Sailfish fishing South Florida has become an exciting sport. Learn from Captain Dave Kostyo of Knot Nancy fishing Charters how to catch an Atlantic Sailfish South Florida Style
I watched the sailfish materialized behind the long kite bait. “Left long left long!” I yelled, “Eileen, pick up the rod on the left side of the kite reel but leave the reel in free spool”. He’s circling the bait. “Once he grabs the bait and drops out of site, lock the reel and start winding as quick as you can” continuing to instruct her on what to do. About the time the long bait disappeared, “quick Fred pick up the right short rod”. Another sail had found the other bait suspended from our kite in 120’ of water off Key Biscayne. Both Eileen and Fred locked up their reel’s and started winding. When the lines came tight, the release pins on the kite line popped and slack fell in the water. They kept winding at a fast controlled pace until the lines came tight and then wound through the drag while raising the rod into a fighting position. The Eagle Claw 2004EL 6/0 circle hooks did their jobs and we had a double header on. Eileen’s ran toward the stern and Fred’s took off toward the bow before heading offshore. There was a lot of hopping and hollering going on as both fish put on their best aerial display. Meanwhile, I was clearing the flat and downrigger lines. As quickly as it ran offshore, Fred’s fish changed directions and charged the boat, all the time walking across the surface. Eileen’s fish kept charging to the stern while making 6 jumps in a row.
Sound like fun? This is what you can expect on any given day during the winter and spring off the South Florida coast. Let’s see what leads up to the action part of sailfishing in terms of preparation.
Rods, Reels, and Line
Lets start with the line first. This is where I see many anglers go way overboard. Unless you are fishing in a tournament and need to get the fish to the boat as quickly as possible, the whole idea is to have fun, enjoy yourself, and give the fish a sporting chance. Therefore it is not necessary to fish 30 and 50 pound line to catch a sailfish. For the beginner, using 20 pound line will let you experience all that a sailfish has to offer. Once you’ve gained some experience, put out a 12 pound outfit to increase your challenge. With more experience, then try an 8 pound outfit. Aboard Knot Nancy, I put out a combination of both 12 and 20 pound outfits unless someone specifically requests lighter line.
Moving on to rods and reels, we’ll start with spinning outfits. A 7’ spinning rod with medium to medium heavy action will handle any sailfish very nicely. The fast taper of my Shakespeare Ugly Custom rods fit the bill perfectly. The soft tip allows a live bait to be cast with ease and also forgives any mistakes made while pressuring a fish when it’s close to the boat, yet has enough backbone to pull a fish back to the surface when it sounds. Combine the rods with the Pflueger Medalist Spinning Reels in size 6050 (for 12# line) and 6060 (for 20#) and you’ll have a combination that not only will do the job nicely on sailfish, but will turn out to be a workhorse for most all your other types of fishing. I primarily use the spinning outfits for the flatlines and downrigger.
Conventional rods in the 6 ½ to 7 foot range once again with medium to medium heavy action will do a perfect job when deployed on the kite. Shakespeare Ugly Custom makes a beautiful 6 ½’ standup rod that will give you all the power you’ll need. Combine the rods with the Pflueger Contender G30 if you’re a star drag fan, or the G15L or G20L if you want a lever drag reel, and you’ll have a combo that will handle your kite needs as well as trolling, wreck, drift, and bottom fishing too.
Terminal Rigs
Let’s start with the spinning outfits that are used on the flatline and downrigger.
- Start by creating a double line of 12 to 18 inches with the main line using either a spider hitch or bimini twist.
- To the double line, connect 12 to 15 feet of 50# mono using a knot to knot connection.
You have a choice with the next connection.
- If you are a sailfish purist, then tie on your hook using a clinch or uni-knot and you are ready to fish.
OR
- If you’d like to improve your chances of catching any toothy critter that may also come along, then tie on any of the new small size black stainless steel swivels in the 80 to 100 pound category to the mono leader.
- Next attach 12 to 18 inches of #3 or #4 wire to the other end of the swivel.
- Finally attach your hook.
For the conventional outfit to be used on the kite, I rig as follows.
- Slide one end of a large black crane swivel on to the main line of your outfit.
- Slip a Styrofoam float with the narrow end pointing toward your rod tip on to the main line. If you use a weighted float or will be using large (goggle eyes, bluerunners, and speedos) baits, skip step 3 and continue on with step 4.
- Slip a 1 ounce egg sinker on the line next. This additional weight is necessary to help pull the line out when making adjustments to the bait when using small baits like pilchards or herring.
- Slide an 8 or 10 mm bead on the line. This will help protect the line and knot from the sinker.
- Double the main line back on itself and then tie on a good quality ball bearing snap swivel with at least a breaking strength of 90 pounds using either a clinch or uni-knot. Doubling the line before tying the knot helps add strength to an area that will receive a lot of stress.
You are now ready to build your leader and attach it to the snap swivel.
- Start with 15’ of 50# or 60# mono.
- Create a loop using either a surgeon’s knot or a crimp.
- At the other end of the leader, attach your hook.
- Attach the loop to the snap swivel and you’re almost ready.
Next we’ll build a floss loop for attaching the bait to the hook.
- Start with a minimum of 18” of waxed floss.
- Double it back on itself and tie the loose ends together using a triple overhand knot.
- Trim the loose ends.
- Separate the two pieces of floss at the knot end. Lay the knot across the bend of the hook.
- Take the looped end of the floss and pass it around the bend of the hook and between the separated pieces at the knot end.
- Pull the looped end through till it comes tight. The knot end of the loop should be against the bend of the hook. The floss loop is now attached to the hook and ready for a bait to be attached.
