# Navarre BEACH Sailfish......



## NICHOLAS

Went to navarre beach Saturday morning with a bunch of friends. This trip started out very slow, but quickly turned into one of the most insane and memorable fishing trips I have been a part of. One friend sunk their yak, while another hooked, fought, caught, a 50lb Sailfish. I will post a full report with pictures as soon as I get them.


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## nb&twil

that was always my goal when i kayak fished from navarre. did really well with kings, and even caught cobia, but never was able to find a sailfish. that's so cool to hear that someone did it! i can't wait to see some pictures and read the details. congrats!


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## Whitie9688

i cant wait to read the details on this one! sounds like one heck of a time!


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## Chris V

I can't quite help but feel just a little bit jealous and green with envy on this one. That is freakin awesome andI can't wait to see the pics.


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## Sgt SeaSick

Jealousy doesnt begin to describe my feeling right now. Wow, cant wait to see the pics.


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## Brant Peacher

Nice job nick! I talked to Kevin last night. That's awesome....


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## jigslinger

Now THAT would be the ultimate cool thing to accomplish! Great job and I can't wait for the pics!


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## [email protected]

wow...bring on the report...congrats to that dude!


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## Live2Kayak~Kayak4Life

thats feaking awesome. some details please! what bait? on the drift or trolling? etc....


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## specslayer

deff gonna need :takephoto on this one....not saying its not possible just cant take someones word that theycaught a sail on the beach especially with all this dirty water


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## NICHOLAS

Thanks for all the comments, I was a little hesitant to post but i knew all the kayakers would like to see.

We hit the beach early to find no bait, and no fish. Stayed around the pier and within a mile of shore for the first few hours playing with whatever we could find. After getting bored with that Jacob decided to head out a bit farther, I stayed in close wanting to relax and float around a bit. Somewhere around 8 I get a call from Jacob, who is just a spec on the horizon now, yelling to me that he has a Sailfish on! I was skeptical but after talking to him for a few seconds I could tell how excited he was. He was going to need some help and a witness. So paddled over to his dad who was nearby and we both started paddling south. We paddled.... and paddled.... and paddled...and called to make sure he had not lost the fish... and paddled.. He was wayyy out and being towed south. After a solid 30 mins of hard paddling I arrived within 50yrds to see the fish tail walking across the surface!! I don't know who was more fired up at that point Jacob or Me, but we both knew we had to do something to slow the fish down so I pulled up behind him and tied the kayaks end to end, he fought the fish and I back paddled just to try to keep us from going to far.. We guess-timated to be 4miles south of the shore. After a few mins of this I realized that his dad who had been right behind me the whole way out was about 300 yds north of us and headed back to the beach? While watching I see his kayak go up on its side, then completely over! He had flipped... I could see him moving around next to the capsized yak and see that it looked to be getting lower in the water. Atthis point we were going to cut the line, but instead decided to get the fish in as fast as possible. I quit back paddling and Jacob went to really working the fish.Once he was YAK- side I grabbed the leader and then the bill, while Jacob got ahold of his tail, we stretched him out beside the kayak and then measured. He was hooked deep in the gills and was bleeding badly. The fish was in rough shape so we decidedthat it wascoming home. Neither of us had our cameras and this was truely the fish of a lifetime! I got a clip though his bottom jaw and then tied him off to the boat. I feel likeit was a gooddecision because the fish was dead with in 10 mins. Once we got the fishsecured tomy kayak,Jacob started to paddle back north to his dad, who was now about 1/4 mile away! He was fine. His boat had been slowlyfillingwith water all morningand once he realized it, it was too late. He did have time to make sure all his gearwas secured to boat and did not lose anything. We had to get on each end of his kayak, roll it on its side, then completely over to drain all the water.... This was HARD! After fighting with it for 20 mins wewere able to get all the water out and him back on top. He did have a lot better attitude than we expected! Once we got all situated we headed back with no trouble, loaded up and back to the house for Sailfish steaks on the grill.


