A bent rod like this is what it's all about.

As you’ll note from my earlier description of catching a sailfish while sending a rig to the ocean’s floor, the bite will not always be on the surface. This is a very important point to consider when fishing in the heat of the summer. Pelagic fish are much like us (wimpy) humans; when the sun is blazing we seek a cooler comfort zone. For us, it may be the refuge of shade provided by the T-top or the cabin. For sailfish, it means cruising or holding at deeper depths where the water is cooler. Go ahead and deploy your typical spread on top, but include a weighted line that will cover a middle depth and a more heavily weighted line on or near the bottom. A rubber-core sinker or small sliding egg sinker is useful for mid-depths; to get really deep, a breakaway system is useful—perhaps a 3-ounce egg sinker with a loop of leader pushed through, snugged temporarily with a rubber band. A downrigger is also useful for slow-trolling, another good approach in summer.

The extreme heat of the middle of day will have most fish taking a siesta, and it’s not a bad idea to join them. With this in mind, it is best to choose the morning or evening hours to target your sailfish. Rosher explains why he concentrates on the late afternoon to evening bite when targeting sailfish in the summer. “In this case they will be less active in the middle of the day. They become more prone to feed in the morning and evening beginning in the late spring and through the summer and early fall. From my experience, they’re more active later in the day.” He went on to point out that it works out well to concentrate on dolphin and bottomfish during midday hours, and at around four o’clock in the afternoon, put the kites up and focus on sails. This is good news to those who don’t always like to rise with the roosters. With the extra few hours of sunlight in the summer, you can start your day at noon and still get a good eight hours on the water.

FS