What is your favorite billfish bait?

[Warren_Brantley]

I want to open up a discussion on baits and lures for billfish. I have caught them on a variety of live and dead bait presentations. I have used lures as simple as water bottle caps with holes punched in them with a ballyhoo just aft on a single hook 9/0 J hook (blues and whites). The most unusual bait I saw was offshore of Panama where we pulled a mile or so of longline, baited with pieces of shark, and released sailfish that had taken this bait. We later pulled up about 2 miles of longline for catching shark and released the sharks on it. I hauled 3 dozen eels to Venezuela only to have someone pick up my luggage and haul it to Caracas (can you imagine their eyes when they opened it?!?!). When we tried the eels nothing off LaGuaria, including billfish and dorado, would touch them. What baits do you favor where you fish for billfish? Cheers, Doc

[Seth]

It is amazing the stories you hear about what a billfish has taken as a meal. The biggest lures to the smallest peanuts, tin cans to skirted belly baits. The curiosity and veracity with which billfish attack an supposed meal is eye popping. For me, I have had far more success with lures versus live or dead baits. The Joe Yee SuperPlungers and Apollos have been by a large degree my best producers across the globe. Big T is a contender, but I just have not put in as much time with them as I have the Joe Yees. This should be an interesting thread. :gr_cheers:

[Randy Stinchcomb]

for me;
I've had more success (in my area) catching White's on an eel, tipped wth either a Pink n' Blue or Yellow n' Green colored Mold Craft "Hooker"
second would be the same color combo's in a Sea Witch, over a Ballyhoo....
and last would be a "tried n' true" Green Machine.......

[floridadeckie]

a big, fat, juicy horse spanish mack with a 16/0 circle sitting on his nose, just floppin and swimmin.

[Warren_Brantley]

Excellent baits. Wish those Ven whites had taken a liking to the eels. Match the hatch I guess. I plan to begin trolling with one rig set up as a Cuban Teaser in March. Not to make this one too easy............who knows what a Cuban teaser consists of? [Hint: It is NOT a Miami lap dancer.]
Cheers, Doc

[Warren_Brantley]

Sure thought one of the pros would have answered that one quickly. OK, let's make simple. What does a Cuban Teaser NOT HAVE as part of it's construction? Doc

[Warren_Brantley]

Enough time has passed without an answer or conjecture.

A Cuban Teaser does not have................any hooks. I heard someone came up with the idea during World War II when they wanted to catch marlin but did not have any hooks due to the war effort. Who knows where it really started.

My new goal is to catch a marlin on one of them. Only took 14 months and 5 trips on two oceans to catch a marlin on a handline. Let's see how much money I can blow on accomplishing this goal (stunt). I start March 7th.

Continuing the thread......what IS your favorite, or most unusual, billfish bait or lure.

Cheer, Doc

[Warren_Brantley]

OK,
They've caught them on about everything. In light of soaring petro prices and prevailing availability of marlins in many locations; perhaps try the following if you are strapped for cash. (If rich skip this section and go to the IGFA Website Forum and follow the catfish fight that has been going on):

flip flops (blues)
blue water bottle cap with ballyhoo (blues and a tagged white)
shark skin with white undersurface on a circle hook (for real) (sails)
Rapala (blue out of Orange Beach, Alabama - Go Mike Pate!!)
Slim Jims (no ballyhoo available that day) (blues, whites and sails)
3 day old dried up mullet on the deck (xiphias gladius in La Guaira - 2004)

Also I know from personal experience that a rod in reel is not necessary. If trying this I would advise a life insurance policy to the wife, girlfriend; or both.
Doc

[Ozimo]

Lures: Green Machines, old Jet Heads, 12" squids;
Baits: Horse Ballyhoo, 18" squid, cut belly strips

[two utes]

Live 'Slimey Makrel'
Dead 'Shark Makrel' THe bigger the better, but usually about 800mm long rigged as a skip bait.
Last but not least dead 'Scad' rigged as a swimbait.

[Quepos Captain]

Without revealing too many secrets I will say that we use Ballyhoo as the bait, but the rigging technique to produce live bait emulating action (side to side swishing) is the key.

We also use teasers that are typical of the waters we fish in, multi-colored skirts and big-eyed heads.

Of course we use circle hooks to help us to catch and release.

Happy Fishing,

[Capt.Ron]

I already posted this in the forums but I found a page on Marlin that lists what every record Blue ever caught was caught on...very interesting:

http://www.marlinmag.com/bluerecords

[Reel Candy]

We have taken more Blues and Whites on Black Barts than any other lure or bait combined !!
The only thing that would peak my interest after that would be a blue and white Hawain Eyes with a large bally.
We all know that if you put in enough time out there, anything is possible; for us when time is limited and we need to stick one, its a Bart !

[Tperk]

:gr_cheers::gr_cheers:

[Tperk]

I live in Va. near the OBX and I just purchased an off shore c/c. Does anyone have any suggestions on the type of bait and rigging techniques for the OBX Gulf for Tuna and Billfish. Any suggestions are appreiciated. Thanks and good fishing.

[Ozimo]

I want to open up a discussion on baits and lures for billfish. I have caught them on a variety of live and dead bait presentations. I have used lures as simple as water bottle caps with holes punched in them with a ballyhoo just aft on a single hook 9/0 J hook (blues and whites). What baits do you favor where you fish for billfish? Cheers, Doc


It all depends - for marlin I like about 1.5-2 kg Bonito or Skipjack rigged on 12/0 J-hooks; for sails - large medium 'hoo on 6/0 Circle Hook or my favourite Jet Heads with purple tails rigged on 7/0 J's dragged at a steady 7kts.

[Voodoo]

I live in Va. near the OBX and I just purchased an off shore c/c. Does anyone have any suggestions on the type of bait and rigging techniques for the OBX Gulf for Tuna and Billfish. Any suggestions are appreiciated. Thanks and good fishing.

Pink and white and blue and white sea witches work well and then some type of diving lure which will produce a good smoke trail. Spreader bars and squid chains also produce well. I also like the get reel tiki bar a bunch of good action and it drives the fish crazy. PM me if you have any other questions.

Voodoo