Daytime Swordfishing in Louisiana
Venice, Louisiana provides a great starting point for venturing out into the Gulf, and Osprey Charters is set up for success there.
Jon Whittle
Take Highway 23 as far as you can go, and you’ll reach the end of the mighty Mississippi River and Venice, Louisiana, an enclave of docks, industrial sheds and fishing lodges that’s considered one of the world’s great sport-fishing destinations. In fact, there are only two reasons to come to Venice: drilling for oil, or hunting for fins and feathers. Inshore, the labyrinthine marsh is home to redfish, trout and flounder, while the offshore waters hold yellowfin tuna, marlin, dolphin and the elusive swordfish. We linked up with Capts. James Peters and Kyle Bone of Osprey Charters for a better look at the fishing that’s far beyond the bayou, bog, levees and floodplains.
Capt. Bone checks his work before sending a bait into the depths.
Jon Whittle
Capt. Peters eyes the water on a steaming Louisiana summer day.
Jon Whittle
Osprey’s Yellowfin 36 Offshore was built to slay swords, and today’s catch won’t be its first or last.
Jon Whittle
Read Next: Yellowfin 36 Offshore
Pursuing large swords off Venice can pay off handsomely.
Jon Whittle
While daytime swordfishing in the waters off Venice, this 201-pound sword ate a belly bait fished some 1,500 feet below the surface in the depths of the Gulf. After being weighed at the marina, it was time to divvy up the spoils.
Jon Whittle
Delicious fillets are the reward for battling swords offshore.
Jon Whittle
Read Next: Tips and Tricks for Rigging Swordfish Baits
Over time, oil platforms, some as far as 250 miles offshore, form their own ecosystems.
Jon Whittle
The support structure of the platform attracts microorganisms and baitfish, and the predatory pelagics that feed on them, such as yellowfin tuna.
Jon Whittle
Venice is where the end meets the beginning, where the Mississippi Delta ends and the Gulf begins. Heading out of the marina, the muddy waters give way to green, then to a deep, inky blue.
Jon Whittle
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