kind caught in the Keys in recent years. (@captjoserodriguez)
The Florida Keys are known to attract large species such as swordfish, but removing a fish of this size requires special deep-sea techniques and is extremely rare.
“Everyone is looking for a 500-pound nickel, but that rarely happens in the Keys,” said the 25-year-old Rodriguez.
CLICK FOR MORE LIFE STORIES
He said it seemed like a “normal” day when he started his fishing trip. A Pennsylvania couple rented the boat to celebrate their son’s high school graduation.
When Rodriguez first saw the swordfish, he knew it was big, but he wasn’t sure how big it would be.
“Not everyone is ready to catch a 500-pound fish.”
“Then my wife and I looked into it thoroughly and signed the agreement,” he said.
At first, the Pennsylvania family did not understand the significance of what was happening, he said. But the two boys on the ship were great supporters.
Once the swordfish was caught, there was a lot of work to be done. To begin with, there was no simple way to store such a large fish.
After the swordfish was caught, the group had a lot of work to do. To begin with, there was no simple way to store such a large fish. (@captjoserodriguez)
“A fish that big was actually lying on the back deck, with ice packs and towels on top,” said Rodriguez. “There really is no other place” for this.
Then he and his friend sprayed salt water to lower his core temperature.
CLICK FOR MORE LIFE STORIES
When they were ready to fillet the fish, they completed the process on the boat.
They didn’t have cranes to lift the fish.
The swordfish caught in the Keys clocked in at 480 pounds and 86 inches. (@captjoserodriguez)
“Not everyone is ready to catch a 500-pound fish,” the captain said.
According to available sources, only a few such achievements have been documented in the last decade.
TEST YOURSELF WITH OUR LATEST LIFESTYLE QUIZ
In 2019, Capt. Nick Stanczyk landed a legendary 757.8-pound billfish off Islamorada, one of the largest recreational swordfish ever caught in the United States, as noted by Pelagic Gear.
As Wild Open Spaces reported, in 2018, Patrick Vincent, along with Captain Stanczyk, caught a massive 600-pound swordfish off the coast of Islamorada.
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR LIFESTYLE NEWSLETTER
Based on Rodriguez’s catch, there were approximately 50-70 people in his community who admired the fish.
“We had over 200 pounds of meat to use,” he said.
Rodriguez, photographed here with a different fish, takes his clients four to five times a week on a fishing charter in the Florida Keys to collect trophy fish. (@captjoserodriguez)
The Pennsylvania family received only 20-30 pounds of that.
CLICK TO DOWNLOAD FOX NEWS APPLICATION
They decided to donate the rest of the fish to people in town.
He said Rodriguez and his family on the boat were able to feed “the entire community” with the nearly 500 pounds of swordfish they caught. (@captjoserodriguez)
“The whole community was eating swordfish that day,” Rodriguez said with a chuckle.
Asked if he felt like a local celebrity, he said: “Almost yes. Everyone knows that. It’s all about being in the right place at the right time, and finally this happened to me.”
