Needlefish

[Youngoutdoorsman2001 0]

Hey, anyone else like catching needlefish/garfish/houndfish fly fishing? I enjoy catching them whenever I can get some place tropical. They are plentiful, and will attack just about anything on or near the surface.

 

 

 

Hookless flies are the way to go, their teeth and bony jaws deflect even the sharpest hooks.

Caught this one last month in Kauai, about 3 feet long:

 

 

They are a very tasty fish if you know how to eat them. I grilled, fried, and steamed them while I was there.

[tidewaterfly 0]

There is a species in the Chesapeake Bay, a needlefish, but not sure exactly which. They're generally not very big, 8" to 10" in length. I've never targeted them, but have had them grab flies when I was fishing for other species. I don't recall ever landing one on a fly however.

[bellevue.chartreuse.trout 0]

Toothy critters they are!

[mikechell 0]

The only time I've ever caught them is by accident. I've never even seen one over 12 inches or so, and the little ones like that don't put up much of a fight.

[Philly 0]

I targeted them a couple of times when I was making trips to Guam for work. There was a small cove behind the hotel we stayedat and there was always a bunch of them there sitting just below the surface soaking up the sun. I could get them to follow my flies but never got one to take them. Might have been that the schooling behavior was a resting phase rather than a feeding phase. There were some big ones probably 3 to 4 feet long.

[FlaFly 0]

Generally they're only caught by accident because nobody sets out to try to catch one. As stated, they will hit anything that comes to the surface. I've never eaten one, but have had flying fish, which are closely related and quite similar. If your ship has a low deck, in the morning you often find lots of flying fish that "flew" on-board during the night.

[Fisherboy0301 0]

The only time I've ever caught them is by accident. I've never even seen one over 12 inches or so, and the little ones like that don't put up much of a fight.

 

I've caught them over 1.5 ft in lake george Mike! Lol my brother shot one while bowfishing almsost 3 feet long and big around as my forearm! (Not too big, I'm a lanky teen after all... :/ ) I've caught them on flies, minnows, grass shrimp, and small hair jigs.

[Youngoutdoorsman2001 0]

Philly, needlefish that aren't actively feeding, whether it's because of low/changing tides or if their just not reacting to your flies, require a double hand super-fast retrive to get them to bite a fly. Streak the fly across the surface, catch some air on waves. I do this when searching for needlefish.

 

The best time to catch them is at high tide when they are looking for baitfish. If you see needles then, as soon as the fly hits the water you will get hits or high-speed chases.

 

Word of caution when you have one on the end of your line: some will launch themselves towards you, some people have been speared by big ones! Warning: They also jump when panicked or when they see lights:

 

Plenty of documented cases:

 

http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2005/Jul/30/ln/507300340.html

 

http://www.undercurrent.org/UCnow/dive_magazine/2008/NeedlefishAttack200801.html

 

http://tuoitrenews.vn/society/19098/russian-tourist-recounts-rare-needlefish-attack-in-vietnams-beach-city

[FlaFly 0]

I used to fish off a local bridge where the tide came out of a bayou, drifting with it lots of shrimp, crabs, etc. The bridge had one street light right midway across. If I would get there I could put a shrimp on a weighted hook and flip it as far as possible back under the bridge (in the dark). When the bait drifted back into the light, it would immediately be hit by speckled trout, sometimes redfish. But the instant the bait finally reached the end of the line and came to the surface, a needlefish would hit it. The trick was to pull the bait and make it fly back under the bridge before that could happen. I could see the trout and needlefish waiting out in the light for something to float out of the dark. Point is they weren't chasing swimming food.

[islander727 0]

I love gar, but not a fan of the needlefish. Especially the little bastards that intercept a fly intended for a snook! I've seen some lager fish lately, that have piqued my interest, close to two feet long...

 

You eat those? Do they taste as badly as they smell?

[FlaFly 0]

Like I say, I haven't tried needlefish. Lots of sailors have eaten flying fish. They tend to be smaller. Fried like smelt. Nice and crisp.

[ditz2 0]

I caught several needle fish in the ML near NSB a couple of years ago. I was fishing for trout with a craft fur shrimp and they were hooked and not caught on the surface. I did catch them when retrieving the fly upstream in a tidal current. None of them were much longer than a foot. I also caught a few blues and trout in the same place

[Saltybum 0]

For me needle fish tend to tear up my flies, ripping the hackles off my seaducers etc. However they themselves are good bait for trout and snook. Never caught a snook on one yet but have caught trout to seven pounds on some I have tied.

 

[islander727 0]

For me needle fish tend to tear up my flies, ripping the hackles off my seaducers etc. However they themselves are good bait for trout and snook. Never caught a snook on one yet but have caught trout to seven pounds on some I have tied.

 

'Cuda like them too!