Fishing For Sailfish in Key West

Believe it or not, this Sailfish took over an hour to land. After a few early jumps it went deep and the fight was hard and dogged but certainly not spectacular. After a quick photo it was safely returned to fight another day.

The two species of sailfish (Atlantic & Pacific) are found in the warmer sections of most oceans of the world. They can also be found in South Beach, where many people spot them while on Ocean Florida holidays. The sailfish are blue to gray in color and have a characteristic sail (dorsal fin) which often stretches the entire length of the back. Another notable characteristic is the elongated bill, resembling that of the swordfish and other marlins. 

Both species of sailfishes grow quickly, reaching 1.2-1.5 m (4-5 ft) in length in a single year, and feed on the surface or at mid-depths on smaller pelagic fishes and squid. Individuals have been clocked at speeds of up to 110 km/h (68 mph), which is the highest speed reliably reported in a fish. Generally, sailfish do not grow to more than 3 m (10 ft) in length and the largest of the Atlantic variety is recorded at 58.1 kg.

This video clip shows the capture and release of a sailfish on our light tackle boat, "Coolwater".

The sail is normally kept folded down and to the side when swimming, but it is raised when the sailfish feels threatened or excited, making the fish appear much larger than it actually is. This tactic has also been observed during feeding, when a group of sailfish use their sails to "herd" a school of fish or squid.

Sailfish are the perfect adversary for the angler fishing from a light tackle boat. Using the same type of rod as used for tarpon and a reel loaded with 20 lb line coupled to a 40 or 50 lb fluorocarbon leader is an ideal Sailfish setup.

Much of our sailfish fishing is done freelining livebaits such as threadfin herring or small blue runners from a drifting boat in depths of between 100 and 200 feet of deep blue ocean, often just offshore of the dividing line where the milky waters of Key West Harbor meet the Atlantic Ocean. With the engines off and the boat drifting with wind and tide the motion of the seas is much more gentle than when you're motoring and even quite a stormy day can be enjoyable whilst fishing for sailfish.

Although sailfish can be caught all year round in Key West, the best times are mid-October to mid-December and March through May. In the summer months the sails are scattered throughout the blue water in depths from 120 ft to 2,000 ft or more, depending entirely on where they can find the shoals of bait fish.

A hooked sailfish in full flight is an absolutely awesome sight. We hooked one a while ago whilst drift fishing. It was probably hooked 50 or so meters downwind of the boat and then proceeded to run in a complete half circle ending up 50 meters upwind of the boat. Whilst describing this perfect arc the fish was probably only in the water for a matter of seconds, it spent the rest of the time jumping, twisting, turning and doing somersaults through the air, a truly amazing spectacle.

Sailfish are one of the most spectacular of fighters. Some of them spend more time in the air than under the ocean when hooked. This one is giving us a great demonstration of the antics that these fish can get up to when hooked on light tackle

Sailfish are one of the best fighting and highly respected gamefish that we have here in the Florida Keys. They are beautiful creatures with an iridescent blue sail plus blue markings on the body that seem to "light up" when they get ready to strike a bait.

These fish put up a tremendous fight and they are pretty well exhausted by the time that we come to unhook them. If you must take the fish out of the water for a picture, please make the whole process as fast as possible and return the fish gently to the water, making sure that it has "got its breath back" before letting go of it.