The sun set about an hour ago and we are still 50 miles from shore and safe harbor at Bud N' Mary's Marina in Islamorada, Florida.

The crew, including captains Richard Stanczyk, Vic Gaspeny and Scott Stanczyk, producer Brad Hadsall, mates Hunter and Ben, and I, left the dock 14 hours ago in search of a giant swordfish.

We are returning with a 180 pounder landed just minutes ago after a battle that lasted more than two hours.

The fish is thick to the tail, has eyeballs the size of a tennis ball and a broad bill that more than three feet long.

The crew is exhasted, but to the man is elated. Landing a swordfish is never easy and today was no exception.

Richard and Vic have pioneered a method for taking swords during the day by targeting fish on bottom in extremely deep water. Today, we made several drops to 1800 feet and more using 15 pound concrete weights to get our baits down.

Heavy currents made staying deep a challenge. We had to let out a half mile of line out and believe me you earn every inch during a retrieve. We had several bites today, and had at three fish hooked, albeit briefly. The extreme current and massive amount of line out makes it tough to get the hookpoint buried.

The fish we landed displayed incredible strength--the last run took 800 feet of line against a stiff drag. Each foot was gained back an inch at a time--it's going to be an Advil morning!

Put swordfish on your lifetime list!

Steve