Sailfish
Sailfish are highly prized by anglers because of the outstanding fighting characteristics. Sailfish are cousins of blue and white marlin. Sailfish are the smallest of the billfish and more abundant, that makes them perfect for light tackle. Sailfish inhabit the waters off the coast of Palm Beach all year long. We call these our resident Sailfish. When Old man winter arrives and the north winds blow thousands of Sailfish begin their yearly migration tailing down sea from the Carolinas to Mexico. Its not known exactly why sailfish get so fired up on a north wind but I suspect it has a lot to do with a rising barometer and the wave action may increase the oxygen levels near the surface. Sailfish are cold blooded and must follow the warmer water south as well as the bait supply. During the peek of winter cold fronts (January through April) sailfish action can only be described as insane ! On a full day charter you can easily catch and release double digit numbers of these acrobatic speedsters. Sailfish can be as small as 20 pounds or get as large as 100. Our largest weighed in at 98 pounds and measured 9 feet long, it was caught on a spinning rod! During the migration it appears smaller sailfish lead the charge south. These fish are the most wild and aggressive. Its not uncommon to hook 4 at a time. When the migration slows the big boys show up and man can these sailfish will wear you out. Its the reason. you see sport fish boats in full reverse keeping the sailfish from taking all the line of your reels. that’s when you will hear me yell from the bridge “Its Showtime“
The most effective techniques for catching Sailfish is to deploy two kites with 4 to 6 live baits suspended from the kite lines. The bait of choice is live goggle eyesSardines and threadfins . Google eyes are incredible hardy and will last hung from the kite until something easts them. The baitfish suspended from the kites are kept close to the surface. Many times you can witness the mayhem of the bait getting eaten. We suggest buying as much live bait as possible. When the fish are biting you can go through the live baits very quickly. Also we like to fish a stripteaser dredge close to the boat with the baits close to the dredge. The dredge looks identical to a school of baitfish and attracts many species. While live baiting for sailfish we also fish a live bait near the bottom. This bottom bait is very productive for catching red grouper, mutton snappers, kingfish and cobia. If conditions permit we will fish a smaller bottom rig to catch snapper. You never know what lurks down deep.
The old fashion way to catch Sailfish is to slow troll ballyhoo. We generally will deploy 4 to 6 trolling rods pulling dead bait. Also squid teasers 25 feet behind the boat to tease up the sailfish as well as dolphin. Many times we run out of live bait and will continue the charter trolling.
Catch and release – Today we no longer kill sailfish for a trophy mount. We simply measure you fishes length and submit the paperwork to Grays Taxidermy. We are agents for Grays Taxidermy and Grays is the worlds larges taxidermy service in the world and their located right here in South Florida. Grays will makes amazing replica of your fish that will last a lifetime. So hang your trophy your home or office and the mount will remind you of that day as long as you live. This year we also, in cooperation with Grays will tag and release your fish. You get to give it a name and will be notified if the fish is caught again and where.