This great shot of an Atlantic sailfish attacking a trolling lure was sent in by my friend Joe Yeni of MarineMax in Stuart. Joe took this picture on his birthday last December 10th. Joe, it was that beautiful new Cabo 52 Express and those quiet MAN engines that did it. The boat is a sailfish (and chick) magnet without a doubt!
SOUTH FLORIDA SAILFISH ALLEY
The waters off Palm Beach north to the Treasure Coast are some
of the most productive Atlantic sailfish grounds at this time of the
year. The strip, not too far from shore and between 90 and 250 ft of
water is frequently called Sailfish Alley. For the looks of it, this
promises to be a banner season for sailfish in the region and I am
sure we will be posting many more sailfish shots this winter.
These beautiful fish can be finicky and unpredictable. The style of
choice for seasoned locals is to live bait with circle hooks on a free
line where there is a confirmed sailfish presence. When specifically
targeting sailfish, we prefer the local method as circle hooks dramatically
reduce fish mortality. Sailfishing is strictly a catch and release activity.
As Joe’s photograph proves, a motivated sailfish will go for a plastic
trolling lure just as well. Such by-catch is common when trolling for other
species that visit our sunny South Florida at this time of the year.
BTW. If you need a boat, Joe at MarineMax Stuart is the man!
Jimmy Z from Rhode Island and one of those
big stripers the area is known for. This one caught
on an Ming reel.
PHOTOS
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