The baddest man to ever fish the channel islands?

Reprinted from igfa web site
Roy E. Naftzger, Jr.
Ted Naftzger’s love affair with swordfishing began more than 40 years ago. It was in 1960 that Naftzger bought his first Rybovich, shipped her to Los Angeles, renamed her “Hustler,” and hired Capt. Art Cherry to run her. On the West Coast in those days few bothered with swordfish, preferring striped marlin. But Cherry had considerable experience baiting broadbill in the East, so Ted Naftzger began trying the same techniques in the Pacific. The rest is history, for since 1963 Naftzger has caught 49 broadbill on rod and reel, believed to be more than any other person in the world. And he is the master of daytime swordfishing - surface baiting and catching this most difficult saltwater sport fish at the most difficult time of day. Naftzger himself considers this nearly impossible in most waters but “the only really interesting and sporting way to catch them.” Ted Naftzger’s sportfishing accomplishments are many. He was a member of the U.S. Team at the International Tuna Cup Matches from 1967 to 1970, taking the winning fish twice. He is Past President of The Tuna Club, where he still holds a Club record set in 1970 for a 503 pound broadbill swordfish on 80 pound dacron line, and he remains on the records books in Massachusetts, as well, for a 131 pound white marlin caught off Nantucket in 1982. Naftzger frequently fished the prestigious Masters Tournaments, and is a founding member of the Channel Island Broadbill Tournament and The Lizard Island Fishing Club. Naftzger’s dedication to IGFA is equally impressive, having been a member of the Board of Trustees from 1979 to 2002 and serving as Board Secretary from 1986 to 2001. In 1994, Ted Naftzger received IGFA’s Elwood K. Harry Fellowship Award in honor of his lifelong contributions to recreational angling. And though Ted Naftzger has successfully fished for the most exciting game fish all over the world, spending many seasons on the Great Barrier Reef in particular, it’s his swordfishing skills that are legendary. To Naftzger, swordfishing is a passion, and he has few peers in this often humbling and frustrating sport. In his own words: “The hunt for swordfish is absolutely magnificent. You take your boat and search the surface of the ocean for your quarry, constantly testing your mental ability to solve one of nature’s closely-guarded secrets. It’s precisely this challenge that keeps me coming back. If it were easy, I wouldn’t do it.”