Q: I remember you telling me about a method you used to deep-drop for bluefin tuna in the Straits of Gibraltar with breakaway weights. I want to do some broadbill fishing here in Florida on sporting tackle during the day. I don't want to use 80-pound tackle for little pup swordfish. What do you suggest?

Capt. Scott Levin,
Stuart, Florida

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A: It's a piece of cake, Scottie. Although we were using 130-pound to catch the bluefin, you can lighten up your tackle considerably and this method will still work for catching swords during the day. Since lead is too expensive to lose, we used concrete blocks for our weights, but any heavy bits of scrap metal like old railroad tie spikes or short lengths of cut-up rebar taped together work great, too. 

To make the breakaway rig, start by tying a small floss loop (like the ones you use to protect your line in the outrigger clip) to your main leader about two feet above the hook-set. Add another small loop about 18 inches above the first. 
 
Take a small section of 10-pound mono, and pass one end through a barrel swivel and tie each end of the 10-pound to the floss loops you just made, making sure to pull the loops close together — about three inches apart — to form a bit of slack in the leader material between the loops.
 
Now take a 20-foot section of 30-pound mono, and attach one end to the barrel swivel threaded on the 10-pound between the two floss loops. Tie the weight to the other end of the 20-foot section of mono.
 
When the swordfish picks up the bait and starts to move off, the leader will straighten, breaking the 10-pound between the two loops and allowing the weight to fall away.
 
With the weight so far from the bait, this rig gets hit a lot on the drop and also keeps the hook from snagging on the bottom.