You all see it at the same time, although the untrained eye could have easily missed the slashing black bill rising out of the ocean behind the hookless teaser. Time moves in slow motion and hyper-speed all at the same time as the three principals all hope to play their part to perfection. The captain keeps the boat steady; his boat handling skills will soon be tested to the max if all goes well now. The mate starts to reel in the teaser, not too fast, yet not too slow. The sailfish get angrier and more frustrated as the meal he tries to engulf continues to slip away yet is still in front of him. I stand poised at the stern, fly rod and fly in hand, fly line coiled in a bucket of water at my feet. The tricky part comes now as the mate must make the teaser disappear, while I present my fly simultaneously. A clean bait-and-switch occurs, my fly having been delivered slightly behind the enraged billfish. The lit-up fish, glowing electric blue like a neon sign, turns to look for the meal that has just disappeared, right into my pink and purple popper with the big doll eyes; who could resist? All the action occurs right at the stern of the boat giving everyone a ring side, front row view to the action. Three down and dirty sweeps of the 12 weight rod set the hook and Mr. Sailfish erupts out of the sea in a dazzling display of jumps, tail walks, and twists, before he screams away and the battle really begins. Welcome to the world of big game salt water fly fishing, the closest thing to hunting without a gun.
I’ve been fortunate in my life to have taken some 25 plus billfish on a fly rod in addition to tarpon, tuna, Mahi Mahi, and shark. If you would like to try this, there are some places and techniques that will shorten your learning curve substantially. First and foremost, you must be in a place that has an abundance of the fish you desire. Fly fishing is a low percentage endeavor at best; if fish are few and far between, the odds greatly favor the quarry. When we talk big game fish, usually its billfish or tarpon, not to say there aren’t other worthy opponents. A whole industry has begun in San Diego around chasing mako sharks with a fly. One would look to the Florida Keys or Tampa area, if a 100 lbs tarpon was the goal. Billfish, though never abundant, are successfully pursued in Costa Rica, Panama, Cabo San Lucas, and a few other off beat locales around the globe. Be sure to check the proper season and never fish on a full moon if you can help it.
When you battle fish that weigh as much or more than you on fly gear, your equipment better be the best you can afford or all you will have for your effort is a story of the one that got away. Twelve weight rods are the weapon of choice; any top name will do, though I prefer Thomas & Thomas. A 12 weight reel to match with 600 yards of backing is essential. A big tarpon or sailfish will tear up a cheap reel long before you can tire them out; this is not the place to scrimp. All your knots must be perfect. Read a good book on knots, heavy mono is very difficult to work with and takes practice. I spread aquaseal on every knot I tie; it seeps into the knot and locks it with a flexible bond. Flies vary with the fish you are pursuing. Sailfish prefer a pink popper; tarpon want a long narrow fly and marlin want a big blue feather. When billfishing, I use a double hook set-up. Most are tied at a 180 degree offset, I have found a 90 degree angle (see picture) greatly increases my hook-up percentage. I snell these on 100 # test line and coat them with aquaseal. The IFGA has rules about how long each part of your leader can be; I would never kill a big game fish, so I don’t care about these rules. I use a shock leader and a butt section usually about 9 feet in length total. I connect these with a loop to loop connection and can change leaders in seconds. If you care about records, then you have to conform to leader length limits set by the IFGA.
All the action is going to take place right in front of you on a billfish hunt. A lit-up and angry fish will be at the stern of your boat looking for something to eat. It will not require a long cast, but it has to be accurate. For tarpon you need to be able to lay that fly out there, time spent practicing at the local ball field will be greatly appreciated by your guide. In all but a few rare instances, this is sight “hunting”. If you think your heart pounds when a deer approaches your tree stand, wait until you need to deliver a perfect cast to a 125 pound cruising tarpon. I have seen the some of the best fly casters fall apart when eye-to-eye with a slashing sailfish and throw a snarled, useless 10 foot cast.
Now you’ve done everything right. You were in the right place, at the right time, with the right fly, and made the perfect cast…hold on tight because the next 45minutes to several hours are going to test you mentally and physically. There is no fighting chair in this sport, no rest between rounds, and in most cases a relentless hot sun is beating down on you. It’s a knockdown, drag out fight from hookup until hooks out. Any and all weakness in you or your equipment will be exploited by these masters of the deep. The shear strength of these great fish will amaze you. They never seem to give up. If you let your guard down for even a second, your fish will be off the hook and you will be one tired and depressed angler. But if all goes well, you’ll have a great picture for your trophy room and a satisfied feeling as you watch that great fish swim off to battle again another day. A word of warning is in order; I carry a scar to remind me that even a tired and spent fish is extremely dangerous. I had a ready to release sail by the bill, moving the boat forward for him to “catch his breath”. It was a small panga with low side boards and I was too close to the fish. He gave a mighty swipe with his bill, catching me across the bicep, way too close to my face and potentially real disaster 30 miles off shore in a foreign country. I was lucky!
I wish every hunter could give this a try. It’s like catch and release hunting. I assure you, it’s every bit as much an adrenalin rush as any big game hunt is. Good luck and be safe.[wpg_thumb height=”200″ width=”180″]
