Florida Keys • Upper and Middle Florida Keys
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.
How does FishIntel forecast the best days to catch swordfish?
FishIntel reads NOAA and satellite ocean data, including sea surface temperature breaks and chlorophyll edges, and turns changes near your zone into a plain-English swordfish forecast. See a sample report at fishintel.ai/sample-report.
No closed season. 47 in lower jaw fork length; 1 per person, up to 4 per private vessel, 6 per charter boat and 15 per headboat, hook and line only, and none for for-hire captain and crew; an HMS Angling or Charter/Headboat permit is required in federal waters (FWC; NOAA HMS Recreational Compliance Guide 2026; both read 2026-09-30). Regulations change, so check the current rules for the species you are targeting before treating a rating as a plan.
Confirm current rules before you keep a fish. Official rules: FWC, NOAA Fisheries.
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 season and a depth 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 zone every morning, and says which of those edges is worth running to.
FishIntel was co-founded by Captain Kit Carson and Alan Lanham.