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## NICHOLAS

After it was done with it we got the full story of how Jacob hooked the fish. He was drifting with a dead cigar minnow out. When the fish showed up under his kayak circling him. After a few seconds he said the Sailfish turned off and went out of sight so he pitched his bait in the direction the fish left. As soon as it hit he was on. It was caught on 20lb mono and a King leader.


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## wshaw

Awesome fish. That must have been a heck of a fight on a yak. Congrats man.


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## Dylan

Thats cool..Whats the regs on them jokers?


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## BeNez

Saifish tastes good. mmmmm


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## Turbow

Amazing. What an awesome catch. It will be hard for anyone to top that this summer!


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## hookdropper

Congrats. awesome report, great pics. Glad all got back safe. Just gave all something to shoot for. Hell, I'll dream of that and I wasn't even there. :bowdown


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## Chris V

Great catch guys, I hope to get my first kayak bill soon.


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## P8NTMIKE

WOW!


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## yucarenow

great job!:bowdown


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## jim t

GREAT STORY!!! and a GREAT job of compartmentalizing and getting things done methodically.

Jim


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## NICHOLAS

We did feel a bit bad for leaving his dad out there floating around so long the day before fathers day, but he understood!


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## [email protected]

That is very impressive...AMAZING! Nice Job!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:bowdown:bowdown:bowdown:bowdown:bowdown:bowdown Im so freaking jealous...You might want to send that pic to Florida Sportsman with the story...


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## [email protected]

I really wanted to be the first to do that around here...I had a chance last October but I blew it.:clap


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## kennethmandel62

Nick that is freaking awesome man. Tell Jacob I said what's up. That's a story of a lifetime man...I'm calling Marcus right now to tell him about it. Take care bro.


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## whitetailwarrior

we were there with ya wish ya would dtopped by for a pic congrats did not do anygood yesterday but got a nice king there this afternoon pics 15.65


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## Chris Phillips

Wow! You kayak anglers amaze me with the fish you catch...


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## Corpsman

Dude... you have the story of the summer so far! Congrats!


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## John Becker

:banghead:banghead:banghead:banghead



ANYONE WANT TO BUY A BOAT!!??!?!?!





:banghead:banghead:banghead:banghead



I'm buying a Yak!



Grats guys on the great fish and excellent story! :letsdrink


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## -=Desperado=-

Not trying to jump in here and sound like a douche but i know state regulations on sailfish are the same as in federal water.63 inches from lower jaw to fork but i also know you have to have a HMS permit to boat one or kill it.Do the same laws apply to a kayak?again not trying to be an ass just curious on the regs.I know you have to call the 800 NOAA number to report it as well as swordfish catches so make sure you do that.



Nice catch by the way.


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## John B.

Incredible, simply incredible!


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## Tom Pace

Awesome...Ive seen pics of guys catching em on piers around here, and always though how insane that would be...congrats


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## snakeawave

Awesome catch guys and good story!! cant wait for my yak to get here!


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## illforwill

that is awesome man . nick we need to get out up and go out sometime hit me up 5544257


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## gottafish

I saw a big sail out there on my yak last summer jump from a distance, which is a rare site, but to actually hook one and get it in from a yak is incredible-congrats!!!:bowdown:bowdown:clap:clap


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## John B.

Sorry poppa joe, deleted!


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## daddytime

Great story, congrats to the anglers. :usaflag


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## Sam Roberts

That just amazing! you do need to send that thing off to a magazine or something!


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## JoeTheFisherman

Sweet catch. I saw you guys paddle out past me on Sat and disappear over the swell. I would have never imagined that something like that could be caught that close (relatively speaking) to shore.


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## Pinksnappertrapper

That is awesome...Great job and congrats on the fish of a lifetime.


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## Magic236

That had to be anincredible experience, and without adoubt a fish story and catch of a lifetime. Congrats!


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## Garbo

DANG. Way Big *DANG.* 

.

