Potential World-Record Swordfish Caught on the Fly

Catching marlin, sailfish, and swordfish on a fly rod is one of the pinnacles of the sport. It’s a lot of hard work, and usually costs a fair amount of money, as well. But it’s in these envelope-pushing endeavors that we’re able to make some of the best leaps forward in fly fishing.

Jeremy Block is the first person to ever document catching a broadbill swordfish on fly tackle, and in late 2024, he may have clinched another first. He boated a swordfish that clocked in at 100 pounds, 15 ounces. Block caught this fish off the coast of Kenya, at night. If certified by the International Game Fish Association, this catch will become the world-record swordfish caught on a fly rod, and the first-ever swordfish in excess of 100 pounds to have been caught on fly tackle.

This was all reported by Peter Cotezee in Marlin Mag. 

The current world record is an 89-pound swordfish caught by Fouad Sahioui in 1998.

You can read a first-person account of the catch, from Jeremy Block, here.