The sky awoke from its dark slumber as scarlet hues broke on the western horizon. I recalled the old mariner's saying: Red sky at night, sailor's delight; red sky at morning, sailor take warning. Sure enough, the afternoon would be filled with 6- to 9-foot waves to turn our sailfish outing into a wild ride. The spectacular action that would precede the rough seas would prove well worth it, however.
I was aboard Old Reliable, a custom-built 30-footer owned by Nick Smith. Also along: Capt. Angelo Durante. It's a 40-minute, no-wake chug on the Intracoastal Waterway from Smith's home in North Palm Beach, Florida, to Sailfish Marina, where we would rendezvous with a bait boat for a $120 delivery of three-dozen live goggle-eyes. The plan was to hunt for sails in Sailfish Alley, a broad area that stretches offshore from Sebastian Inlet to the north and south off Palm Beach - an 80-mile expanse that has consistently produced great catches of sails during the fall for 30 years or more.
Fishing with Smith and Durante off southeast Florida is like playing golf with Tiger Woods and Greg Norman at the Masters - you won't find a better duo. Smith has won countless sailfish tournaments and frequently places first in the sailfish category of the Metropolitan South Florida Fishing Tournament with 100 or more releases during the six-month event. Durante was bitten with the sailfish bug as a youngster, and the disease is still with him - a lifelong passion that's enabled him to perfect his sailfishing techniques. I was eager to learn how they and others have scored so many spindlebeak releases over the years in Sailfish Alley.
Beat the Benchmark
Durante and Smith networked on the radio with charter captains to catch up on who was catching what, where. As we approached the marina, Smith slowed the boat so he and Durante could count the red sailfish release flags flapping from the outriggers of the charter fleet. These "red badges of courage" are the local form of bragging along Sailfish Alley, and everyone takes notice.
Durante pointed to a string of 13 flags whipping from a Merritt boat. "He'd only caught seven when we turned to go north yesterday," he says. Those 13 flags became our benchmark goal for the day. Could we do better?
Sunny skies gave way to gray before noon, and 30-knot winds turned the seas into a turmoil. We maintained a north heading in search of sailfish concentrations, but we soon gave up slow-trolling in favor of sight-casting live baits, which was anything but simple. We discovered several fast-moving pods of super-charged sailfish, but they appeared in seconds and then quickly dissolved into the blue of the Gulf Stream. Smith and Durante were up to the task, however, and at one point they saw the same pod of fish and simultaneously made lightning casts. Both hooked up, but - as rarely happens with these pros - both lost their fish.
Smith soon scored on a high-flying sail that led him on a slip-sliding chase around the cockpit. As the boat came off a huge wave, he sprawled and nearly bounced off the bow. Moments later Durante was also locked in combat. Eyes tearing from the cold, I felt grateful that I had the wheel to hold onto.
While most others would have headed back to the dock - and no one would have blamed them - we fished relentlessly on. I'll always remember Durante removing nine red flags from a drawer and stringing them on the outrigger as we finally passed the dock at Sailfish Marina at around 9 p.m. We didn't beat 13 releases, but no one hung his head in shame.
Alley in the Stream
The dominant current off southeast Florida is the Gulf Stream, which flows north at a rate of 1 to 5 knots. Off the Palm Beaches, deep blue tropical waters sweep along the 120-foot-depth contour that roughly follows the edge of the continental shelf. The stream continues northward beyond Jupiter, arching 5 to 7 miles from the St. Lucie Inlet off Stuart and 8 to 10 miles off Fort Pierce.
This 120-foot edge along Sailfish Alley that parallels Palm Beach to Sebastian Inlet has dramatic bottom structures easily discerned with depth sounders. Logically, Durante concludes 120 feet is a good place to begin the search for sails in Sailfish Alley. Sonic tagging experiments have shown that depending on the conditions, sailfish concentrate on either side of the confluence where clear, warm, deep-blue waters of the Gulf Stream meet turbid, green coastal waters. While this confluence or "edge" can happen over a broad expanse, statistics indicate sails are most likely to be located along the 120-foot edge.
Like many game fish, sails are structure-oriented because of the presence of baitfish. Rather than the steep drop-offs found elsewhere, structure in the alley is scattered in depths from 60 to 400 feet, including reefs and rock patches where baitfish congregate. All these sailfish-attracting features explain why 80-mile-long Sailfish Alley is so productive. The width of Sailfish Alley narrows as you go north, starting from about 3 miles off Palm Beach to 8 miles off Stuart, 15 off Fort Pierce and about 19 off Sebastian Inlet.
