Having had recent success during the day for swords, they figured they could repeat their tactics and score again.
Little did they know they would be hauling in a catch of a lifetime, an opah.
We repositioned for the second drop and had a swordfish bite that didn’t come tight.
Third drop: We had a great swordfish bite, hooked and landed that 53-inch swordfish after about an hour fight,” Ensor says.
“On our fourth drop, my mate James Dozerbach was dropping the lead to the bottom.
James had about 1000 feet of line out when the line went slack.” That’s when the crew hooked what they thought to be another swordfish.
Thirty minutes into the fight, they started thinking otherwise: The fish made runs all the way up to 100 feet, and then back down to 300 feet.
After stopping by a buddy’s boat, fishing nearby, to show off their catch, Austin began the 2 ½-hour trek back to the docks where friends and family were waiting.
The crew claims this might be the first opah caught out of the mid-Atlantic on rod and reel, making it a truly rare and special catch.
Perhaps the most touching part of this whole story was what Ensor told us next.
The crew of Primary Search hold their rare opah catch.
Austin Ensor told Sport Fishing that after leaving the marina this past weekend, he and his crew headed offshore from Ocean City, Maryland, in his 28-foot Carolina Classic Primary Search, hoping to catch some daytime swordfish. Having had recent success during the day for swords, they figured they could repeat their tactics and score again. Little did they know they would be hauling in a catch of a lifetime, an opah.
“Our first drop was at 9:30 a.m.: no bites. We repositioned for the second drop and had a swordfish bite that didn’t come tight. Third drop: We had a great swordfish bite, hooked and landed that 53-inch swordfish after about an hour fight,” Ensor says. “On our fourth drop, my mate James Dozerbach was dropping the lead to the bottom. James had about 1000 feet of line out when the line went slack.”
That’s when the crew hooked what they thought to be another swordfish. Thirty minutes into the fight, they started thinking otherwise: The fish made runs all the way up to 100 feet, and then back down to 300 feet.
