The best time to experience a bait ball and frenzied billfish on the fly is late October though late November, as long as favorable conditions prevail and the sardines do not move out too quickly.

The speed of a striped marlin is often exaggerated, with reports exceeding 50 miles per hour. While marlin are capable of impressive bursts of speed, they top out at around 25 miles per hour. A typical striped marlin is between 150 and 250 pounds, but a 12- to 15-year-old fish can approach 450 pounds.

The sardine schools have only their great numbers as defense. To confuse predators, they form tight balls, relying on the probability that some will fall but enough will survive. Not only do the sardines have to endure assault from below, but they are also attacked by frigates from above.

Marlin are pack hunters; they systematically take turns charging the bait, bills slashing, in an attempt to disorient, injure, and isolate individual fish from the school. Isolated prey last no more than a few seconds outside of the protective cloud of the ball.

The most common marlin flies are white topped with green or blue; they can be tied as straight baitfish patterns or a popper head can be added to create surface disturbance. You simply toss them into the boil and strip them to suggest wounded or isolated prey. During times of high activity, a few strips are all that is necessary.

The frenzy can last for minutes or hours, but it typically stops as quickly as it starts.

Even if it lasts only minutes, it’s truly a sight to see.

A Photo Essay by Andrea Izzotti
Words by Joseph Ballarini

Bio: Andrea Izzotti is an award-winning wildlife photographer based in Genova, Italy. He is the author of Tales from Blue and Other Colors (2020) and Travelers in the Blue (2020). His work has appeared in National Geographic Italy, National Geographic Viajes, National Geographic Kids, Focus, Focus Wild, as well as other books and magazines. You can visit his website at andreaizzotti.it.

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Journey to Xcalak | Saltwater Fly Fishing | Trey Reid

Fly Fishing Film Tour 2021 – Dropped in the Pacific

Bison Of The Flats: The Bumphead Parrotfish

The post Los Cabos – Saltwater Fly Fishing first appeared on Tail Fly Fishing Magazine.

The post Los Cabos – Saltwater Fly Fishing appeared first on Tail Fly Fishing Magazine.

(Originally appeared in Tail 39, January/February 2019)

For very good reasons, the roosterfish is quickly becoming a popular target among saltwater fly fishing enthusiasts. Roosters are hunted on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica and Panama in the winter and on the beaches of Mexico in the summer.

It’s assumed that the Panama Canal allowed them access to the other side, but no one knows if this has been confirmed; however, there have been roosterfish caught on the Caribbean side.

The Cabo big-fish habitat ranges from Ranchito, about 20 miles south of Los Muertos, up through the waters of Cerralvo Island and Baja beaches parallel to Cerralvo Island and as far up to Las Pillar if you’re looking for your best photo opportunity.

Unlike most other surf species, the roosterfish has a striking appearance: a big-profile body covered with silvery blue scales and distinctive black stripes, topped with a crown of seven long black dorsal spikes that can flair or flatten at will. Not your typical catch-of-the-day. If you’ve never seen the species, the crown can appear menacing at first look, but it’s relatively harmless. While hunting the shallow waters near beaches, roosters will sometimes flair their dorsal crown; to see it cutting through the water is a really special thing. Their excellent eyesight makes roosterfish fierce hunters in shallow water, and they have been known to beach themselves while chasing down baitfish. As with other jack-like species, roosterfish readily take flies.

Anglers often talk about the fight of a tarpon or a giant trevally, but roosterfish can hold their own with the heavyweights, They seem to be more active and more aggressive in the shallow waters along beaches, which is where the chaotic excitement begins. Get ready for a show. It might be because of the fierce competition among small schools of roosterfish, or simply because they only visit the flats and beaches to feed. They are usually accompanied by jack crevalle and other less notable surf species that hunt along beaches, and don’t be surprised if you catch a few of those by accident. What makes for such an adrenaline rush is the rooster’s purely erratic, completely unpredictable behavior and blinding speed. There’s no telling where they’ll pop and bust on bait, or even how many different places they’ll show. They can even change direction several times during a cast and frustrate the most patient angler. (Kind of sounds like permit fishing, doesn’t it…?)

Plan a trip for roosterfish. You definitely won’t be disappointed, as this species is worthy of its crown.

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The post Snuff the Rooster first appeared on Tail Fly Fishing Magazine.

The post Snuff the Rooster appeared first on Tail Fly Fishing Magazine.