Deep sea fishing for bill fish, which island is best?
 

We are going in Feb/March and thinking of hitting Puerto Rico, Curacao, Sint Maarten and maybe another island and want to know which islands are the best for a chance at a large bill fish.

Also thinking of St thomas, Barbados, or the British Virgin islands. can anyone help out? If you know a good captain that would be appreciated as well.

Thanks

Honestly, no one can guarantee you that you'll catch a bill fish. I've been going on 2 to 3 fishing trips a year in the Leeward Islands for over 10 years and have yet to catch a bill fish. A friend of mine went out on his first trip about 2 weeks ago the "boat" he was on caught 2 that day, so "go figure". You'll have a better chance of catching Mahi-Mahi, Wahoo, Barracuda and Black Fin.

At that time of year your chances of catching a bill fish are about equal in the waters around Puerto Rico, St. Thomas, the BVI's, and St. Martin. Not sure about Barbados or Curacao as I've never fished there.

I can tell you this, on any given day it's up to Mother Nature. Sometimes the fish are biting and other times you get a nice boat ride.

Go to the Pacific side of Mexico. Targeting a specific species is totally dependent on the season. There are certain months in the Caribbean where they are around, and (most) months it's a waste of $$. The one place that is probably the most consistant places to catch billfish (sails, marlin) would be the Pacific side of Mexico. I'd bet the farm that time of season makes a huge difference there as well, but if you go during peak season, you up your odds bigtime. One thing I've learned about fishing in the Caribbean, is that it never seems to be as good as simply fishing in the FLA keys.

I did the same thing as you, and I tried several different charters on several different islands. In most cases, we didn't do so well. I finally decided that if I really want to spend the $$ on a charters that (consistantly produce)...I'll wait and spend the $$ in the Keys.

St Thomas billfish season is July-August-September. There are big tournaments around the full moon of each of those months.

I don't normally post on the Caribbean forum but somebody pointed me to this thread and suggested that I chime in.

First of all, I was a big game angler in the mid 90s and early 2000s and had many successful biggest fish catch of the year for marlins and a couple of world records. I would travel to where ever the marlin show up and still keep track of events around the world.

For March - April, if you are really serious about catching a large billfish then Cape Verde is the best choice for the Atlantic ocean. You can catch billfish, large and small in the Caribbean but the catch rate or statistic is no where near as good as the places that I've mentioned.

A good captain, whom I've fished with, for the area is Zak: http://www.marlincapeverde.com

Good luck!

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