Family: Bill Fish

The sailfish is a circumtropical pelagic. In Indonesia, we encounter the Pacific population, which grows more than the Atlantic variety.

It is a beautiful billfish that swims in schools and can sometimes be seen in large groups travelling in search of prey, or attacking a bait ball.

It is easily distinguished from the marlin by its immense sail. When swimming, the sail is often folded. It cannot be confused with the black, blue or striped marlin which are more massive, but could be confused with the spearfish.

It can be found near the reefs, rather in deep waters over 40m. It comes willingly to flash.

The sailfish is ideally shot with a blue water rig but its firm flesh and thick skin prevent it from easily tearing off so normal shafts can be used with a better success rate than on the wahoo.

It is perhaps the fastest of all fish. But after one or two very powerful rushes, the sailfish weakens quickly, especially if it was shot in the middle of the body which embarrasses it enormously in its swimming. Be careful with the sharp bill but very few accidents have been reported, especially if basic safety rules are followed.

The sailfish is delicious raw or cooked, and certainly not threatened by spearos, as its encounter is pretty rare.

The black marlin is the king of the Indo-Pacific, it can exceed 700kg and is a legendary big game fish.

Its stocky figure exudes an incredible sense of power and although less colorful than the blue marlin, it dazzles with its golden sideband and indigo back.

It is easily distinguished from the sailfish by its short dorsal fin, typical of marlin. It is also distinguished from the striped marlin by its more massive silhouette, the absence of intense and broad stripes of the latter and less round pectoral. It is finally distinguished from the blue marlin whose pectoral folds and has many vertical stripes, thin but very intense.

It can be found near the reefs, rather with more than 40m below it.I t comes willingly to the flasher. Generally these are fishes between 10 and 50 kg but the 100 / 150kg are not exceptional.

It is also found on FADs but, compared to the blue marlin which is really pelagic, black marlin is more frequently coastal. It is ideally shot with a breakaway mount and good floats but one cannot choose the moment of the encounter, and that’s what makes its capture difficult.

Be careful with its short but sharp bill, this fish is very powerful and aggressive. However, it is less energetic than the dog tooth tuna and will rather sprint under the surface, hence the advantage of having a boat following the float in case you have not managed to grab the float on the way. Moreover, as its skin and flesh are more resistant, it is enough to have robust equipment and to be patient.

The black marlin is certainly not threatened by spearos, as it is an exceptional encounter and thanks to its fast growth rate. At three years of age it exceeds 40 kg …

Black marlin is delicious raw or cooked.