Great Read, as well.


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## konz

WOW!!!


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## AquaSport175

Great way to represent the yak world!! AWESOME! :letsdrink


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## ScullsMcNasty

wow that is amazing!! i need to stop talkin about buyin a yak and just do it!!


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## Linda

That just made my morning reading that post! That is awesome - congratulations on your incredible catch ~ Linda & Ernie


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## GAGE

FANTASTIC, AMAZING, UNBELIEVABLE, AWESOME, and so on!:bowdown:bowdown:bowdown:bowdown





Fish of a lifetime for sure!:clap:clap:clap:clap


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## need2fish

Holy cow - you guys rock! That is freaking AWESOME. My buddy Kreg has been talking about catching a sailfish from his yak forever. I'm struggling to find decent kings on my yan and you guys yank a Sailfish out of there. Congratulations. - Wow.


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## Huntinman

Awesome Catch and a great story to go with!! That is a catch of a lifetime!


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## Snatch it

That isby farthe most awesome postI have read !!I can't believe you where able to land it!!! Great Job !!!


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## Inn Deep

Too Friggin Cool !!!! Congrats!! Iknow you are excited!!


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## Razzorduck

WOW just WOW

You never know whats gonna pop up in the good ole GOM

Thats why we love it.


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## WW2

Just friggin awesome!!!!


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## amberj

THat is way way cool!!!! Congrats!!!


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## Bonsaifishrman

:clapExcellent catch. A lot of people apparently do not know that the sails come in close when you have sargasso around. When I had a small offshore boat, we caught 3 sails within 3 miles of the beach. That fish is definitely and easily 63 inches long. Bet the steaks were tasty grilled. Yaking for big fish is the way to go for the most fun. I agree with Tex, possible submital for publication. The story has as much merit as any story on catching a great fish.


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## NaClH2O

Man thats incredible.:bowdown:bowdown:bowdown


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## Seachaser 186

Great catch and story. It does merit publication. The Hook Line and Sinker should do an article as well as sending it in to Florida Sportsman Mag.


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## SolarFlare

That is an incredible catch, wait till we get that nearshore reef zone isfilled up, i hope to read a lot of stories like this!

Way to go and glad everyone is safe!


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## GONU

Awesome catch, best story I have read in a while.:bowdown:bowdown:clap:letsdrink


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## The Barb

NICK GREAT JOB,You must be living right,it was just April when I saw you bowed up on the 85lb Cobia we caught,What ever you are doing keep it up.Get with me and lets make another trip on the boat,You are always welcome.Again Congrads on the fish and keep the faith,the fish GODS are smiling on YOU!!!


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## freespool50

within the law as i read it. great catch. it does say reporting is necessary. no permit nec in state waters for that fish. again, very exciting adventure and thanks for sharing

