Female fisher lands world-record-contender swordfish off Northland coast

Kiwi fishing show host Nicky Sinden has hauled up a monster of the deep, a swordfish which is expected to land her a world record.

The host of TV show Ados Addicted to Fishing hooked the 361kg, 4.2m-long broadbill at a secret location off northern New Zealand on Wednesday.

Operating out of Whangaroa, north of the Bay of Islands, Sinden said the trip, in her new Extreme brand boat, was a "baptism of fire".

"It was on the second drop, it took the bait and we knew automatically that it was a broadbill.

"The fight lasted one hour. Normally it takes a lot longer. I've fought for three and a half hours before for a 199kg.

"For this particular one we didn't realise how big it was until we saw it jump. As its shoulders erupted out of the water I went, 'Wow, it's a monster'. We were just blown away.

"Getting it back to land was an ordeal. The 750 Game King is quite a big boat but it wouldn't fit."

The four people on board could only manage to get the bill, head and shoulders on the back of the boat, leaving the rest of the fish dragging in the water.

"It was a long, slow journey back ... at full power we could only go 8 knots."

Sinden wouldn't say where the fish was caught, other than that it was "out really deep - 600m-plus ... very far out to sea".

With her catch, she has claimed three broadbill swordfish records, whose verification is pending:

• The women' all-tackle world record.
•The women's 60kg-tackle world record.
• The women's New Zealand record.

Sinden said broadbill swordfish are rare. She has caught six.

Her latest catch, estimated to be about 12 years old, has been taken to a taxidermist for mounting.