Deep-Drop Power Play

Electric reels have made deep-dropping for swords easier.

- Joe Albanese

We hand-cranked swords for a number of years, but the ability to use an electric reel has been instrumental in expanding the fishery," says Capt. Nick Stanczyk. In case you aren't familiar, the Stanczyk family are the proprietors of Bud N' Mary's Marina in Islamorada, Florida. Nick, his brother Scott, father Richard and Vic Gaspeny are the pioneers of the daytime swordfish fishery, deep-dropping baits and weights sometimes in excess of 10 pounds to depths of 2,500 feet or more. Over the years, they have perfected their craft.

"I've caught about 2,000 swordfish. Half of those fish were hand-cranked, and the rest came on electric reels," says Stanczyk, who added electric reels to his repertoire around 2014. His 42-foot Freeman, Broad Minded, was outfitted with deep-dropping in mind. This includes a number of outlets to provide juice to the Hooker Electric-powered Penn Internationals he has taken to using.

"We're able to change spots more quickly thanks to the electric reels," Stanczyk says. "Instead of spending 30 to 40 minutes to retrieve a weight, the electric reels get it done in about seven or eight minutes. That's a big time savings." The increased efficiency has also allowed Stanczyk to fish multiple rods, something he says wasn't feasible before he made the switch to electric reels. "Before electrics, we only fished one rod. Now we fish at least two. With the right crew, three is possible."