Sailfish and Dolphin

Report Date: January 1, 2003

The weather has finally given us a break and we have been able to fish offshore a couple of days. The good news is that it looks like the weather is going to be good enough for us to fish the next week or so without the windy conditions we have been experiencing.

On the last couple of trips we have caught Sailfish, Dolphin and King Mackerel. I understand that the Spanish Mackerel are thick south of the inlet although I have not had anyone who wanted to fish for them. Each day we have been seeing several Sails, and it looks like they are starting to congregate in the areas where they hold during the winter season. I am enthusiastic about the upcoming Sailfish season. With the number of Sails we have been seeing and catching it looks to me like this has the potential to be another very good Sailfish season here in Stuart, Florida the ?Sailfish Capital of the World?. Hopefully this will be another year that our area lives up to its reputation.

If I could only fish for one species it would be Sailfish. These are magnificent fish that are spectacular to catch, provide great action on the light tackle and at times they seem to want to eat every bait in the water and other times they only want to tease the anglers. They range from very aggressive to very finicky feeders which are part of the challenge of catching them for even the most seasoned angler. The peak of our Sailfish season normally occurs from early December through mid-February however we catch good numbers of Sails year round.
Most days when we go Sailfishing we plan to fish with both dead and live bait. For the Sailfishing purest rigging ballyhoo that closely emulates a live baitfish and doing all of the things that are necessary to catch a Sailfish is the purest form of Sailfishing. From my perspective I would prefer this approach as compared to fishing with live bait however many of the people we fish with do not have the experience to fish this way. We frequently begin our day by trolling dead baits until we locate an area that is holding fish. When we feel we are in that ?right spot? we change from trolled baits to live bait?most of the time the results are outstanding.
I can still remember the first Sailfish I caught and the thrill it provided me that morning. Each time we hook up a Sailfish I still feel the same excitement and rush that I felt on my very first Sailfish. I guess that?s why I love the sport and no matter how many hundreds I catch each year each one is as special to me as it is to the anglers on my boat.

If you are thinking about a Sailfish trip this winter now is the time to finalize those plans.

Good luck and remember you can?t catch?em at the dock.

Back to Main Fishing Report Page