Bait
Volumes can and have been written about catching and using live bait. Some of the most popular baits are goggle eyes, blue runners, herring, pilchards, and ballyhoo. Different areas prefer different baits; however, all of the above listed baits will work throughout the entire area from Stuart to Key West . Whenever possible, it is best to present a variety of baits as there will be days when it seems that the sailfish prefer one over the other. On a day when this pattern is identified, then switch all your baits to the one that the sailfish is hitting.
Off the Miami area, goggle eyes, pilchards, and herring are the most readily available baits. You can either catch your own or buy the bait from one of several different bait boats located at Haulover Inlet and Government Cut. Having a couple dozen pilchards, herring, and at least a half dozen goggle eyes will be more than ample for a day’s sailfishing. If you’d like to live chum, then of course you’ll need to load your well with as many small (pilchards and/or herring) baits as it will safely hold.
Kite Outfits
Once again, volumes have been written on this subject. Many hardcore sailfish enthusiasts believe that the only way to catch a sailfish is with a kite. The good news, however, is that lots of sails are caught on both flatlines and downriggers too. Therefore, presenting baits in a variety of manners will only increase your chances of catching a sail.
Kites are a great way of presenting bait(s) down wind from your boat. Between the flatlines and downrigger up wind and the kite down wind, you are covering a wider swath of water and therefore increase your chances for a hookup.
Very short stiff rods in combination with 4/0 size reels or larger are used to fly the kite. An electric reel will take all of the work out of hand cranking in the kite, especially when the wind is strong. Completely rigged kite outfits can be purchased at most tackle stores.
The two most popular brands of kites are the Bob Lewis and SFE. Each brand has its following of anglers and its pros and cons. The Bob Lewis brand has several different kites for the various wind conditions. The SFE brand has one kite that covers all winds up to 20 MPH. The choice of kite is up to you. Regardless of which brand you choice, you won’t go wrong.
Time to Go Fishing
With all of our preparation done and the livewell full of bait, lets talk about the passage of cold fronts before we head offshore to catch some sailfish. During the winter, good sailfishing will be affected by the passage of cold fronts through our area. As the front approaches, the wind will start swinging from the SE into the south and then the west quadrants. When it reaches the NW and then north, the cold air pumps into our area and drives the surface water temperature down. The sails move south seeking warmer water and fantastic catches are possible as they pass through our area. The only draw back is that the seas will be big and rough. To the diehard sailfish enthusiast, this is perfect weather and conditions. As the wind comes around to the NE, it will continue to blow and start to have a warming effect on the water temperature. Now the sails begin to move back up the coast with the warmer temperature. Once again it is sailfish heaven. The wind continues to come around to the east and then back to the SE, all the while giving us good sailfish opportunities. With some luck, we’ll get a day or two of calmer weather before the next front passes through.
Now that we understand what effect the cold fronts have on sailfishing, it’s time to head out. The first question I get asked is “where do I start?” This is where learning to read the conditions comes in. Sailfish generally like the 90 – 300 foot range. The vast majority of the time during the winter they’ll be found in less than 200’ and many anglers concentrate inside of 150’. One of the keys is finding a good current edge that is flowing to the north. This is normally found where the dark blue water pushes up against the green water. The “edge” as it is referred to will vary from day to day, hour to hour, and what depth it is located in along the coast. The edge might be in 250’ off Government Cut and by the time you get to Fowey Light, it could be in 110’ or visa versa. Other times, no edge will be in less than 190’. The point being that you shouldn’t get hung up on fishing only certain depths when the conditions are not good in those depths. Set up based on what the conditions give you on the day you are out.
Make your first drift an experimental one. See how fast you drift along the coast as well as in or out. Put out a flatline or two before putting up the kite. Many times you’ll get the bite you want before you can attach the kite to the kite rod. Beginners should be happy with putting out one outfit on the kite to start with. With time and experience, move up to two outfits. The kite requires constant attention, so designate or take turns monitoring the kite baits. The flatline and downrigger outfits will normally take care of themselves and will let you know when there is action. The bait on the downrigger is usually the last one that is put out. Now it is time to sit back and wait for the sailfish action to begin. If you have lots of bait, throw a few over every couple of minutes. This will help draw any fish in the neighborhood to you (remember live bait chumming is not usually allowed if you’re fishing a tournament). Once you’ve reached a depth that is to shallow or too deep, then pull in the flatlines and downrigger and slowly work your way back to your starting depth with the kite lines still out. Put out the flats and downrigger baits again and you’re in business. If your drift is very fast, it can be slowed down with a sea anchor. Many of the center console boats now use a 12’ sea anchor to hold the bow into the waves so they can fish two kites like the sportfishing boats do. On rough days, it also makes the boat ride more smoothly while drifting. If you have no desire to be out on the days when you need the 12’ sea anchor, then a 4’ one will turn the boat broadside and slow it down some on days when it’s not to windy. And finally, if sea conditions more than calm are not to your likings, then yes, you can still catch sails on a calm sea. Find the current edge and fish both sides of it and you’ll get your reward.
When you hook up to a sail, don’t be too quick to pull in all the other lines. Remember you have plenty of line capacity on your reel. Leaving the other baits out for a while will often result in a double or even triple hook up. Also, someone has to either take note of the depth or push the waypoint button on the GPS or both when the hookup occurs. When you identify the depth range the sails are running in on that day, you can cut down on your non productive drift time by setting up closer to that depth range. Just remember to give yourself enough time to let the boat settle into its drift and be able to put out all the baits before reaching the zone.
One final word, nothing beats going out with a professional and seeing how all these things come together. It will be well worth your time and with what you’ll learn, you can then go out on your own with more confidence.
Good luck and see you on the EDGE.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Miami Sailfish Charters - Knot Nancy Florida Fishing Charters
