Editor’s note: This is an updated version of the story published Nov. 7.
OCEAN CITY — It was a nearly five-hour fight in Tom’s Canyon that moved Eric McDowell, his crew and boat three miles during the process, but on Nov. 4 he landed what may be the biggest swordfish ever weighed in New Jersey.
In his Valhalla 37, McDowell caught a 622.5-pound swordfish that measured 14 feet from the tip of the sword to the end of the tail, 10 feet without the sword.
They left Ocean City at 3:30 a.m. that day, hooked the big fish around 11:30 a.m. after traveling the 85 miles to the canyon, but didn’t land the swordfish until a little after 4 p.m.
They brought it back to the Ocean City Yacht Club about 8:30 p.m. to great fanfare from family and friends who heard about it.
“Those things are probably the strongest fish in the ocean,” McDowell said Sunday. “I’ve been able to catch probably 1,000-pound bluefin tuna and blue marlin in excess of 500 pounds, but this is probably the strongest fish.”
Successfully bringing that swordfish into the boat took a lot of patience, he said.
“You’re only getting maybe an inch of line back at a time and it’s a constant battle. We’ll get some line and the fish will take it back,” he said.
He and the crew were fortunate to experience something unique during the battle.
“Swordfish don’t tend to jump a lot out of the water. About an hour into the flight, it jumped half of its body out of the water, so we had a good idea it was a decent-sized swordfish.”
They knew it was big, just not how big, guessing at least 500 pounds.
“An hour later, that fish jumped straight up out of the water. Its entire body cleared the water, which is unique. To see a swordfish jump like that, we were pretty pumped, pretty excited,” he said. “We traveled with that fish at least three miles.”
They were fishing in about 1,200 feet of water and dropping the bait all the way down to the bottom to start then slowly bringing it up.
McDowell bought the Valhalla 37 in 2020. He called it “an awesome boat.” He is close friends with Pat Healey, the owner of Viking Yachts and Valhalla.
“We had to do a lot of maneuvering, especially as we got it close to the boat,” he said.
Fortunately it has a door on the side, usually used for divers, because without it it would have been a feat for him and crew to get all 622.5 pounds over the boat’s gunwales. His crew was Dan Pettit, who works with him at McDowell’s insurance firm, Christi Insurance, which has an office in Ocean City; Jay Olsen and Jake Bowels.
He said there was a nice crowd waiting for them when they arrived back in Ocean City at the Yacht Club.
“It was great to see. I’ve been fortunate enough to do various fishing throughout the world,” he said. “However, to catch that in our hometown, be able to put it up on the scale at the Yacht Club and have a lot of family and friends there was a cool experience.”
Jen Bowman, the Yacht Club’s services manager, was excited to be there for the swordfish.
“I received an unexpected call Wednesday evening from Joan Walker,” Bowman said. “Her son Eric McDowell was returning from offshore with an impressive swordfish and needed to weigh in his catch. She asked if I could open the Yacht Club gate and operate the hoist.”
She responded enthusiastically, “Yes!”
Bowman explained the Ocean City Yacht Club and the Ocean City Marlin & Tuna Club share a wonderful reciprocal relationship. Throughout the year they host weigh-ins and banquets for their tournaments and the OCMTC helps the Yacht Club with its Fishing for Kids event every summer.
“Even though this wasn’t a tournament, I was happy to help,” Bowman said. “I headed over, turned on the floodlights, opened the gate and prepared for what would become a memorable Wednesday night in November.
“At 8:30 p.m. in our normally quiet little town there was suddenly plenty of excitement,” she said, noting people gathered when they heard about the swordfish that was being brought in.
Walker, an 84-year-old Ocean City resident, said she heard from her son when he was fighting the fish. He contacted her because she is the weigh master for the Marlin and Tuna Club. She made sure the scale was brought to the Yacht Club and assured her son it was certified because the OCYC was the only place that could weigh it in.
Walker has fishing in her blood as well and noted that years ago they caught a 686-pound blue marlin, but on a much bigger boat.
She said hearing about her son’s catch and being there for the ensuing weigh-in and atmosphere at the Yacht Club was exciting.
Walker attends church at St. Peter’s United Methodist and goes to the early service on Sunday.
“My girlfriend and I go to what I call the early show at 8 o’clock. When I walked in, somebody was already saying congratulations on the big fish thing,” she said.
Walker has never spent a summer not in Ocean City, but she also has a home in Florida for the winter. She was glad she hadn’t left yet. “I would have been really upset if I had been down there when this happened.”
“We’re going to submit it for a state record,” McDowell said. “As far as we know, it is the largest swordfish that’s ever been weighed in New Jersey.”
The scale at the Yacht Club, used by the Ocean City Marlin and Tuna Club, is certified every year.
“I’ve met a lot of people who probably don’t realize there are fish like that swimming off the coast of New Jersey,” he said. “I think that’s going to surprise a lot of people.”
He and Bowman gave a shout out to Viking Yachts and Valhalla Boat Works.
“The first thing that struck me was the sheer beauty and size of this magnificent fish, but what caught my attention just as much was the boat that brought it home,” Bowman said. “This impressive catch didn’t arrive aboard an 80-foot sport-fishing vessel, but on a Valhalla, part of the newest line of Viking Yachts proudly built right here in South Jersey.”
Bowman noted Viking Yachts is opening a showroom in Somers Point. It is under construction now on Somers Point-Mays Landing Road.
The boat, she said, “was another reminder of the incredible marine industry and craftsmanship we are fortunate to have in our own back yard.
“It was an evening that brought together two great local clubs, an unforgettable catch and a little hometown pride. Sometimes the most memorable moments at the Yacht Club happen when you least expect them,” Bowman said.
McDowell noted he has been great friends with Healey, another longtime resident of Ocean City, and they have been fishing together for more than 40 years.
“His company builds boats,” he said. “It just brings that much more satisfaction to the epic catch.”
So what became of that big fish?
“We gave it away,” he said.
Walker said her son was going to take the swordfish back to his home to cut it up, but decided it wouldn’t fit in the back of his pickup truck, so he did the work right at the Yacht Club.
“We’ve got a lot of happy friends and neighbors that we have given a lot of (swordfish) steaks,” he said.
– By DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff
Photos courtesy of Eric McDowell