[dropcap]I[/dropcap]n December we will see a lot of cool and cold fronts approaching from the north bringing cooler temperatures and wind. Along with cooler air temperatures, we will be seeing cooler water temperatures. Sailfish will be migrating south and travelling right through the Treasure Coast waters. Even though sailfish can be caught in our water all through the year, this is the time of year that we will have the biggest abundance of them and they will be hungry. Sailfish seem to like rougher days with a lot of chop on top of the water. The average boater will not have as many days to get out and look for these fish due to the fronts making water conditions rough. It will be best to watch the pre-frontal and post-frontal forecast and pick your days.
At this time of year, sailfish will typically be found between 100 to 250 feet average depth. When fishing for sailfish, a good trolling bait is a rigged ballyhoo trolled at 5 to 7 mph. I recommend rigging your ballyhoo with a circle hook on the head so you can get a good hook-up in the corner of the mouth, resulting in less of a chance of gut hooking the fish and a greater chance of the fish being released in a healthy condition. If you need help rigging with the circle hook, there are many videos on the Internet that give good instruction.
If you would rather use live bait, a nice size blue runner or greenie will surely entice a sailfish to bite. Either way, trolling or live baiting, I highly recommend using a dredge off the corner of the boat and/or in your prop wash to look like a ball of bait to a sailfish down below. While fishing for sails, keep your eye out for the stray mahi that may still be hanging around.
When hooked up with a sailfish, you will experience some magnificent jumps and speed combined into a great acrobatic show. After fighting a sailfish and getting it to the boat, please take some care and revive the sailfish. This can be done by holding the sailfish boatside with the sailfish facing the bow of the boat and slowly idling the boat forward to allow the water to wash over the gills until the fish is strong enough to swim on its own.
Enjoy this time of year and as always be safe on the water and have fun.