A Surprise Sailfish
Settling on top of the school we kept one fish on the line and in the water to keep the school around the boat. As we put fish in the box, I noticed a dark shadow of a fish staying just outside my casting range. Dolphin usually school according to size, and I had seen a big bull dolphin behave this way in the past. The bigger bulls over forty or fifty pounds have been known to attack a smaller one or two pound dolphin, especially a hooked one.
As the shadow continued to slowly circle the outer ring of fish, I hooked a whole ballyhoo on a spinning outfit, and heaved it as far as I could ahead of the shadow. As I worked the bait back, the shadow turned, swirled, and to my amazement, nailed the bait with his bill! It was a sailfish!. I guess my shock and disbelief is what allowed me to get hooked up with him, because I stopped reeling when I saw that bill. He immediately came around and ate the bait, and the fight was on! Right about that point was when I began wishing I had picked up a bigger spinning rod.
After we boated and released the sail, one about ninety pounds, I realized we had lost the school of dolphin! Ever since that time, if we are on a school of fish and we hook up with a sail, I will generally crank down on the drag and let him pull the hook. Sails are fun if you are after them, but when I am after eating fish, I really don't need a sail taking me away from the task at hand.
Easy to Catch
Sails are the wintertime Captain's friends from West Palm Beach to Key West. They are plentiful and fun to catch. Tourists on a charter boat see the sailfish as the thrill of a lifetime, and probably rightfully so. But, anyone can catch a sail in the winter off of South Florida if they pay attention to a few particulars.
Bait
Sails love ballyhoo, so a good cast net and a stop over a patch reef can get you some good live bait. Oatmeal mushed in a water bucket acts as an ideal chum for gathering the 'hoo school. One or two goods casts will get enough bait for a good trip.
Methods
Trolling skipped ballyhoo is usually the preferred method, and it keeps the boat moving. Winter months usually mean rougher water, and a boat underway usually makes for a more settled stomach! If you are fishing live bait, it becomes a matter of drifting over the prime area with a freelined, lip-hooked 'hoo.
Where to Fish
The areas to troll or drift are those just off the outer reef edge in water from 90 to 150 feet in depth. A good hump coming up 30 or 40 feet from the bottom from 150 feet of water to 110 feet of water acts as a magnet and will hold sails on and around the hump.
Outriggers
If you have no outriggers, a simple clothespin rig on a spinning rod will work just as well. Outriggers permit the baits to be spread, but more importantly, they allow the bait to drop back once a billfish strikes. Simply open the bail and clip the line with a clothespin. A strike will pull the line from the pin and allow the bait to drop back.
Watch for Fish
Billfish come up behind the bait and whack it with their bill. They then spin and come back to eat the disabled bait. If you don't have some type of mechanism to allow a drop back, you may not get a sail or other billfish to come back and eat the bait.
When he does come back and eat, a hard, hard hook set is necessary because of the hard mouth they have. And then, hold on and be prepared to chase the fish down. In an outboard, I would avoid trying to back down on a fish like a big charter boat, because in rough seas, an outboard is easily swamped. Move to the front of the boat and head for the fish. Fight off the bow if possible.
Bottom Line
A sailfish is an impressive catch in any season, but it is of little value after the catch. If you want a mount, take some good measurements and let the fish go back to fight again. If you want some smoked fish (and admittedly, smoked sail is very good), opt for some Kingfish or mackerel. Sails and other billfish are a valuable, reusable resource and should be released to fight again another day!
