Sailfish (Istophorus platypterus)

Last September I took an exploratory Fishabout trip to a little place in Malaysia called Kuala Rompin. This place is famous for huge aggregations of juvenile Sailfish and the odd juvenile Black Marlin. So if all goes to plan hopefully you will this hot fishing spectacle on the Fishabout books very soon. For expressions of interest please contact our bookings office on 02) 8922 2651.

Common names: Sailfish, Bayonet fish, Indo-Pacific Sailfish, Sail.

Identifying features: Sailfish have a dorsally compressed/cigar shaped body and powerful tail built for speed. They have a long needle shaped bill (which is actually a modified upper jaw) typical of billfish and a unique dorsal fin (sail) stands almost twice as high as the body is deep.

The brightness of the body colour is variable depending upon the level of excitement however it is consistently dark blue dorsally with white and brown spots ventrally.

Size and lifecycle: This species reaches a maximum length of around 340cm and can weigh in at up to just over 100kg. In fact the world record sailfish was caught at Santa Cruz Island in the Galapagos and weighed in at 100.24kg and was 327.7 cm in length. The record Australian sailfish weighed in at 88.75 kg and was caught off Lord Howe island

Sailfish initially develop quickly with a 1 years old specimen likely to weigh as much as 15kg. This growth rate does slow down considerably after their second year of life. They are also fairly long lived as well with both males and females living till they are about 12 years old.

Diet:  Sailfish are opportunistic carnivores. The generally just eat cephalopods and fishes. They are known to be attacked by pelagic sharks and killer whales however this is only when they have been hooked by tuna long liners. They are not known to have any natural predators.

Distribution: Sailfish are a surface pelagic fish which remain above the thermocline in water temperatures between 21˚c and 28˚c. They are very widespread. In Australia they are particularly common in tropical waters from Exmouth all the way around Northern Australia Brisbane.

Eating Qualities:  Sailfish are rarely eaten as the flesh is tough. They are a fantastic sports fish so it makes much more sense releasing them to be caught another day.

Fishing techniques:  In Kuala Rompin sail fish are caught using a number of techniques including drifting with live baits, lure trolling, skip baiting, and also switch baiting. It is possible to sight cast flys or poppers to schools of sailfish which are either teased to the boat or simply cruising around independently.