SAILFISH FOR DUMMIES in the Florida Keys
Ask many anglers new to the Keys what they would most want for Christmas and their answer might well be to catch their first sailfish. With the increase in the numbers of fish around the last few years getting that Christmas wish shouldn’t be that hard to achieve. Last season starting just before Christmas and lasting several months after, presented multiple opportunities several times a day. If this season is any where near as productive as last year this will be a year of fulfilled wishes.
For those new to the area or to offshore fishing, the waters south of the Keys offer some of the best sail fishing to be found in the U.S. That means for us, sailfish are practically right in our back yard.
Sailfish cruise the waters just outside of the reef line. As the winds start to shift out of the north, the sailfish line up to pick off bait fish that are blown out over the reef. To use a term borrowed from our northern neighbors, it is easier to match the hatch when looking for sails. Therefore, using locally available live bait will help to get us onto our first fish. Fishing anywhere from the reef line in fifty feet of water out to two hundred and fifty feet of water will keep you in the strike zone. To dial it in even further concentrating in the waters around one hundred fifty feet will put you right in the middle of the action.
With the infinite variables of baits, rigging and tackle options available to Keys anglers and remembering that we are still supposed to be after our first fish we will go over the most simple and effective ways to convert that Christmas wish into a spindle beak.
For our first fish we will start with moderate tackle around twenty to thirty pound test, more than that will overpower your fish and less than that, “advantage fish”. Use whatever tackle you are most comfortable with, however most anglers prefer a spinning reel and a seven foot medium action rod matched to the reel. For the leader again, keeping it simple, from your line, tie a sixty pound black barrel swivel to a six or seven foot, fifty pound fluorocarbon leader, to that, tie a four o/t Mustad 9174 short shank live bait hook. You should assure that your hooks are as sharp as possible and unless you buy premium pre sharpened hooks, you should spend a few seconds with a diamond file to insure a clean hookup. You are now ready for bait.
Again keeping it simple we will narrow our bait selection. Ballyhoo, pilchard and then pinfish, these are the baits that are most effective as live bait in the simple and easy to catch and keep category. All of these baits have advantages and disadvantages in the catch ability and keep ability department. In the lower keys any way, catching pilchards mean the ability to throw a cast net in the shallow waters between the shore and Hawks Channel. Look for diving birds over the near shore grass flats. They will be marking bait usually pilchards or glass minnows. When you find the pilchards a few good throws should get you enough bait to get started. Drop your bait directly into your live well to avoid damaging them. If you are willing to spend the time to find an area on the outer reef usually in about twenty feet of water, chumming should attract some ballyhoo. Ballyhoo can be caught with either, a small hair hook and a pinky nail sized piece of squid or shrimp or they can be cast netted. The last option, are pinfish, these are the only one of the selection usually found for sale in their live and kicking form. They are the most abundant of the live baits found in the keys and they can be chummed up and caught much the same way as the ballyhoo. They can also be caught in a baitfish trap. While catching bait if you happen across small blue runners don’t hesitate to toss them into the bait well as they are also great bait.
Each of these baits is rigged a little differently. The ballyhoo takes the most care. Start by inserting the hook from under the chin and then out through the upper jaw. The ballyhoo can then be fastened to the leader by either sliding about an inch to an inch and a half long piece of drinking straw down over the bill. The other way to easily fasten the bait is to use about a half piece of rigging copper wire and simply wrap the bill up onto the leader starting at the hook eye.
The pilchard rigging is straight forward with no additional rigging necessary, simply place the hook through the clear spot forward of the eyes from side to side.
For pinfish it is also exceedingly simple only different in that the hook is inserted from under the lower jaw and proceeding out through the upper jaw. Surprisingly enough the pinfish can live well pinned through both jaws for quite some time.
To present your bait in the simplest manner we are going to present them either by slow trolling or by drifting depending on how much wind there is the day of your excursion. Start by letting a bait out behind the boat while in neutral. If the bait us drug along behind the boat with out being able to out swim the boat or crisscross back and forth you can kill the engine and just drift. If the bait is able to keep up with the speed of the drift and maneuver on its own then you should idle along just fast enough to keep the bait straight. If the bait starts to spin wile still fresh you may need to bump the boat in and out of gear to minimize speed while keeping headway. Once your bait is swimming along you can set out another on the opposite side of the boat. The baits should be between fifty and one hundred feet from the back of the boat.
You should rig some sort of drop back so that you an be warned of a strike and more importantly so that your sail has time to turn the bait in his mouth and get it deep enough for you to set the hook. Commercial release clips are wonderful if you have them, if you don’t you can fasten a piece of copper rigging wire to your reel just above the seat. Bend a hook in to the wire so you can open your bail and place your line under the hook which will straighten when the fish strikes.
Once you have reached this point you are really fishing. Now all that is left is the catching. Once the fish has taken the bait retrieve the rod from the rod holder close the bail or engage the drag and set the hook. If this really is your first sail try not to let it look like it is. Keeping that screaming and excitement to a dignified level even while the fish is gray hounding across the surface and dumping yard after yard of line into the water is a skill only an experienced angler can fake.
To release your first sail you need to remember that you have a fish about as long as you on the line, and offer all due respect. Many an angler, even experienced ones have been injured by the bill. With a gloved hand firmly grasp the bill at the base and look quickly for the hook. If it can be removed easily with out damaging either you or the fish do so, if not simply cut the line as close to the hook as possible. Get a few quick photos and by holding its mouth in the water, drag the fish along at idle until it shakes loose of your grip or regains its strength and color.
Now that you have had your Christmas wish fulfilled you can go about perfecting any of the countless variables that Sail fishing has to offer like trolling dead bait or artificial baits, fishing from kites, and trying different hooks such as the circle hook, intended to help prevent injury to the fish by not allowing the hook to catch anywhere but the corner of the jaw. There are a myriad of more exotic and hard to acquire baits, such as the live goggle eye and mullet. Dead flying fish, ballyhoo and mullet also can be effective when rigged properly. This gift is one that can very well keep on giving.
Captain John Sahagian
FunYet Charters
(305) 872-3407
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