OCEAN CITY — A New Jersey angler is now the second officially recognized state record holder for the swordfish boated during the last day of the 48th Annual White Marlin Open.
Jake Bertonazzi broke the state’s nearly two-week-old record for the Atlantic Division with a 318.5-pound swordfish hooked roughly 60 miles offshore in Poor Man’s Canyon.
Bertonazzi was deep dropping with squid on a circle hook when just minutes before the tournament’s allowable fishing time was to expire he caught the record swordfish.
“We were having a slow week … not having anything,” Bertonazzi said. “We had 15 minutes before the end of the tournament when it started taking (the bait).”
It took nearly two hours for Bertonazzi to reel in his record swordfish which he called a “mind- blowing experience.”