Found this guy out in 650’ of water. Put on quite the show. Big shout out to Miss Grace for turning around and giving us hydraulic fluid. We would probably still be bobbing around if it wasn’t for y’all
Congrats! Nice fish there!
Nice fish dude!
What’s the secret to raising marlin and sailfish? I can catch most everything else in the ocean but I can’t ever seem to get any billfish interested.
“BlueWater Fishing Team”
2004 Cape Horn 31
twin yamaha F300’s
Cape Horn 24OS Sold
twin 150 Optimax
Wowzers!!
Beautiful fish!
Very cool pictures (and experience, I’m sure). Congratulations.
“I’m not a hundred percent in love with your tone right now…”
quote:
Originally posted by brianhNice fish dude!
What’s the secret to raising marlin and sailfish? I can catch most everything else in the ocean but I can’t ever seem to get any billfish interested.
“BlueWater Fishing Team”
2004 Cape Horn 31
twin yamaha F300’sCape Horn 24OS Sold
twin 150 Optimax
Sails are picky. Fish light (80 or less)leader, wind-ons with something pink,blue or naked. One of my favorite sailfish baits are a med or small bally with a blue/white lil-stubby in front with 80lb flouro crimped to an 80lb spro swivel tied directly to 30lb momoi mainline. You will also catch more sails by putting as many lines as possible in clips and immediately free-spooling after a strike that didn’t take. My rule of thumb is drop 5-7 seconds, reel 5-7 seconds, repeat.
As shown in the picture above, I always run a green/yellow chugger (prefer the 5" moldcraft) with a ballyhoo, usually with heavied 130-220 lb+ leader. I catch my larger dolphin on green/yellow and a couple of nice blues. My other blue marlin bait that has worked well until this season is a blue/black flash ilander that I run in the short rigger position back and to the left of a teaser.
Do not tell fish stories where the people know you; but particularly, don’t tell them where they know the fish.
- More Maxims of Mark, Johnson, 1927
31’ Contender
“Touche”
250 HPDIs
Thanks a lot Touche.
I am already doing most of the stuff that you touched on. I run 80lb main line with 60 or 80 lb fluorocarbon leader that is usually about six feet long. I use mainly medium and sometimes small ballyhoo behind a sea witch or Islander lures such as Sailure, Sea Star or Black Hole. I run four lines on my outriggers. I run two squid chains off the riggers as well to keep them in clean water.
We fished Friday and Saturday in 12 - 1400 feet of water on the weed line that was south of 380. We caught 25 dolphin those two days and lost some more. I’m pretty sure that we were right in the heart of billfish country.
Thinking back we may have had one billfish bite. We had one screamer that went straight to the portside and out in front of the boat. It nearly dumped a Talica with 500 yards of 80lb braid and 100 yards 0f 80lb mono. I never saw the fish before it threw the hook but it wasn’t a typical dolphin strike.
quote:
Originally posted by Touchequote:
Originally posted by brianhNice fish dude!
What’s the secret to raising marlin and sailfish? I can catch most everything else in the ocean but I can’t ever seem to get any billfish interested.
“BlueWater Fishing Team”
2004 Cape Horn 31
twin yamaha F300’sCape Horn 24OS Sold
twin 150 Optimax
Sails are picky. Fish light (80 or less)leader, wind-ons with something pink,blue or naked. One of my favorite sailfish baits are a med or small bally with a blue/white lil-stubby in front with 80lb flouro crimped to an 80lb spro swivel tied directly to 30lb momoi
Touche. Do you mind sharing what kind of teasers you use. Rigging/weight etc…Thanks
19ft. Carolina Skiff
w/115hp Yamaha 4stroke
27ft. Contender
w/twin 225hp Yamaha 4stroke
quote:
Originally posted by AfishianadoTouche. Do you mind sharing what kind of teasers you use. Rigging/weight etc…Thanks
19ft. Carolina Skiff
w/115hp Yamaha 4stroke
27ft. Contender
w/twin 225hp Yamaha 4stroke
Not at all. I run an inline squid daisy chain off my starboard rigger and a pink, mirrored bowling pin off my port cleat.
For my bally rigs I use a 1/2oz chin weight, 6/0 mustad with no pin. I attach monel directly to the eye of the hook. Fished with a sailfish crew out of Stuart one time that swore if a sail tried to eat a bait with a pin rig and got poked, they wouldn’t return for seconds. Takes a little more time but much harder to rip baits off which gives you better chances at drop-backs.
Do not tell fish stories where the people know you; but particularly, don’t tell them where they know the fish.
- More Maxims of Mark, Johnson, 1927
31’ Contender
“Touche”
250 HPDIs
Lots of good info there Touche