Florida Keys • Western Atlantic
How do you fish for swordfish in the Florida Keys?
Swordfish are fished year round in the Florida Keys, with no closed season, on the daytime drop in deep water off the reef line at 1,200 to 1,800 feet. Surface temperature does not drive this bite, so FishIntel scores this fishery on season, moon and current, and a NOAA HMS vessel permit is required.
No closed season, and it is federally managed rather than by FWC: a valid NOAA HMS Angling or HMS Charterboat/Headboat permit is required on the VESSEL, 47 in lower jaw fork length minimum, and 1 fish per person per trip to a maximum of 4 per vessel for an Angling boat and 6 for a charter boat (NOAA Fisheries, checked 2026-08-20). Regulations change, so check the current rules for the species you are targeting before treating a rating as a plan.
There is no temperature band for swordfish, and that is on purpose. This is a deep-drop fishery: Keys swords are caught at 1,200 to 1,800 feet, where the water stays in the 40s and 50s F no matter what the surface is doing (depth range per FishBase, read 2026-08-20). Surface temperature affects the ride out, not the bite, so FishIntel scores this fishery on season, moon and current rather than pretending a surface band exists.
Surface temperature does not drive this fishery, so FishIntel does not pretend it does.
A band and a season tell you whether swordfish is on the cards this month. They do not tell you where the water is doing something today. A FishIntel report reads the actual sea surface temperature, chlorophyll fronts and current convergence over your own pinned coordinates every morning, and says which of those edges is worth running to.
FishIntel is built by Captain Kit Carson, a licensed charter captain running offshore out of Islamorada.