<TABLE style="FLOAT: left; WIDTH: 649px" cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 align=left border=0><TBODY><TR><TD colSpan=2><H1>Highly Migratory Species</H1></TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top><TABLE id=table3 cellSpacing=0 width=220 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD width=20 rowSpan=8></TD><TD vAlign=top align=left width=200>
<TABLE class=quickclicks style="BORDER-LEFT: #cccc99 2px solid; WIDTH: 200px" cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=2><TBODY><TR><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #cccc99"><P class=BodyLarge>Highlights</TD></TR><TR><TD bgColor=#eeeedd>Marine Fisheries Home</TD></TR><TR><TD bgColor=#eeeedd>Hot Topics in Marine Fisheries</TD></TR><TR><TD bgColor=#eeeedd>Advisory Boards, etc.</TD></TR><TR><TD bgColor=#eeeedd>Regulations</TD></TR><TR><TD bgColor=#eeeedd>Commercial Fisheries Info</TD></TR><TR><TD bgColor=#eeeedd>Licenses and Permits</TD></TR><TR><TD bgColor=#eeeedd>Artificial Reefs</TD></TR><TR><TD bgColor=#eeeedd>Trap Retrieval & Debris Removal</TD></TR><TR><TD bgColor=#eeeedd>Fishing Resources</TD></TR><TR><TD bgColor=#eeeedd>Research</TD></TR><TR><TD bgColor=#eeeedd>Outreach & Education Programs</TD></TR><TR><TD bgColor=#eeeedd>News and Events</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD><TD></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><H3 style="WIDTH: 427px">New regulations...</H3><P class=Body>New regulations are in effect for recreational anglers who target highly migratory species (HMS) in state waters and in federal waters of the Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico and U.S. Caribbean. <P class=Body>Highly migratory species are <UL class=Body><LI>Atlantic tunas (bluefin, yellowfin, bigeye, skipjack, albacore); <LI>sharks; <LI>swordfish and billfish (sailfish, spearfish, and blue and white marlin). </LI>[/list]<P class=Body>Federal waters extend from 3 to 200 miles on the Atlantic coast and from 9 to 200 miles on the Gulf coast of Florida. Below are the new regulations that affect Florida anglers.<H3 style="WIDTH: 427px">HMS Angling Permit</H3><P class=Body>Recreational anglers who target any HMS fish must purchase a federal permit. The permit is issued to the fishing vessel, so it will cover all anglers onboard. Anglers can apply for a permit online at www.nmfspermits.com or by calling 888-872-8862. This permit is not required for anglers fishing for billfish, swordfish or sharks in state waters.<H3>HMS Reporting</H3><P class=Body>Any HMS fish caught in federal waters (excluding sharks and non-bluefin tunas) that is landed (killed and brought to shore) must be reported to NOAA Fisheries within 24 hours. Call 800-894-5528 to report landings of swordfish and billfish, and 888-872-8862 to report bluefin tuna landings. <P class=BodyBold>In addition, new state regulations require persons landing billfish and swordfish caught in state waters to report to NOAA at the phone number above.</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>


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## Stressless

fantastic post man - Great Going!!



Looking for James in a yak is really a great adventure - the story needs to go written and sent in ($$)! 



Congrats! :toast

Stresslless


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## surfstryker

Holy cow yakman. Excellent.


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## NICHOLAS

Thanks for all the replies everyone! Jacob has tried to report the fish to NOAA at the # given, but we have heard nothing back. He left a messege with his full name, phone #, date of catch, and location. We also looked into reporting the fish on www.nmfspermits.com but could not find a way without a permit #. Has anyone done this before? Just want to make sure we are doing things right.





A few hours after posting this, Jacob received a call back from a marine biologist in st. petersburg who got the fish filed away. Although he had done a few from piers he said this was the first he had had to report caught from a kayak.


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## whitetailwarrior

that is tottaly awesome congrats on a hopefully not once in a lifetime catch:bowdown


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## YaknFish2

Congrats, that is anawesome catch, thanks for the report.Me and anotherkayak fisherman (Henry)spotted a sailfish last summer, whenwe were fishing1-2milesfromthe Navarre pier. I watchedthe Sailfishcircle Henry's kayak, then ittook off. It was a thrill to just see a sailfish that close to us, could onlyimagine what it must be like to catch onefrom akayak.Hopewe see more sailfish out there, this summer.:clap


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## Beefisher

Great catch. I'm happy to see the sport take off big in the gulf,like it has on other coasts. 

Probably a couple of dumb questions. If you hook a fish in state waters and it drags you into Federal waters, do you have to drag it back to state waters to land it in order to stay under state regs? If you hook a fish and it dies before you land it and it turns out to be outside regs, do you feed it to the sharks or????

Story is another case for those extra pool noodles to be stuffed in open spaces of your yak, especially if your off shore. No real added weight but might be a lifesaver.


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## stargazer

Jacob Smith is now known as Mr. Sailfish. Awesomecatch dude!


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## stargazer

Ive just heard they are going out for another sail in the morning. Good luck sailfish man!


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