By: Capt. Bruce Anderson
While we’ve got great offshore fishing in the keys year-round for a variety of different species, the most exciting action through the winter months for me is live bait fishing for sailfish. There are several different ways to catch sailfish, but there’s nothing like fighting one on light tackle like we do here in the Keys. These fish do things on light tackle that you don’t see on heavy tackle and they can really put on a show.
Most of the techniques involve some type of live bait fishing. Whether it be kite fishing, slow trolling, or sight casting the key to sailfishing here is live bait. Goggle eyes, pilchards, sardines, herring, and cigar minnows are all popular kite baits while ballyhoo, pilchards, and minnows.
On my boat, I prefer kite fishing and that has definitely become the most popular way to sailfish over the years. Trolling live ballyhoo is another popular method that can be very productive if you don’t have the kite tackle or enough wind to fly them. Either way pay close attention to your baits. The bite can be very exciting and you won’t want to miss it, especially when fishing ballyhoo. There’s nothing like watching a sailfish come up right behind the boat to chase down a live ballyhoo.
I recently had the opportunity to ride out on the charter boat “Buzz On” with my friend Captain Aaron Brower and watch a group of young anglers including my son Ian participate in the Islamorada Juniors sailfish tournament. It was an awesome experience getting to sit back and watch a top-notch crew work so hard to show the kids a great time. Everybody had an amazing time and I even got to see Ian catch a couple of sailfish!
If you’ve never experienced the thrill of sailfishing, I would highly recommend getting offshore this winter and giving it a shot. Luckily, we’ve got some of the most knowledgeable and professional guides and charter boat crews in the world that are dialed in on the techniques to put you on the fish. You can also expect many kinds of exciting bycatch. Dolphin, tuna, kingfish, wahoo and other pelagics all roam the areas just offshore of the reef and all are possibilities when targeting sailfish in The Florida Keys. Hopefully I’ll see you out there soon!
— You can reach Captain Bruce Anderson at Capt. Easy Charters, MM 85, call 305.360.2120 or email at: captbrucekey@comcast.net