Sails Ahoy

When the weather turns hot during the summer, sailfish provide action in shallow and deep water.

Sailfish are members of the marlin family (Istiophoridae), which includes blue, black, striped, and white marlins, spearfishes (two or three of types), and of course Atlantic and Pacific sailfishesMarlins go through the same life cycle, starting out as big-mouthed, big-billed predators (at less than an inch), with dorsal fins developed into massive sails.
They lie on their sides at the surface at night, drifting like leaves. When they grow up, the other marlins resorb the sail to varying degrees — but the sailfishes retain it. This larval character, retained in the adult, has no known function, but has been proposed as a possible temperature-regulating device (to absorb or release heat) or even a hunting aid that can herd small schools of bait.

It’s not a sex attractant, since both sexes have them, although many anglers, upon seeing a sailfish, get excited.

Other billfish might jump when hooked, but not all of them and not all that much. Sailfish jump a lot for no apparent reason. Anglers often may be ocean fishing, and a sailfish will execute a series of jumps in plain sight for no apparent reason.

When sails are thick, they may jump repeatedly again for no apparent reason, although some people believe they may be trying to shake off big remoras or small skin parasites. Whatever the reason, sailfish can be entertaining.

Private-boat anglers and offshore captains see them everywhere this time of year. Sailfish (similar to other billfish) can be anywhere in the Gulf Stream — the deepest water to the near side at the edge at the continental shelf. But they’re not tied to the Gulf Stream. They just prefer warm water, and when inshore water temperatures rise in summer, they leave the Stream and wander inshore looking for food.

Sailfish have been hooked and even landed at fishing piers. Several anglers have hooked sails while fishing for king mackerel at nearshore buoys.

Capt. Jamie Reibel of the Phideaux, which moors at Broad Creek Marina (252-473-2901), was trolling for Spanish mackerel some years ago near the 14 buoy outside Cape Lookout Shoals when a baby sailfish (about 2-feet long) smacked a Clark spoon pulled by a planer. The water wasn’t 30-feet deep.

Piers are seldom more than 15 feet deep at the ends. King mackerel fishermen frequently encounter sailfish during summer in 50 or 60 feet of water. In short, this is a billfish that comes to you.

So how do you find them?

“Sailfish can be in 30 feet of water (off the beach), most often as singles, but sometimes in groups of three, five, or even more,” Reibel said.

Raleigh real-estate broker Bill O’Neal and his biologist daughter, Jessi, fished at Costa Rica during January and saw sailfish jumping within sight of shore (but the Pacific Ocean near Costa Rican terra firma features deep water).

Usually, most Atlantic Ocean sailfish will be in 90 feet or more of clear, warm water, but as hot water spreads out during the summer, so does sailfish territory.

Because sailfish are most common in N.C. coastal waters during summer, and most charter boats rig for trolling with six 50-class reels (yellowfin tuna, wahoo, big dolphin) and two 80-class reels (blue marlin), anglers must be ready to take a sailfish with appropriately lighter (20-pound) tackle.

North Carolina’s Atlantic sailfish average 20 to 40 pounds, said Reibel, “and a 50-pounder is a big fish here.”

Sailfish, as other billfish, charge up the wake to sniff and bite “teasers.” When a blue marlin chases a teaser, anglers have a couple of seconds to reel in the 50s and jerk the horse ballyhoo (or Spanish mackerel) attached to an 80-class outfit through the water as though it were trying to escape. But when a sailfish comes up to the stern, it’s time to grab a pre-rigged light outfit and toss a bait at its nose.

Reibel keeps a 20-pound Shimano outfit, already rigged with a small ballyhoo soaking in a bucket of sea water, ready to pick up and cast.

For N.C. sailfishing, the peak month is August, and the best locations are at the southern part of our coast. Ocracoke, Hatteras, and Morehead City boats have better success with sailfish during late summer, while the Oregon Inlet boats do better with white marlin, generally in September.

But most anglers don’t target sailfish; they want to hook a blue marlin. For blue marlin, these ports are equally good.

How does an angler find a skipper who specializes in sailfish? Asking friends or telephoning marinas could be a start.

To set up an offshore charter, getting five friends to share the cost is a good idea. A big charterboat to get out to the Gulf Stream is a necessity. But a 24-footer, suitable for king mackerel fishing, can handle a trip to the Gulf Stream from Hatteras Inlet (only 25 miles away) and have a decent shot at sailfish.

Anglers would be well-advised to never go alone but venture offshore in groups of two or more boats — in case of an emergency. With a calm day (less than 12 knots of wind), anglers should have a good time chasing sailfish, yellowfin and blackfin tunas, wahoos and dolphins.

When checking marinas’ web sites, it’s evident many boats head to Mexico, Costa Rica or Florida for the winter, chasing sailfish or, more specifically, customers who want to fish for sailfish. In our area, several skippers remain here for bluefin tuna or striped bass, but at least one-third go south for the winter.

The O’Neals arranged a sailfishing trip to Costa Rica through George Beckwith of Oriental, known as one of the area’s top-rated guides for red drum and other inshore fish. He’s also a biologist, but few people know he fishes for winter sailfish out of the country.

“George doesn’t take his own boat down there,” Jessi said. “He and Eric Heiden, a charterboat skipper out of Georgetown, S.C., arrange winter sailfishing vacations for U.S. fishermen to travel down to Los Suenos, a fishing village a couple of hours south of San Jose, Costa Rica. The boats are just like ours up here, but the crews are Costa Ricans. They reserve three boats for three months and keep them all chartered nearly the entire time.”

Beckwith can be reached at 252-249-3101, while Heiden is at 843-230-7286.