Searching for Sailfish in the Philippines
Sailfish and Dorado caught in Cagayan
A sailfish would probably be one of the fishes that would fulfill the fantasy of any angler. The scream of your the reel upon hookup and peel your line in a matter of a few seconds, and the fantastic tail walks would definitely bring any angler into orgasmic delight. The Philippines is blessed to be in migratory path of these magnificent creatures.
Pelargics, such as the sailfish, are known to stay near warm ocean currents. The second largest current, the Kuroshio current, starts from the northeastern tip of the Philippines and carries a large stream of warm water flowing upwards along the east coast of japan. This brings about the abundance of the sailfish in the area of San Vicente and thus labels Cagayan as the sailfish capital of the Philippines.
Cagayan Valley, not to be confused with Cagayan de Oro, is 650kms away from Manila. That would translate to about 10-14hrs drive. Florida Bus lines, Victory Liner and Baliwag Transit have daily routes to Santa Ana, Cagayan. Alternatively, Asian Spirit and Air Philippines have daily flights each to Tuguegarao. From there, you will need to catch a mini bus to Santa Ana.
Sailfish in Cagayan are abundant from April to October, peak season is from May to July. Unfortunately, June and July are the start of the rainy season in the Philippines and the weather can get quite unpredictable.
Once there, most boatmen are familiar with the local technique of catching sails. It will be trolling flying fishes around 7-8″ long. The boatman catches sails using handlines so better bring your gears with you. A 6-7ft boat rod, matched with a reel that cold hold 300-400m of 30-40lbs would be a great setup for these sails.
Sailfish caught in Calubcob, San Juan, Batangas
Other than Cagayan, you can also catch sailfishes in San Juan, Batangas during the months of October to December where they push to warmer waters during the cold season. Most probably, this is also their spawning season. Reports of catchas vary fromsmall 15kg ones to 30-40kg! Come January and February, sailfishes can be found in the coastal waters or Zambales, Pangasinan and La Union. However, during these months, they seem to be “undersized”, ranging from 5 kilograms up to 28 kilograms, most probably juveniles.
Its September, the first of the BER months. By next month, sailfishes can be found around the Batangas shores. No need to go to endure that 12-hr travel to Cagayan to catch these beauties!
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ATTENTION!!!
I’m moving this website to it’s own domain. Please click on the link below to continue reading about fishing in the Philippines.
Philippine Fishing Information
http://www.philippinefishing.info
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I have only recently found out about fishing in Cagayan and would like to try the fishing there. My son is a fishing fanatic and is quite eager to give it a go. I have not been able to find out very much about the fishing in Northern Luzon and your article helps. I am very glad to hear that we can catch sailfish out of La Union. I have only 1 other guy that told me of a good experience there. We will be in San Fernando in about a month.
Thanks
Doc
Nice to know that my article helped. I’ll research on Santa Ana and San Vicente and update this article.