# Sailfish caught off Navarre Pier.



## Duff

http://www.fishnavarre.com/ It wasn't me.


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## B-Rod

Wow what a day on the pier


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## sniperpeeps

Makes me wonder what stripped 50 yards of line off my reel when I trolled near the pier yesterday with a naked ballyhoo


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## user207

I checked out the link. Those are some really nice fish caugth off the pier.


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## Boardfeet

I wonder why he killed the Sailfish??


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## JD7.62

Is it illegal to harvest a sailfish? I didnt think it was.


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## Duff

On the facebook page their is a pretty interesting "discussion about that. People asking why they didn't pop it of instead of gaffing it.


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## reel-crazzzy

Fish was sick - 35 pounds ,they didnt think it would live. Fish was legal .


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## Pinksnappertrapper

Legal fish who cares if they keep it. Maybe they needed the meat.


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## Duff

Exactly, fish was legal. It's amazing how many people chastise someone for keeping a legal fish! I don't care if he chops it up to feed his dog it's legal and a hell of a catch.


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## Yaksquatch

Boardfeet said:


> I wonder why he killed the Sailfish??


Here we go again... This horse was beat to death over and over last year and the year before. Do a search in the General forum if you want to see an argument over this. I'm sure nobody will say anything different if we argue about it again this year.

Alex


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## Yaksquatch

Oh by the way, nice fish!

Alex


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## PBTH

Yes, but was the fish reported?!


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## shanester

fish of a lifetime for sure


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## Sc1006

fish was only a legal catch if the angler has a HMS permit for pelagics. wondering how many pier fisher persons has one?


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## Chris V

Sc1006 said:


> fish was only a legal catch if the angler has a HMS permit for pelagics. wondering how many pier fisher persons has one?


Pelagics caught by shore bound anglers do not need a HMS permit. Several years ago NMFS considered a re-writing of this when jetty fishermen of the NE coast were occasionally catching small bluefin that came in close to shore to feed. It was never changed as far as I've read.

If it is legal to take and the angler utilizes it, then I say congrats and enjoy your meal.

Some of the same people that complain about this kind of catch are the same anglers that will kill 1000lbs of "eating" fish in a trip. Whats more shameful?


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## Hewes your daddy?

We are talking about two different things here. The true billfishing ethic versus the good ol' boy pier fishing ethic. They are so far apart I'm not sure they will ever catch up with each other. It may have to do with a lack of education or the high levels of testosterone on the area piers, or the unbridled necessity to show off a trophy to their like minded peers. We can only hope that some day that the young pier fishermen will understand that a picture off a clean release is something to be much prouder of than a rotting carcus of a fish that has little food value.


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## CatHunter

come on you guys that's not a sail fish its a spearfish


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## PBTH

I'll stand up for the local pier guys on this one. With the strong run of sailfish two years ago on the beach, most of the ones caught on the piers were released. Sailfish populations are healthy and have grow rates close to that of dolphin. Also, many people enjoy the taste of sailfish. Nothing wrong with keeping the occasional sail.


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## fulish850

keeper or not , that fish would have given me a hard on if i hooked it !


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## captsi

*whoa*



fulish850 said:


> keeper or not , that fish would have given me a hard on if i hooked it !


 
tmi


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## GrayMan

Pier, offshore or otherwise, that is a pretty friggin cool catch.


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## sniperpeeps

Rest assured if I catch a sailfish in state waters and it is legal, I am eating it. Sailfish has awesome meat and it is legal to harvest, nuff said


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## pole squeezer

It never ceases to amaze me. It is just 1 fish kept. Folks always like to legislate what others are doing, but then justify their own actions when confronted. The fish is legal, and happens to taste pretty good when cooked properly. This person was probably the only 1 to catch a sailfish from shore, on the entire gulf shoreline from Texas, to South Florida, I'm sure that there are many more fish out there in the gulf than this one to be caught. Maybe the influence of P.E.T.A. is starting to reach some fishermen, and they won't admit it.......


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## fulish850

captsi said:


> tmi


wat ? cant handle it big boi !


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## Hydro Therapy 2

:starwars:Gime dat fish! No!!


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## CatHunter

its a spear fish not a sailfish


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## Lyin Too

If it hurts someones feelings to keep a billfish, better hope I dont catch a legal one, he will be reduced to turds!


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## finsandhorns

agree with cat it looks to be a long bill spearfish witch i believe is illegal to take


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## CatHunter

yea its a spearfish allday long, if it was a sailfish you would see its massive sail flying around, spearfish have a sail too its just much smaller compared to the sailfish also sailfish tend to be dark when pulled out of the water here are some comparison pictures, also notice the unusually long body once again spearfish and the defined dark blue almost black line that runs down its back is a dead give away its a longbill spearfish

Picture 1 spearfish from the pier, picture 2 spearfish caught from the gulf, picture 3 a sailfish from the gulf
and its prohibited to posses any of these three spices of spearfish __long-bill spearfish Mediterranean spearfish and round-scale spearfish with is a new specie


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## Sc1006

I know sailfish come in pretty close to the emerald coast at times, not Sure how close a spearfish comes in. But just an FYI, a blue marlin has washed ashore in grand isle la. Fish appears in pretty good shape. Could not have been dead too long. Check out a pic of it on rodnreel.com


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## AUPKT

Im not saying it is or isn't a spearfish, but the points made against it being a sailfish don't seem very valid. The dorsal is folded down so this throws the argument out by comparing the dorsal of either species. It was stated that the fish was sick which could be the reason behind it looking rather lanky. Judging by the mate and the size of the sailfish in the last picture I'm gonna take a shot in the dark and say this fish was caught in the pacific and pacific sails are normally a more darker brown than atlantic sails.


