Moderate winds out of the east combined with an east current created epic sailfish tailing conditions off of Marathon last month. The ocean water had a high level of sediment, which gives it a powdery appearance, and makes sailfish easy to spot as they migrate through the Florida Keys.
To catch these majestic billfish, you need to have quality live bait. Bait can include goggle eyes, big pilchards or ballyhoo. The most effective way to hook into a sailfish in these conditions is to sight cast to them. This technique requires an angler with bait ready to pitch at a moment’s notice and everyone on board keeping a sharp eye looking for a fish coming down the waves. A sailfish in these conditions may look like a black garbage bag suspended a few feet below the surface.
I prefer a light tackle set up to make this fish of a lifetime a fun fight: a seven-foot medium to light action rod paired with a 6500 series spinning reel spooled with 20-pound monofilament. To join the 30-pound fluorocarbon leader to your main line, I implement a Bimini twist to an Albright knot. A 5/0 circle hook will allow the fish to get hooked in the corner of the mouth with a very low chance of it becoming fatally gut hooked.
Even though you are allowed to legally harvest one sailfish a day, it is highly frowned upon in our fishing community, as these fish are not good table fare. When they are released healthy, they will live to fight another day, and several catch-and-release tagging programs have seen the same fish caught several times.
Several tournament boats caught double digit numbers of sailfish in March. Even though the sailfish bite was epic early in the month, they will be a highly targeted species for the next several months as they continue to migrate through the Florida Keys.
Another tactic to target this species of billfish is to kite fish. Kite fishing is a technique in which a literal kite is deployed with several clips on its line tethered to a fishing reel on the boat. Typically, you can run three fishing lines off each kite while flying two kites at a time. The fishing lines are run through release clips that release the fishing line when the fish bites and enough tension is created. This allows you to fight the fish directly from your rod and not through the kite. Bycatch of this style of fishing includes delicious blackfin tuna, beautiful wahoo, giant king mackerel and bonita.
If you are looking to catch a sailfish, patience is definitely a big part of the process. Anglers will frequently target this species all day with only one or two shots at effectively reeling one in, while on other days you can catch over a dozen. If you are looking to target one of these beautiful fish in the waters off Marathon, contact a local, reputable charter captain who has the experience to put you on the fish of a lifetime!
To book a trip with Top Notch Sportfishing, call Captain Bill at 732-674-8323.
