Fishing Article

Sailfish

The sailfish (Istiophorus platypterus) is very popular with anglers who greatly appreciate its acrobatic fighting capabilities and great speed. This widespread pelagic is easily identifiable by its greatly exaggerated dorsal fin which is up to three times higher than the greatest depth of the body. The front dorsal consists of 37-49 elements. Another distinguishing feature is that the sailfish has much longer pelvic fins (reaching nearly to the anal fin) than the other bill fishes. The dorsal fin is cobalt blue with black spots. The body is dark blue on top with brown-blue sides and a silvery white underbelly. It has a single highly visible lateral line that is curved above the pectoral fin and then extends in a straight line to the base of the tail. The upper jaw is elongated into a bill (spear) slightly more than twice the length of the lower jaw. The body is covered in embedded scales.

Although often referred to as Atlantic sailfish and Pacific sailfish there is only one species, but it is divided into different population groups. Sailfish in the Pacific Ocean tend to be larger averaging 50-100 pounds while sailfish in the Atlantic average 40-60 pounds. Five to six feet is the typical length for the Atlantic sailfish while Pacific sails are commonly seven feet long and up to 10 feet in length. The all tackle record for the Pacific sailfish is 221 pounds caught in Ecuador in 1947 and 141 pounds in the Atlantic caught off the coast of Angola in 1994. A third population group exists in the Indian Ocean but little is known about them.

Sailfish can be found abundantly world wide in tropical and temperate waters (72-83º Fahrenheit) of the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans. They are abundant in the western Pacific off Papua New Guinea and the Philippines as well as from Tahiti to the Marquesas and Hawaii. They generally range from Baja California, Mexico, to Peru in the eastern Pacific with heavy concentrations from Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, to Panama. While ranging from Massachusetts to Brazil in the western Atlantic, they are most abundant in the Gulf of Mexico, off the coast of Florida and in the Caribbean. An aggregation of sailfish can also be found off the coast of West Africa in the eastern Atlantic. Although sailfish are pelagic and generally migrate in warm offshore waters, they are known to migrate into warm inshore areas in parts of their range.

The spawning period for sailfish is generally from March through October, peaking May through August, often times in water more than 200 feet deep but sometimes in water as shallow as 30 to 40 feet. A large female sailfish, like other pelagic species that spawn in the open ocean, produces large quantities (approximately four to five million) of tiny eggs (only .85 mm in diameter). The egg mass in a spawning female can make up ten percent of her body weight. These are then fertilized by a male sailfish and left to float with plankton until they hatch. The juveniles grow very rapidly and have been known to reach four to five feet in length in their first year. Sailfish often form schools from three to thirty individuals which may be encountered over a wide area.

Sailfish feed on the surface or in mid-water especially along reef edges and current eddies on small schooling fish. Sailfish are well known for their widely varied diet which includes mackerels, small tunas, jacks, sardines, anchovies, herring, ballyhoo, mullet, flying fish and other small fish as well as squid and octopus. Their favorite foods appear to be mullet and ballyhoo in the Atlantic Ocean and ballyhoo and squid in the Pacific, but what an individual will eat on any given day depends on what prey is easily available as well as other conditions.

Very small fish are chased and swallowed, but when pursuing larger fish the sailfish slashes and maims the prey with its bill and then circles back at a leisurely pace to take its meal. Sailfish often combine hunting efforts and save energy by working together in pairs or small groups to drive schools of small fish into a tight group at the surface where evasion is difficult. The sails then take turns feeding while the others prevent the prey from escaping.

Sailfish are prized by light tackle anglers for their tremendous speed and spectacular aerial acrobatics. They can make short runs at speeds over 60 miles per hour making them the fastest short distance game fish. Additionally they are one of the most beautiful game fish able to light up when excited or enraged similar to dolphin fish (also known as dorado) displaying shimmering purple phosphorescence along the back just below the front dorsal fin. Sailfish lack the stamina of larger bill fish such as marlin but are quite challenging on light to medium spinning and conventional gear using fifteen to thirty pound test line.