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## fulish850

agreed , that fish has no sail . even if it was folded back , u would still be able to see some parts of it fan out while hung upside down. good point on the solid dark line going down the back , also head is not broad as a sailfish and no coloration or stripes . i see Sail Fish all the time ( animal planet ) :no:

lets just say it was an unlucky Bill Fish !


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## gaffy

*Mystery Solved!*

I thought you were kidding, but it is a "Spearfish," and spearfish actually exist. I think many of us learned something new -- thanks.

As to the guy who caught it, I'm sure it died in the fight and I hope it tastes good. Heck, not many people would have known. The part that bothered me was that the fish looked sick, but it's supposed to look that way! :whistling:

Gaffy


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## Chris V

I could point out many flaws in the IDing process that I've read so far as far as color, head size, etc. I could point out that I, along with many others who have caught sails, have seen them fold that sail up so tight you'd think he didn't have a sail at all. I could say other things as well, but it would be pointless because I'm not a card-carrying "biologist".

Its a sailfish. Its not a spearfish. Why do fishermen try to make something its not just for the sake of it being rare and unusual. Over time, even if you know what you caught was not what you said it was, you will actually start to believe it.

I am 100% sure that if you sent that picture to any Ichthyologist, especially one who has studied billfish for any amount of time, they will look at it for all of 3 seconds to say "Its a sailfish".

Don't you think as well that there is a reason the pier staff and angler called it a sailfish. My guess, just an assumption really, is that the damn thing had a sail!


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## finsandhorns

seems to me that while the fish is hanging upside down the sail would still flair out due to the size and weight, all the pics i have seen are that way.


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## fulish850

Ok , who cares the fish by now has been reduced to shiet ! 
It was a nice catch regardless .

Edit - called the pier and staff confirmed it was a sailfish .


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## REDFISH101

fulish850 said:


> Ok , who cares the fish by now has been reduced to shiet !
> It was a nice catch regardless .


I agree with fulish850:thumbup1: who cares.either way great catch off the pier CONGRATES:thumbsup:


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## captsi

I've never seen either in person. Though I do notice in the three pix posted for comparing purposes the alleged spearfish as well as the fish caught on the pier share a similiar characteristic that is the extra pectoral/swordspinesque fins, while the confirmed sailfish doesn't appear to share this feature, save for the caudal fins located much further back... I apologize for the lack of scientific terminology, and I agree that it doesn't matter if the guy who caught it thought it was a redfish. Regardless, the fish was caught. The guy's day was made. Dinner was served and everyone around his table got to share in the joy and experience of the catch. Hopefully everyone fell asleep that night with a full belly and dreamt about lions on the beaches. My .02.


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## manasota

Hewes your daddy? said:


> We are talking about two different things here. The true billfishing ethic versus the good ol' boy pier fishing ethic. They are so far apart I'm not sure they will ever catch up with each other. It may have to do with a lack of education or the high levels of testosterone on the area piers, or the unbridled necessity to show off a trophy to their like minded peers. We can only hope that some day that the young pier fishermen will understand that a picture off a clean release is something to be much prouder of than a rotting carcus of a fish that has little food value.


Ever eat a sailfish? Delicious! Just sayin'.


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## sniperpeeps

manasota said:


> Ever eat a sailfish? Delicious! Just sayin'.


+1:thumbup:


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## stvtackett

CatHunter said:


> yea its a spearfish allday long, if it was a sailfish you would see its massive sail flying around, spearfish have a sail too its just much smaller compared to the sailfish also sailfish tend to be dark when pulled out of the water here are some comparison pictures, also notice the unusually long body once again spearfish and the defined dark blue almost black line that runs down its back is a dead give away its a longbill spearfish
> 
> Picture 1 spearfish from the pier, picture 2 spearfish caught from the gulf, picture 3 a sailfish from the gulf
> *and its prohibited to posses any of these three spices of spearfish __long-bill spearfish Mediterranean spearfish and round-scale spearfish with is a new specie*


 
spearfish or sailfish i haven't a clue, although it looks like a spearfish. my question is can you backup the statement you made about it being prohibited to posses, it if it was in fact a spearfish?? the state shows a bag limit of 1 per day , but reverts to feds for size limit. the feds say you can't harvest'em in fed waters..????


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## CatHunter

stvtackett said:


> spearfish or sailfish i haven't a clue, although it looks like a spearfish. my question is can you backup the statement you made about it being prohibited to posses, it if it was in fact a spearfish?? the state shows a bag limit of 1 per day , but reverts to feds for size limit. the feds say you can't harvest'em in fed waters..????


https://www.flrules.org/gateway/RuleNo.asp?title=BILLFISH AND SWORDFISH&ID=68B-33.003


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## stvtackett

CatHunter said:


> https://www.flrules.org/gateway/RuleNo.asp?title=BILLFISH AND SWORDFISH&ID=68B-33.003


 
then it looks like a sailfish to me...:shifty:


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## Jhoe

I look at it like this. I think it is a spearfish. I had no idea what a spearfish was until I read this post. I can tell you right now, I've thrown back every illegal red I've caught this year, I don't hate killing big fish like that. However, I'm sure the angler and everyone on the damn pier thought it was a sailfish and had never heard of a damn spearfish. By the time you've gaffed the damn thing up onto the pier and sealed it's fate, carried it all the way down to the rack and hung it up for pictures, MAYBE someone has come along, maybe not, and alerted you to what the hell a spearfish is. What is the point in bickering about it now?


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