Hooking white marlin or sailfish with a circle hook is an art.
The key is to beat the fish to the bait. Anglers, captain, mate, all eyes must be focused on the baits. As soon as a marlin shows up, the whole crew jumps into action, each angler grabbing a rod and getting ready. To start, the drag should be loosened as much as possible in case the fish hits without introducing itself first. That way, the fish will swallow the bait without realizing anything is wrong.
More often than not, a white marlin or sailfish will start by slapping at the bait with its bill. That’s when the angler takes the reel out of gear and drops back the bait. While the bait falls, the fish will likely grab it, flip it head first, and swallow it, taking five seconds or more.
Pay attention to the line, feel what the fish is doing, don’t hurry and don’t panic. When the line starts to pull off the reel, chances are the fish is swimming away with the bait. Keep the rod tip low. Slowly push the drag to the pin. With any luck, the marlin will rocket out of the water with the hook set firmly in the corner of its mouth.
To facilitate the quick release of the fish, the captain should quickly chase down the marlin until the mate can grab the leader and break the line.
The perfect outfit for catching white marlin or sails on circle hooks would start with a 20-pound class conventional rod-and-reel combo pooled with 30-pound mono. The reel should have a lever drag and the rod a light tip.
To the end of the running line, attach a 30-foot length of 50-pound mono with a bimini twist to a no-name knot. At the end of the wind-on leader, tie on a 150-pound test snap swivel. At the business end of the rig, snell an 8/0 circle hook to one end of a 6-foot, 50-pound fluorocarbon leader and then make a perfection loop in the other end. Clip the perfection loop onto the snap swivel and thread a rigged ballyhoo onto the circle hook.
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