When Captain Billy Rabito Jr. left the dock with some fellow anglers recently for a day of Florida Keys fishing, he didn’t anticipate returning with a swordfish that weighed nearly 700 pounds. But that’s exactly what happened — and the swordfish is believed to be the largest ever caught in Keys waters during daytime hours.

The 683.8-pound swordfish is lifted to be weighed at Key Colony Beach Marina. (Photo by Natalie Velger, Florida Keys News Bureau)

Fishing on the Mystique, a 61-foot Viking owned by Katherine MacMillan, Captain Rabito presided over Mike Driskell’s catch of a 683.8-pound broadbill that was hooked some 30 miles south of the captain’s Marathon home port.

The massive fish measured approximately 70 inches (nearly six feet) in girth and 107 inches (almost nine feet!) in length from the lower jaw to the fork of the tail.

Billy Rabito said it took about two hours to bring the big broadbill to the boat — and additional time to get it onboard, with the aid of an anchor windlass, through the boat’s large transom tuna door. Everyone on the vessel helped get the swordfish into the cockpit.

“I feel blessed to have hooked that fish, keep it hooked and get it to the boat,” said the second-generation Keys captain, who has been fishing professionally for the past 22 years. “Daytime fish can often come unhooked, so it’s the opportunity of a lifetime.”

The giant swordfish was weighed on a scale recently certified by the International Game Fish Association and the State of Florida, according to Byron Goss, co-owner of Big Time Bait & Tackle in Marathon, who witnessed the weigh-in at Key Colony Beach Marina.

And about 150 spectators, who gathered to watch the historic weigh-in, were treated to complimentary fresh swordfish steaks.

From left, Katherine MacMillan, Billy Rabito Jr., Mike Driskell and Anna Woodruff pose next to the mammoth swordfish that Driskell reeled in. (Photo by Natalie Velger, Florida Keys News Bureau)

But that wasn’t the only gigantic broadbill recently caught in Keys waters.  Just days earlier, Captain Kenny Spaulding of Caribsea Charters led angler Fred Beshara to boat a 520-pound swordfish off Islamorada.

Captain Spaulding’s crew included his 12-year-old son K.C., who videotaped much of the battle for the fish — and you can view that video, capturing the excitement of the epic adventure, by clicking here.

Kenny Spaulding, who’s been an Islamorada captain since 1997, said it took about two hours to get the fish close to the boat — and towards the end of the fight, it leaped completely out of the water.

Incredibly, when they got the fish to the boat, another swordfish suddenly appeared.

Showing off the 520-pound swordfish are, from left, Fred Beshara, Captain Kenny Spaulding, Conan Yates, K.C. Spaulding, and William Bassett. (Photo courtesy of Fred Beshara via the Florida Keys News Bureau)

“That fish was glowing and lit up like a Christmas tree,” Captain Spaulding marveled. “I’ve never seen anything like that in my life.”

They tried to bait the second fish without success, so the captain told his crew to focus on boating the first one. Clearly, it was a wise decision. K.C.’s video attests to the sheer physical energy and teamwork that was required to capture the giant.

Veteran Keys captain Jim Sharpe acknowledged the incredible achievement.

“We’ve seen fish in the 400- to 475-pound range, but I’ve never heard of a 500-pound or heavier fish caught in the Keys during daytime hours,” he stated.

Modern sportfishing techniques for daytime swordfishing were pioneered in the Keys about 10 years ago by Islamorada sportfishing professionals Richard Stanczyk, his brother Scott and Vic Gaspeny.

Captain Kenny Spaulding heads out for another day of Keys fishing on the Caribsea. (Photo courtesy of Caribsea Charters)

The 520-pounder was the largest fish Fred Beshara had ever caught.

“After having my kids, this is the second-best thing in my life that has ever happened to me,” he admitted. “I was so excited, I couldn’t eat and couldn’t sleep afterwards.”

News of the catch quickly reached his friends and other residents of Youngstown, Ohio, where he lives.

“All of the people in Youngstown now want to come fishing down in the Keys with me,” Fred Beshara said.

With potential prizes like these two giant swordfish, it’s no wonder they’re eager!