Baitfishing for Ribbonfish

The great thing about saltwater fishing is the excitement you can experience just fishing for bait. This is something few freshwater fisherman will ever experience. Many of the bait fish that we use for offshore and near shore fishing are amazingly strong and great fun to catch. These include hard-tail baits, such as Blue Runners and Jack Crevalles, which are pound for pound among the strongest fish in the world. A 2-pound Blue Runner or Jack will easily out power a 10 or 15-pound Large-mouth Bass. In addition, these are great baits to troll alive or dead for Kingfish, Marlin and many species of fish.


The Atlantic Cutlassfish, also known as the Ribbonfish, is another fish that is exciting to catch and makes a great trolling bait for Kingfish. These fish fight well on light tackle but watch out for the teeth. A nip by one of these ocean predators can easily send you to the emergency room. Ribbonfish tend to congregate around structure near shore or in the mouth of rivers, such a pilings, bridges, piers, etc. When they are feeding, they will hit almost anything, including dead shrimp. But the best bait is live finger fish, such as finger mullet or small greenies (threadfin Herring). I use a 2/0 circle hook, a 20-pound fluorocarbon leader and a 2 to 4 oz sinker depending on the current to take the bait to the bottom. The circle hook will set in the jaw of the Ribbonfish to help prevent a cutoff due to the nasty dentures in these fish. You can also use a light wire leader which will eliminate the potential for a cutoff, but I have found that I get more hits with fluorocarbon leader.


If you are like me and lucky enough to have a wife from the Philippines, the next challenge is getting the Ribbonfish past the stove and into your bait freezer. While Ribbonfish are not used as a food fish in the United States, it is considered a delicacy in most Asian countries.





Happy fishing and remember that a bad day of fishing is better than a good day of work.