Sailfish Cuisine
As opposed to some places where sails forage primarily on baits such as ballyhoo and cigar minnows, those feeding in Sailfish Alley have a more varied diet. Stomach contents taken from more than 250 sailfish for a Florida Department of Natural Resources study indicate that their most popular table d'htte are small tunas, jacks and squid, followed by paper nautilus, ballyhoo, halfbeaks, cutlassfish, pinfish and herrings. To a lesser extent, sailfish in the alley enjoy triggerfish, filefish, sea robins, puffers, octopuses, anchovies, mullet, flying fish, dolphin, bluefish and needlefish. Although they catch mostly ballyhoo and flying fish near the surface, sails find a majority of the rest of their forage from mid-depth to the bottom. Thus, offering baits that cover the entire water column works most effectively for catching sailfish.
The winter migration of herrings - pilchards, sardines, cigar minnows and anchovies - attracts hordes of sailfish to southeast Florida. When water temperatures register 68 to 73 degrees, a plankton hatch takes place that nourishes herrings. Nipping at their fins are pods of sailfish.
The term "balling the bait" was coined by the late Capt. Jack Whiticar while fishing off Stuart. He and other fishermen noted that sailfish frequently herd small baits into compact schools by working in teams of three to as many as 30 or more fish. The sails swim in concentric circles, tightening the noose around the bait schools. Once the bait is densely packed, they break ranks and swim through the ball, slashing with their bills to kill and maim baitfish. The sails then slurp them up before reorganizing to ball more bait.
Although goggle-eyes have become the preferred live sailfish bait among many fishermen in the alley, Durante has found others that often work as well or even better. "I like to have a variety of baits on hand because you never know what they might prefer. During a two-week span last winter, sailfish blew past goggle-eyes to get at the pinfish on my flat lines. You wouldn't think sailfish would prefer a bait that spends much of its life on the grass flats, but that definitely was the case."
All Eyes on the Temperature Gauge
Conditions along Sailfish Alley tend to vary more widely in a given hour or half-day than they do off Miami and the Keys, observes Durante, which is why fish here will spread out over a broad area. To best narrow the search, locate the conditions sailfish prefer, such as subtle temperature changes at current edges. "I've had days when I couldn't see an edge, but by watching my temperature gauge I could find it. Even two-tenths of a degree will make a big enough difference."
Although Durante looks for temperature changes and current edges first, other conditions also favor the presence of sails in portions of Sailfish Alley. Whenever current flows against a light north wind, it creates a chop that attracts baitfish and predators. Normally, when these conditions develop you'll encounter cooler water temperatures on one side of the edge.
One variable that seems to hold true most days is that the current runs stronger on the bluer side of an edge in the Gulf Stream as opposed to the greener side. The blue side is usually the most productive, and when fishing it Durante slightly increases his trolling speed to encourage more strikes.
Although water temperature is a factor that often determines when sailfish are feeding, Durante has found that sailfish have a wider range of temperatures in which they feed than other billfish. "I've caught sails in 70-degree water and I've caught them in 88-degree water," he says. "However, in December, January and February, I'm looking for the mid-70s as the best range." While 76 degrees is considered optimum, Durante concentrates on finding the warmest water temperatures next to a current edge or color change.
Sailfish Signs
Durante turned to a page in his log and recalled a winter day off Stuart a few years ago. He was running north of the inlet to a set of numbers where the charter fleet had caught fish the day before. "I passed some terns working in 60 to 70 feet. I stopped for a moment but figured it was too shallow, even though I saw and smelled a bait slick. The water temperature was 68 degrees, so I thought it was too cold. Well, I went on by and, sure enough, everyone who caught sailfish that day caught them right in that area. I should have paid better attention to the presence of other signs such as bait and birds."
Bait and birds are always positive signs for sailfish. Frigate birds are good messengers, but there aren't many frigates in Sailfish Alley. During the winter months especially, the two types of birds to pay close attention to are gannets and terns - especially terns when they circle and swoop, because that tells you they're over bait.
A plankton edge or weed line in conjunction with a good current edge offers another can't-miss sign. If you see a current edge or rip with plankton in it, stop and put out the baits.
Of all the sailfish signs, depth seems to be the least important. "Sailfish are often scattered throughout the alley, which is a lot of water to cover," Durante says. "If you can find a combination of things - such as bait and birds working, followed by color changes and temperature, the presence of plankton, and high-profile bottom contours that create rip currents and upwellings that concentrate baitfish - your chances are high for encountering sailfish."
If good sailfish signs are hard to find, stay tuned to your radio for word of free-jumpers. "The radio is especially important on days when fish are scattered," says Durante. "Even if I'm set up with kite baits, if I hear reports of free-jumpers, I'll pick up and run to that area."