Although lighter gear and smaller lures are more appropriate, the fishing methods for sails are essentially the same as for marlin. Generally boats troll strip baits, whole mullet or ballyhoo, trolling feathers, plastic trolling lures or a combination of these. Additionally fishing with live bait such jacks, mullet and other small fish is often employed successfully in promising areas. Sailfish are generally pursued in clear blue water offshore in depths of more than six fathoms but are occasionally caught in lesser depths in green water where baitfish and currents bring them inshore.

As saltwater fly fishing has gained popularity especially in recent years for larger pelagic species, sailfish have become a favorite quarry because of their graceful leaps and high speed runs. Boats generally troll to locate fish as when fishing with conventional gear but get the fish excited with teasers and then present the fly. This tactic is commonly referred to as bait and switch. Many charter services now cater to fly fishermen who want to pursue sail fish.

While widespread throughout its geographic range, certain locations stand out as the best for consistently yielding large numbers and/or good sized sailfish. Many of these places tend to be in the eastern Pacific Ocean stretching from Cabo San Lucas to Panama, particularly for larger sails (over 70 pounds). However, good numbers of smaller Atlantic sailfish can be found off the coast of Florida and throughout the Caribbean down to Venezuela. Dakar on coast of Senegal in West Africa has become known as a highly productive location for larger Atlantic sails (up to a little over 90 pounds) from July through October.

Arguably the number one spot in the world for sailfish is Guatemala out of its Pacific ports of Puerto Quetzal and Puerto San Jose where anglers average 15 opportunities to hook a sailfish per day. Guatemala retains the conventional and fly fishing records for the most sailfish caught on a boat in a single day. The sails here are also larger than many places averaging 70-80 pounds with specimens over 100 pounds quite common. The Guatemalan coast forms a giant bay with the strong west to east currents flowing from the Mexican coast returning to Guatemala creating a gigantic, natural eddy rich with bait fish and larger pelagic species such as billfish. Studies indicate that Guatemala is most likely the largest breeding ground for Pacific sailfish in the world. Prime sailfish season is November through May but sailfish are caught throughout the year in Guatemala. Catch and release of all billfish is the general practice throughout the Guatemalan sport fishing fleet.

Quepos, located on central Pacific coast of Costa Rica offers good sailfish action from November to May. In addition to sailfish Quepos offers a good shot at marlin, large dorado, wahoo and tuna. It has also become a favorite location for fly fisherman and annually hosts the famed Billy Pate Invitational Fly Fishing Tournament. The standard practice among the Quepos sport fishing fleet is to release all billfish. The Manuel Antonio National Park, a rainforest internationally renowned for its wide variety of wild life, is nearby and Quepos offers many other activities such as surfing and swimming for the whole family as well.

In the Atlantic Ocean Isla Mujeres off Cancun, Mexico, has become well known for its large population of sailfish that shows up during the winter months from January through March. Most of the action during these months occurs forty to fifty miles northwest of the island where double digit days are common. It's not unusual to hear of boats releasing sixty sails or more during peak periods although occasional cold fronts can shut the bite down for a day or two.

The area off Florida's southeast coast, known as Sailfish Alley, is another prime location for sails from October through January. The sails are attracted to the blue water side of the Gulf Stream current starting at the 120 foot depth contour that stretches off the coast of West Palm Beach 80 miles north to Sebastian Inlet. This contour, which roughly follows the edge of the continental shelf, has lots of bottom structure including rock patches where bait fish gather attracting the sails. Although anglers tend to prefer fishing with live goggle eyes, a wide variety of baits including squid, ballyhoo and mullet are quite effective fished on the surface and at mid-depth.

As apex predators at the top of the food chain sailfish, like other bill fish have few natural enemies with the mako shark being the main threat. Therefore conservation practices are vital to maintain a thriving sport fishery. When properly rigged circle hooks have been shown to be highly effective in preventing injuries to the fish. Anglers should avoid completely exhausting the fish and be sure it is fully revived before releasing it. While it is fine to photograph sailfish in the water at the boat, fisherman should refrain from removing sails from the water since lifting the fish can damage delicate internal organs.

Also see Sailfish Quick Guide

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