What’s up with all the sailfish off the South Carolina coast?
No one knows exactly why they’re there, but this much is certain – excursions to the Gulf Stream have been considerably more enjoyable of late.”Anglers are catching a ton of them and nobody knows why,” said Tom DuPre, coordinator of the Governor’s Cup Billfishing Series. “Boats from North Carolina and boats that had been in the Caribbean said there were few sailfish there. They all seem to be here.”
During the recent Megadock Billfishing Tournament out of Charleston, fishermen caught and released a record 61 sailfish in three days.
Greenville’s Frank Foster, whose boat “Chicora” was credited with three sailfish catches on its first day of competition, said the sails were a welcome bonus.
“We had heard from a lot of people that the sailfish were good, and they were right – I’ve never seen so many,” Foster said. “We were looking for marlin, but we were happy for the sailfish.”
Foster’s crew caught their sailfish while trolling naked ballyhoo at about six knots. As always, they kept a pitch bait handy, and it paid off with a double hook-up in one instance when multiple sailfish moved into their baits.
“I don’t know, maybe something in the feeding pattern is changing,” Foster said.
DuPre said that sailfishing success is cyclical in nature, and implored anglers to enjoy the action while it lasts.
“It might have something to do with water temperature,” he said. “Whatever it is, the fishing for sailfish right now is better than a lot of people can remember. Everybody was just walking around in a daze at the tournament. They’re not used to seeing that many.”
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