Late season sailfish bite is still consistent!

Late season sailfish bite is still consistent!

I cant believe it’s late july already!  Where does the time go? Time sure does fly when you’re, well, flying fishing kites.   🙂

Remarkably, the sailfish bite has continued to be consistent. In between bonitas, kingfish, and the occasional small blackfin while fishing the edge, we’ve been hooking up with tailwalking sailfish on 5 out of our last 6 trips!

Kite fishing in the summer usually requires a helium assist on those light breeze days, but so far we’ve had steady winds out of the east which gives us just enough breeze to keep our kites in the air.

I was very fortunate to have my father in town this past weekend and I couldn’t think of a better way to spend the time than to take him out for a miami sailfish.

Miami Sailfish Charter - Sideways jumping sailfish
Sailfish bounding sideways after eating a live goggle eye

We’ve been catching most of our sailfish on midwater rods and flat lines off the riggers – taking a mix of threadfins, goggle yes, and large pilchards. For the most part, the bonitas slam our kite baits before we can even get the spread out! Fortunately, the bonitas stayed clear of our baits just long enough to put my father on his first sailfish of the year (better late than never).

Miami Sailfish Charter - Catch sailfish in Miami
Capt Charlie Ellis and Dr. Ken Ellis with a Miami Sailfish

This fish was extra frisky and launched himself into the depths after a quick revival. Sailfish have incredible stamina when hooked on light tackle and it always amazes me to watch them snake across the surface and perform epic tailwalking displays.

tailwalking sailfish off miami
Another Tail Walkin Sailfish putting on a show

We’ve been getting better about using gopro camera to document the hookup, battle, and release of these frisky billfish. We’ve got a few videos in the works which I think you’ll enjoy.  Amazingly, while filming a sail underwater at the boat, we caught a glimpse of another one swimming with him!

Look to the left and you'll see the ghostly figure of another sailfish

There’s obviously a few of these fish still prowling miami waters.  Most of our fish have been caught between 140′ and 170′ on big frisky baits. If you’re still aiming to catch a sailfish this summer, you might just get your shot!

 

Capt. Charlie Ellis

Capt. Charlie Ellis

Captain at Miami Fishing Charters LLC
Capt. Charlie Ellis of Miami, FL has 25 years experience fishing for big game species like Bluefin Tuna, Sailfish, Swordfish, and Sharks. Capt. Charlie is also an avid scuba diver, world traveler, writer, and entrepreneur.

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Capt. Charlie Ellis
Capt. Charlie Ellis of Miami, FL has 25 years experience fishing for big game species like Bluefin Tuna, Sailfish, Swordfish, and Sharks. Capt. Charlie is also an avid scuba diver, world traveler, writer, and entrepreneur.

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