A Florida Keys captain caught a 480-pound swordfish with a Pennsylvania family

A Florida fisherman changed his fortunes recently in a big way.

Captain Jose Rodriguez Jr. of Cudjoe Key, Florida, takes clients out four to five times a week on the Florida Keys fishing charter to catch trophy fish. But he had never come close to catching a 500-pound monster swordfish.

On Feb. 18, Rodriguez, along with a family from Pennsylvania, landed a massive 480-pound swordfish, one of the largest of its kind caught in the Keys in recent years.

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“It’s definitely been a battle and a struggle,” Rodriguez, who helps run the family business, Above & Below Fishing Adventures, told Fox News Digital in an interview.

“We fought the fish for five hours, it took us at least another half hour to control the fish on the side of the ship before we pulled them to the side,” he said.

The Florida Keys are known for landing large species such as swordfish, but landing one of this size requires special fishing skills and is considered a rare sight.

“Everybody wants a nickel, 500 pounds, but it’s rare in the Keys,” Rodriguez, 25, said.

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When he started the fishing trip, it seemed like a “normal” day, he said. A Pennsylvania couple chartered a boat to celebrate their son’s high school graduation.

When Rodriguez first saw the swordfish, he knew it was big, but he wasn’t sure how big it would be.

“Not everyone is ready to catch a 500-pound fish.”

“Then my partner and I agreed on it, and then we closed the deal,” he said.

At first, the Pennsylvania family didn’t see the significance of what was happening, he said. But the two children on board are great supporters.

Once the swordfish was caught, there was a lot of work to be done. First, there was no easy way to keep such a large fish.

Once the swordfish was caught, the team had a lot of work to do. First, there was no easy way to keep such a large fish. (@captjoserodriguez)

“A really big fish is lying on the back deck with bags of ice on it and towels,” Rodriguez said. “There really is no other place” for it.

Then he and his friend sprayed it with salt water to lower the temperature.

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When they are ready to put in the fish, they complete the process on the boat.

They didn’t have a crane to lift the fish.

The swordfish caught in the Keys came in at 480 pounds and 86 inches. (@captjoserodriguez)

“Not everyone is ready to catch a 500-pound fish,” said the captain.

Only a few accomplishments have been documented in the past decade, according to available materials.

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In 2019, Captain Nick Stanczyk caught a 757.8-pound broadbill in Islamorada, marking one of the largest recreational fish ever caught in the US, as noted by Pelagic Gear.

In 2018, Patrick Vincent, along with Captain Stanczyk, caught a massive 600-pound fish in Islamorada, as reported by Wild Open Spaces.

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Regarding Rodriguez’s catch, there were about 50-70 people from his community who came to watch the fish.

“We had over 200 pounds of meat,” he said.

Pictured here with a different fish, Rodriguez takes clients out four to five times a week on the Florida Keys fishing charter to catch trophy fish. (@captjoserodriguez)

A Pennsylvania family took only 20-30 pounds.

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They decided to donate the remaining fish to the townspeople.

With the nearly 500 pounds of fish they caught, Rodriguez and the family on board were able to feed “the entire community,” he said. (@captjoserodriguez)

“The whole community was eating swordfish that day,” Rodriguez said, laughing.

When asked if he feels like a local celebrity, he said, “Probably, yes. Everybody knows about it. … It’s about being in the right place at the right time, and it ended up happening for me.”