Fishing

The Excitement of Bait and Switch
By Ed Kunze

There are several methods of catching a sailfish here on the Costa Grande. Probably the most boring one is to sit in a fighting chair, let the deck hand set the hook, and then pass the rod off to you. The rod and reel is huge, as well as the 60 to 80 pound line being used. It is almost like being nothing but a winch. When catching any type of a fish, the hook-set is the most skilled part and the most fun. Plus, you get the thrill of that first line peeling run. I almost feel the deckhand setting the hook, even though he does work his tail off all tail all day, gets the most thrills on a fishing charter.

Skilled anglers scorn this method of letting somebody else set the hook for them. However, most of the fishermen who come to our resort, usually fall into the category of those who do not get out on the salt water very often, let alone have very many chances for a billfish. The captains know this, and since the crew has a lot more experience catching sailfish, they generally set the hook for the client. This ensures the day is successful, and everybody goes home happy. There are other methods the angler, skilled or not, can use for enjoying the acrobatics and hard runs of the sailfish, and all of them involve using smaller outfits with line of no more than 40 pound test. You can also vary your methods, because the crew is skilled. They are there to help you and make your day a good one. Just talk it over with the captain when leaving the dock, and he will set up accordingly.

For dramatic strikes, and really having a close encounter with the sailfish, try a bait and switch.

One method, but not used very much here, is a live bait fished off a kite. The angler gets an incredible thrill when a sailfish comes half out of the water to pounce on the offering. The angler points the rod at the fish, and lets him run away with the bait. Instead of free spooling the reel at the pickup, there is plenty of slack in the line, because the bait rod line is elevated up on a release clip attached to the kite line. When the line comes tight, the circle hook will find its way into the corner of the mouth. After about 15 minutes, the fish is tagged and released. Another method, and used quite often here, is slow trolling a live bait. The strike is not as spectacular as running a live bait off the kite, but is very effective. However, when you feel the pick up, you must release the spool, letting the line drop back for a few seconds, in order for the fish to take the bait and make its run.

For dramatic strikes, and really having a close encounter with the sailfish, try a bait and switch. This method is also the easiest of them all for the angler to hook a fish on light line and enjoy the spectacular fight of one of the oceans most exotic game fish. The basic concept is to get the fish interested in the teaser baits, and then switch him over to a bait with a hook in it. The smaller sailfish sized teaser baits are usually hookless, however if larger marlin lures are used, the hooks can remain, because a sailfish’s mouth is too small to eat the big lure. The teaser should also have a bait inside the skirts of the lure. The fish will bite down on the hookless lure and get the actual taste of the baitfish, but the vinyl skirts prevent it from being bitten in half. This really infuriates the fish, because he is thinking his easy meal is now getting away.

When the sailfish becomes committed, by rising to the surface and slashing at the teaser lure, the deckhand will start to wind in the teaser the sailfish is interested in. The captain will simultaneously slow the boat down a bit. Then it is time for the angler to go into action. When the fish is raised, you will get the bait in the water, and wait a few seconds until the crew brings the fish closer to the boat. When fishing with dead bait, it is best to drop the bait back to alongside, or just in front of the sailfish. The sailfish, seeing the real thing, will then switch over from the teaser to the bait. This is the fun part. You have a rod with only 20 to 40 pound test line, and three to four feet of 100 pound test leader attached to the circle hook. The excited nine foot long and 85 pound sailfish is lit up with its cobalt blue iridescence only fifteen to twenty feet away. You actually see him take the bait, make his turn, and start to leave the area. Just point the rod right at him, and let the circle hook do the rest.

Another variation of the bait and switch is to tease the fish up, pull the teasers out of the water, and then do a drop back with a live bait. Using a live bait on the bait and switch is an almost 100% effective method for catching the teased up sailfish.

Setting the hook on a sailfish, when using the standard method of trolling baits, is not as easy as the crew makes it look. The quickness to the rod, the amount of time allowed for the drop back, feeling if the fish is there or not, and dropping back again if he is not, takes a lot of on the water experience. This is why, when you fish this method, the crew sets the hook. But, the thrill could be a lot greater if you set the hook yourself, with the fish only a few feet away. All the crews know how to do the bait and switch, but unless you ask, you will end up being a winch for your day on the water.

Ed Kunze is Zihuatanejo’s IGFA Representative and a charter fishing boat captain. He lives in Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo year-round and can be reached at (755) 554-4876 or edkunze@prodigy.net.mx. For more information on Capt. Ed and his boats go to www.sportfishing-ixtap.com or www.zihuatanejo.net/seaandsand

Previous | Next