Captain hauls in nearly 500-pound sea giant after grueling battle, feeds most of town

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

Captain Jose Rodriguez Jr. of Cudjoe Key, Florida, takes clients out four to five times a week on a Florida Keys fishing charter to reel in trophy fish. 

But he'd never come close to catching a monster 500-pound swordfish.

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

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"It was definitely a fight 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, and it took us at least another half hour to control the fish on the side of the boat before we could pull it over the side," he said.

The Florida Keys are known for drawing large species like swordfish, but landing one of this size requires specialized deep-sea techniques and is considered rare.

"Everyone's in search of a nickel, which is 500 pounds, but it rarely happens in the Keys," said Rodriguez, 25.

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

As Rodriguez first spotted the swordfish, he knew it was large, but he wasn't sure how massive it would be.

"Then my mate and I got a really good eye on it, and we basically sealed the deal," he said.

At first, the Pennsylvania family didn't realize the importance of what was happening, he said. But the two children aboard were big supporters.

Once the swordfish was caught, there was plenty of work to be done. For starters, there was no simple way to store a fish that huge.

"A fish that big actually lies on the back deck with ice bags on top of it with towels," Rodriguez said. "There's really no other spot" for it.

Then he and his mate sprayed it with saltwater to bring its core temperature down.

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When they were ready to filet the fish, they completed the process on the boat. 

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

"Not everyone's prepared to catch a 500-pound fish," the captain said.

Only a few such accomplishments have been documented in the last decade, according to available material.

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In 2019, Captain Nick Stanczyk landed a legendary 757.8-pound broadbill off Islamorada, one of the largest recreational swordfish ever caught in the U.S., Pelagic Gear noted.

In 2018, Patrick Vincent, along with Captain Stanczyk, caught a massive 600-pound swordfish off Islamorada, Wild Open Spaces reported.

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After Rodriguez's catch, there were about 50-70 people in his community who turned out to admire the fish. 

"We had well over 200 pounds of meat to use," he said.

The Pennsylvania family took 20-30 pounds of it. 

The family decided to donate the rest to people in the town.

"The whole community was eating swordfish that day," Rodriguez said, chuckling.

When asked if he felt like a local celebrity, he said, "Almost, yeah. Everybody knows about it. … It's just about being in the right place at the right time, and it ended up happening to me."