iStockphoto / lillophoto/Conny Pokorny
Image of a swordfish next to the Portland Head Lightin Maine
A man from Biddeford, Maine was fishing around 10 miles offshore in Casco Bay in search of Bluefin Tuna when he instead hooked up with what turns out to be a state fishing record. Max Mourmouras was alone on his boat, the Retreviah, when he battled a 529-pound swordfish before getting it onboard and then back to the scales.
The Maine state fishing record for Swordfish is currently listed as vacant so this, by default, a new Maine state fishing record for the species but even still it is an absolutely massive fish to be caught in those waters.
529-Pound Swordfish To Be New Maine State Fishing Record
Max Mourmouras was in search of Bluefin Tuna which are abundant this time of year throughout Southern Maine. I spent a morning whale watching just north of Casco Bay last month and while we never saw any whales we did see quite a few Bluefin Tuna explode on the surface while eating smaller baitfish. We also spotted a bunch of Mola Mola which was pretty cool but entirely unrelated to this story.
Southern Maine and Casco Bay aren’t exactly notorious fishing grounds for Swordfish but they are certainly around this time of year. Just like the Mola Mola, Swordfish come into Casco Bay in search of squid and other baitfish which can be found in abundance.
Mourmouras said it took him around 90 minutes to land the swordfish alone. That is an incredibly achievement in and of itself. Landing a billfish is very complicated. They do NOT come lightly into the boat.
Looking at the Saltwater Fishing Records for the state of Maine, Atlantic Broadbill Swordfish is listed as vacant. So assuming that Max Mourmouras weighed his fish on a certified scale and took the necessary measurements then the state fishing record is his.
The only larger species on the Maine state fishing record list would be a 628.0-pound Thresher shark caught on 9/9/2006 by angler Stephen York in South Portland and, of course, Bluefin Tuna. The Maine state record for Bluefin Tuna is a 1,155-pound fish caught by angler(s) Tim Tower and Percy Stevens Jr out of the picture perfect Perkins Cove back on August 20th, 1981. More recently, an 839.125-pound Bluefin Tuna was caught by Martin Scanlan fishing out of Harpswell back in July 2023.
Saco Bay Tackle shared additional photos of this record setting 529-pound swordfish on Facebook and Instagram. Unfortunately, neither embed here but you can see the pics and videos by following those links.
It has been a HOT SUMMER for billfish action in New England. Just last week, a 1,260-pound ‘grander’ Blue Marlin caught in Massachusetts became the heaviest Blue Marlin ever caught on the East Coast of the United States and a Massachusetts state fishing record.
For context, the IGFA all tackle fishing world record for Swordifsh is a 1182-pound fish caught by angler Louis Marron in Iquique, Chile back in May 1953 when that coast of Chile use to be among the hottest billfish fishing locations on planet earth.