Following a ho-hum August, sailfish catches are picking up again along the South Carolina coast. “People travel the world looking for bites like we’re getting right now,” says Bennett Griffin, who captains a private sportfishing boat out of Charleston.
One of Griffin’s charter acquaintances caught four sailfish and got seven bites on Labor Day. Another friend had eight bites early last week, and Mark Daniels of Greenville caught three of six sailfish he saw last Friday.
“That’s pretty special,” Griffin said.
And pretty simple as well.
“There’s not much to it – we fish four hook-baits and four teasers, all naked ballyhoo,” Griffin said. “There are no real tricks. The important thing is to get them back there and get them swimming good.”
Griffin, an avid proponent of circle hooks, is convinced that circle hooks result in “better-swimming” baits, so he uses them exclusively when trolling for billfish.
Most of the recent sailfish action has been found from 45 to 55 miles offshore in water that’s 300 to 400 feet deep.
Griffin looks for pods of baitfish as well as “anything that breaks up the monotony out there.” This would include a temperature break, a current edge or dramatic change in water color or clarity. When such locations are found, he trolls at 5 to 5 1/2 knots.
The sailfish pale in size compared to other billfish – 30 pounds would be average, with bigger fish weighing 45 or 50 pounds, Griffin said – but are no less a pleasure to catch.
“We’re glad to have them, especially this time of year,” Griffin said. “They get in the spread and veer off and do a lot of jumping.”
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