To increase mobility on slow days, Durante minimizes the number of baits he puts in the water. "I'll start out with two or three baits until I can put together a pattern. That way I can pick up and move quickly." Dead bait often is the most effective on such days, he adds.
Most of the time Durante fishes live goggle-eyes, frigate mackerel and pinfish, but frequent tournament winner Capt. Chip Shafer of the Temptress prefers catching sails in Sailfish Alley on rigged ballyhoo and bonito strips with or without 1/4-ounce blue-and-white and black-and-white Sea Witches. The skirts are always trimmed so they don't flare.
The Carolina native fishes a Carolina-style spread of seven baits with two teasers. If there is a secret bait, Shafer says, it's the teasers. On the port side, he runs a daisy chain with a 6-inch fluorescent squid at the lead, followed by several 3-inch plastic squids. A large 8-inch lure at the tail end of the chain gives the appearance that it's chasing the fleeing squid. Hooker-style lures are sometimes substituted for squid. On the starboard side, a string of five fresh, deboned mullet swim and dive, each rigged with an egg sinker under its chin to create a lot of commotion.
Although 75 percent of the time Shafer trolls dead bait, he always carries a dozen or so live baits for insurance. Explains Shafer, "I fish live bait when competing with live-bait fishermen, but I'd rather not because it kills more sailfish than dead bait."
Shafer spends his day listening to what other fishermen are seeing and doing, and looking for that "pretty water" he knows sailfish desire. "I'm looking for blue-green water with a deeper hint of blue, and 76- to 79-degree water temperature," he adds.
Go With the Wind
Capt. Jack Whiticar used to claim that sails hit best three days before and after a nor'easter. That pretty much dovetails with Durante's assessment about winter wind patterns in the alley. "I've caught sailfish in every wind direction, but during the winter especially, it's best when the wind is blowing out of a northerly quadrant. Westerly winds make for calm seas close to shore, but we get no protection from a northeast wind, which produces a short, mean chop."
Asked to give a description for one of those "have bait and be there days," Durante likes a day after a stiff front has moved through. "I want the weather to be moderate because it's a lot easier to fish live baits on calm days, so a northerly 10-knot breeze on the north-flowing Gulf Stream current would be nice. There would be a pronounced blue-green edge for the sailfish to tail down sea; better yet, there would be two pronounced color changes: a powder-blue edge along the green inshore side and a deeper, dark blue change on the offshore edge. If you find those conditions, you can rack up a double-digit day."
Ideal conditions are not unusual to find in the winter in Sailfish Alley, especially the last two years. "If anything, conditions and sailfishing are as good or better than I've ever seen," says Durante, who experienced his best day ever January 30. Fishing once again with Nick Smith, this time aboard a new incarnation of Old Reliable - a 36-foot Knowles - on one of the coldest days of the winter, they caught and released an astounding 30 sailfish out of the 50 hooked up.
The bite was almost that good the week before when anglers on one charter caught 13 of 23 sails they raised as one of the season's stiffest cold fronts roared through. On the same day, Durante was fishing straight off Palm Beach Inlet. "We had a 20-knot northwest wind and a good northerly current, but because of the way the land protrudes into the Gulf Stream, it made for fairly calm 3-foot seas," recalls Durante. Fishing a narrow strip of ocean between 190 and 240 feet deep where sailfish were concentrated along a temperature edge, they caught tailers, free-jumpers and two sails from schools that were balling bait. The next day was almost a repeat, with 15-knot northerly winds and 17 out of 27 sailfish releases tallied.
"To show you how winter fishing can get even better as winds lay down after a northeaster, the third day after the front, January 20, I had only one angler," says Durante. "He'd never fished live bait so I kept things simple with two baits in the water. We had those ideal light northwest winds and calm seas, but no current. Nonetheless, fish were concentrated between 170 and 200 feet, and he caught nine out of 13 sailfish."
Days like that are reminiscent of those of 15 to 20 years ago, when anglers would often see school after school of sailfish balling baits. On just such a day in the early 1980s, anglers with Capt. Albert Johnston of Sebastian caught and released 83 sails in Sailfish Alley, and I was at the dock when the boat returned. Next day I fished with Johnston and we released over 40 sails, as did many other boats.
Sailfish Alley has been one of the world's most dependable winter hot spots, yet not many people outside Florida are aware of it. But one thing's for sure: As cold fronts move through and winds kick around from the northeast and settle northwest this winter, hordes of sailfish will be frolicking again in the 80-mile swath between Palm Beach and Sebastian Inlet.
