Pompano Sailfish (First of 2015)

Temensisyakfishing

There is times where you wonder what you could have done better in your day out in the water. Some days are better than others, but there is days where you just feel like you are on top of the mountain and come out a winner. Today was one of those days, I headed out to Titusville on friday for the Tropic Bay Kayak Fishing Classic, needless to say, I just dont know how to fish the flats and I ended up catching only one 20 inch trout and finishing in the 16th place out of 25 anglers.... I guess it is better than last, but if you ain't first you're last right? I headed back down to Miami the same day, super tired and with offshore in my mind for Sunday.

Most of my friends already know I am obsessed with kayak fishing and they called me crazy for even trying to go offshore today but hey, I just had to do it. I woke up at 4 am having that "I dont wanna get up to go fishing feeling" but something didnt feel right about not going so I got off my butt and headed up to pompano. Met up with Leandro and Jason at the baitshop and we all got some offshore candy (Gogs) and started our paddle before the sun was out which was nice since I've never done this before, we went all the way to 150 and started the drift with our gogs out in the water. I was mostly enjoying the sunrise with the occasional jigging in between (I was so tired I didn't wanna jig) half an hour went by when I was jigging at 250 and bam the line takes off and the clicker starts screaming, the jig in the depths and I put the jigging rod in the flush mount rod holder, and I grab the rod when I see this beast jumping out of the water!. let me say that I can count the times I have gone out offshore with my fingers and this is my second sailfish ever so it is all super amazing to me to catch one. so after 20 minutes of fight I landed this beautiful animal and took some pics and let it go safely to keep swimming our oceans. I also caught a little tuna at 350 and a 30 inch king at 164 in the way back. it was a great day and I think I will never do flats fishing again lol tight lines my friends!

palmbeachpete

Nice sail.:Rockon

Billy9871

Great catch!!! The water looked great


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Butters

Great catch & release! :fishing

jcanracer

Nice!
oh and yes, you will go back to flats fishing... in the winter when its too rough for offshore lol

flsailor

I wish people would stop taking sailfish out of the water for a picture. It is not only against federal regulations, but it also diminishes billfish post-release survival

Temensisyakfishing

I understand your concern, I pulled it out for 2 minutes to get it on camera and released it right away. the pictures are screenshots from a video I made sure that beauty was swimming strongly.

John McKroid

Temensisyakfishing wrote: »

I understand your concern, I pulled it out for 2 minutes to get it on camera and released it right away. the pictures are screenshots from a video I made sure that beauty was swimming strongly.

Fish may look fine at release, but when you pull it out of the water and lay it on your lap, it looses alot of slime, which weakens it's already weakened condition.....you got plenty of pics now...hope you do the right thing next time.

Whelan

Congratulations on your catch. AJ's and Sailfish have to be my two favorite fish to catch.
Sailfish will fight you till their death. Boaters have the luxury of reaching down into the water and using the boat itself to protect the angler from a hot Sailfish. Even if we can get the fish in right away, which is difficult due to the weight of a kayak vs. the weight of a boat, I would be very careful of getting impaled by the bill.
In reality, the Sailfish has pulled you around the Atlantic and has lost its energy. Sprint around your neighborhood until you can't run anymore and then hold your breath and you get the idea of the pressure that is put on the Sailfish when it is taken out of the water just for seconds.
The second and probably just as important issue is the removal of the protective slime when the fish makes contact with the kayak and/or your lap. I pulled a fish in hot and it tail slapped the kayak knocking off the slime. That section of the fishes body actually changed color instantly. It made me think of this example, if you catch your own gogs and handle them instead of using a dehooker you will see them deteriorate in the pen due to slime removal.
Personally I try to get the fish in quick enough that it hasn't lost all of its energy and reach into the water to get the bill. If I can get the hook with its head in the water great, if not pick it up just long enough to remove the hook.
Hope this doesn't come across as bashing you as we seem to share the same addiction - fishing offshore in a kayak. Just wanted you to have another perspective for the next one.
Again, congratulations on the Sailfish and thanks for all your posts.

flsailor

I think we all agree that when we 'land' a sailfish from a kayak is because we've been able to almost completely exhaust that fish. Unlike when fishing from a powerboat boat, the ability to 'revive' a fish from a kayak is very limited. So, if you put together the fact that you have a completely exhausted fish that is known to have high oxygen requirement (like most tunas and billifsh) and the inability to fully 'revive' the fish, then pulling it out of the water even for a short period of time will further diminish the chances for survival. Additionally is the already explained issue of the removal of the protective slime. I know we all want our trophy picture, but in my personal opinion that picture is not worth taking if it will result in the death of a sailfish. Keep in mind that just because a fish swims away it does not mean that it has fully recovered and 'it will be OK'. But, most importantly is that by removing the fish from the water we are breaking federal regulations. I known cases where the government has gone after anglers that posted pictures in angling magazines that showed that federal regulations were being broken.
I am not trying to bash anybody, I am just trying to warn those that might be unaware of the consequences of removing certain fish out of the water just to take a picture.
Tight lines and be safe out there!

luc

Would the use of a drift sock by decreasing the fight time to 20 min opposed to 1 hour, be a better option for the health of that sailfish also? And of course still not lapping it for a picture.

Temensisyakfishing

I appreciate the good comments, honestly now I feel really bad about it. I am new offshore and I had no idea about all this. I know everyone is concerned about the survival of the fish and thats great. next time I catch one Ill be sure to take care of it properly thanks for the info.

Temensisyakfishing

I really appreciate it. I agree with you. not worth risking the health of the fish. theres always a next time to do the right thing. thanks for the info!

John McKroid

luc wrote: »

Would the use of a drift sock by decreasing the fight time to 20 min opposed to 1 hour, be a better option for the health of that sailfish also? And of course still not lapping it for a picture.

Decreasing the fight time will most likely be better healthwise for a sailfish, but I don't see how a drift sock will help you.....most power boaters run a fish down with the motor for a quick release catch....a drift sock will do just the opposite.

FLATS BROKE

Nice fish!!!

kayakfrank

FLATS BROKE wrote: »

Nice fish!!!

X2 brother!

ZimmerNole

FLATS BROKE wrote: »

Nice fish!!!

I agree, well done Rob.

timmcollins

Temensisyakfishing wrote: »

I appreciate the good comments, honestly now I feel really bad about it.

Don't worry about. You could have taken it home and tossed it on the grill :hungry

Just kiddin!

lmp1978

Way to go Rob……. Well done..