by Capt. James Marko
Yea, I wouldn’t believe it either if we didn’t actually catch one! Sailfish is one of most sought-after fish in the world and for many reasons. If you ever fought a sailfish you know they dance on the water like no other fish I’ve ever seen. I have some experience with sailfish because I target them in my big boat on the East Coast of Florida for a couple months out of the year. One day last month I was doing Goliath Grouper research with some clients before my man Tom Fish showed up to the wreck in the morning. Tom Fish has caught sailfish all around the world and almost landed 25 sails in a single day on a fishing trip a couple months ago. When he got to the wreck I told him to anchor up next to me because I was on the wreck. I was chumming like crazy, as always when all of sudden a sail popped up. We started chumming extremely hard and had live baits going off both boats when all of sudden Tom’s rod goes off and the sailfish danced behind the boat for what seemed like entirely too long. Tom was quick to act and hooked the fish. After a couple of minutes watching him, we decided to work this as a team because of the rarity of this fish in our area. I hoped on his boat and the team work began. We swapped the rod between us for about 15 minutes while the fish keep dancing. I’ve caught my fair share of sails, but I’ve never seen one dance this much. This was a solid fish, over 5 feet and she let us know by the fight she was giving us. We fought the fish in silence in the middle of Florida summer heat. Sweat pouring off all of us, knowing we had a rare catch on for our area. I’ve honestly heard only of 4 people that have caught a sailfish over here, especially in 35 feet of water! When she was close enough, I reached in with all my might and got the fish. We all celebrated for a minute, grabbed a picture, and had her swimming on her way. One of the coolest experiences I’ve had fishing Southwest Florida. Wanna thank Tom Fish for trusting in me to get the job done and share that experience with them. Remember, we’re all on the water for the same reason; to have fun and make memories. Let’s all enjoy this passion with fellow anglers!