Trophy sword landed from a jetski

Keen angler Wesley van den Herik has caught and landed a trophy swordfish around 50km off the coast of Tasmania – all while on a jet ski.

Wesley says that after landing his first sword from a boat, he set himself the goal to catch a swordfish from his Sea-Doo Fish Pro. 

“In my mind this was the ultimate challenge: fishing 30-50km offshore from the boat launch, dropping a bait 500m+ deep and battling a gladiator for hours would be the most extreme and rewarding experience,” he says. 

After four drops without success Wesley decided to relocate to a new spot, 12km from the first spot. 

“It didn't take long after my new drop and the line started slowly stripping away. I started cranking the reel as hard as possible. I felt a massive weight immediately and I continued putting the pressure on the fish to ensure a solid hook set,” he says. 

Wesley says the fish fought deep and then raced to the surface. 

“I couldn’t be more pumped when I saw a sword go airborne and at the same time I was nervous about losing the fish because I lost a sword the previous season when it went airborne,” he says. 

“This time I was relieved when I felt the pressure come back and a very tough fight followed.”

After getting skipper Jonah Yick on the radio, Wesley sent out his coordinates, where Jonah and his crew would offer support and transport the sword back.

“What followed was the most intense, crazy and most painful fight of my life,” Wesley says. 

“The pressure of the sword circling about 30-40m below the ski was hard on the body. My arm started to cramp up and I lost control over my hand a few times, which made it hard to crank the reel,” he says. 

“Just over two hours into the fight the sword rolled over and I was able to put a flying gaff in it, turned the gaff around for another gaff shot to grab the tail and tail roped it.”

Wesley says he couldn’t believe what happened and that he had succeeded. 

Jonah Yick and crew, Tom Srod and Cain, took photos and videos and helped to transfer the sword to Sally 2.0. 

“After this I spent about 30 minutes processing what happened and entering cloud nine,” Wesley says.

”After an unsuccessful season last year and preparing for months I did it! For months before this, catching a sword was all I could think of and I knew I had to take it to the next level with my preparation. 

“Everything was thought through a thousand times, from rigs, setting the hook, simulating a fight with my wife Patricia testing my harness set up, gaffing and thinking through communication lines with Jonah for transportation and safety support. 

“I did a last minute replacement of my top guide by Ben on my BK Custom Tackle rod days before the catch because there was a sharp edge on and didn't want to leave anything to chance.

The fish was weighed at the local tuna club with the support of Sam Nichols and Stuart Nichols at Personalised Sea Charters, weighing 132kg.

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