InTheBite

Tournament Kite Fishing for Sailfish—The X-Factor

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By Captain Nick Gonzalez

Kite fishing has been met by a number of innovations over the last 10 years. Electric kite reels have gotten faster, more reliable, and easier to use. To compliment these kite reels and increase efficiency, light, high-speed conventional reels with smooth drags and high gear ratios came into the market. A number of different rod manufacturers began making excellent rods with soft tips and moderate backbones that are ideal for kite fishing. In addition, circle hooks became mainstream and a number of different manufacturers make chemically sharpened circle hooks that are tournament legal and very affordable.

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The Most Exciting Moment in Billfishing

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The moment we live for

The moment we live for

By Nick Smith

It occurred to me that this billfishing-with-lures thing we do is a lot like what I’ve done most of my life in the automobile business. It’s about attracting customers and eventually closing the deal. The oldest marketing adage in the book is AIDA. It was coined by some marketing genius way back in the late 1800s. It stands for: Attention, Interest, Desire, Action.

Isn’t that exactly what we’re trying to do with our spread of teasers or lures? These hunks of plastic and rubber have to accomplish AIDA and do it consistently for us to have success with the billfish that we pursue so fervently.

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Fishing Slang

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guys holding a tuna on back of boat

Photo courtesy Capt. Jack Sprengel, East Coast Charters.

By ITB Staff

As the saying goes, there is more than one way to skin a cat. And in the fishing world, there is generally more than one way to say just about anything.

If someone wants to refer to a big fish the following, depending on where the person is from, would be perfectly acceptable means of expressing the size of the creature: hog, lunker, sow, mogan, tank, slob, gorilla, donkey, cow, monster, fatty, huge, giant, pig, a full-grown one, a real one. And those are just the ones that are fit to print (there’s a certain Australian exclamation that is outstanding, too). The following is a breakdown of fishing slang.

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Fighting Big Fish from A Center Console

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Yellowfin boat floating in water

By Capt. Adam Peeples

When I head offshore for a day of fishing my wife, Cadence, almost always says, “I hope you catch a big one today!” Catching a big fish is probably every captain and angler’s goal on any given fishing trip. We obsess over gear, baits, weather, moon phase, lucky shirts and hats – the list goes on. One thing that often gets overlooked, however, is the actual battle of man versus fish.

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Conquering The Backlash

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By ITB Staff

Chasing billfish with light tackle, circle hooks and dead bait is a tactic that has gained in popularity worldwide. It’s a great way to keep the anglers involved in catching fish rather than just waiting for a blind strike, not to mention that pitch-baiting a lit-up marlin or sailfish off the teaser is just about the coolest thing you can do.

Unfortunately, with new anglers there’s also a corresponding rise in burnt thumbs and bird’s nests—we’re talking about the dreaded backlash. Here are a few tips on what to do once you’ve had one and, even better, a few thoughts on how to keep them from happening in the first place.    [Read more…]

Swinging the Steel: Time to Take the Shot

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big marlin stuck with gaff in Australia

Capt. Corey Hard and the Mauna Lea pictured with a brute of a fish jumping boat side after being struck with the flying gaff. This fish escaped capture. Even for experienced crews with all of the right equipment, the end game on a big fish is far from certain. Photo courtesy Dean Butler

By Jarad “Dingo” Boshammer

Even for the most experienced crew, taking a big fish is a challenge. For those lacking experience this is a daunting situation. More fish are lost boat side due to lack of experience than anywhere else. Losing fish can result from tackle failure, lack of preparation, buck fever, poor communication or bad driving. As it can be difficult to gain the experience needed to secure a giant fish boat side without practice, the following is an account of the approach, techniques and materials needed to harvest a large marlin.

 

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Slant vs. Cupped Head: Action Makes the Difference

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By Capt. Bart Miller

In early 2018, sportfishing legend Capt. Bart “Black Bart” Miller passed away. Bart left behind a lure company bearing his name and a list of marlin fishing feats that will likely never be duplicated. Miller was a veritable legend in the sportfishing industry and InTheBite is proud to have published some of Miller’s perspective. Here, from the archives, is one such piece.

As far back as I can remember, lure designs were very basic: bullet-shaped heads and slant heads. Slant heads fell into two categories, one being a tube-shaped head with a slant nose; the other being a cylinder-shaped, tapered head with a dished out nose. The dished-out shape was [Read more…]

How to Drop Back to Billfish—How Marlin and Sailfish Really Feed

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By Peter B. Wright

The family of “true” billfish includes all the species called marlin, all the sailfish (which are split into the Atlantic and Pacific species with the Pacific sailfish also being found in the Indian Ocean) and several species of spearfish. Swordfish are commonly grouped with these billfish of the Istiophoridae family, but they are technically the sole member of the family Xiphiidae.

All of these fish are part of the teleost group, which are known as bony fishes and are closely related. With the sole exception of the swordfish, billfish vary only slightly in how the different species capture and kill their prey. I am about to explain why the common myth that all billfish use their bill as a sword, or a club, to kill their prey is not correct!

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Capt. Bart Miller—His Take on Lure Hook-Up

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In early 2018, sportfishing legend Capt. Bart “Black Bart” Miller passed away. Bart left behind a lure company bearing his name and a list of marlin fishing feats that will likely never be duplicated. Miller was a veritable legend in the sportfishing industry and InTheBite is proud to have published some of Miller’s perspective. Here, from the archives, is one such piece.

[Read more…]