How to Catch Ribbonfish; a Great Bait for Offshore Fishing

They're one of the best live baits for bluewater fishing. They're tasty, too.

September 08, 2025 By David A. Brown

Ribbonfish, or Atlantic cutlassfish, are strange-looking but have a special place in the hearts of veteran anglers. They’re a sleeper hit bait source for big king mackerel, and fresh ones—if you can get them—are good eating. Frozen ribbonfish are sometimes available at saltwater bait shops. How can you catch fresh ribbons? Glad you asked.

Last fall during a run at Port Canaveral in East Central Florida, Rodney Sahr and his pal Capt. Billy Bright hosted me on a ribbonfish-catching session. We put five dozen into the boat. This is what I learned.

Deep ports and inlets—Canaveral is famous here—tend to gather ribbonfish in the late summer and fall. On a warm, breezy evening, Bright idled maybe 1,000 yards from a local boat ramp and set up on a familiar spot. You can chase ribbonfish pods with a trolling motor, but when they’re thick, just idle until you think you’re marking them, drop anchor, activate subsurface lights and get ready. Sahr’s 23-foot Key West center console has purple lights, while a nearby boat cast an emerald glow. Both crews seemed to fare well.

Bait used to catch ribbonfish. — Nugget of mullet on longshank hook with small lightstick for catching ribbonfish for bait.

BEST RIBBONFISH BAITS AND RIGS

“Ribbonfish run the whole channel, but they like the rolloff because that’s where the baitfish are,” Bright said.

Ribbonfish—when they’re in—are aggressive feeders. Land-bound anglers can enjoy the fun; not far from the boat ramp, I watched shoreline anglers cast jigs with light sticks attached to their main lines. Ribbonfish are known to strike crankbaits, too.

Fresh mullet chunks are Sahr’s go-to for catching ribbonfish. In late summer and fall, the waters around Port Canaveral usually offer plenty of cast net opportunities. Bright nabbed a night’s supply of mullet with one throw of the net while standing on the ramp. He also brought a bag of food-quality shrimp, which he feels holds up better than frozen bait shrimp.

Gearing up with medium spinning tackle, Sahr prefers a size 2 or 4 long shank hook with a small light stick positioned about 18 inches up the leader. “The light sticks I use come with a full length band, but I cut it in half and use only one piece,” Sahr said. “That makes it much easier to thread your line through.”

A cut chunk of mullet is usually enough to sink the light, but on windy nights or if the tide’s cooking, he’ll add a split shot.

With their wispy tail, you wouldn’t think ribbonfish would mount much resistance. However, a dorsal fin running nearly its full length offers unique leverage that helps the ribbonfish pull backward. Keep the rodtip high and maintain steady pressure, ready to respond to a feisty one that zips across the stern and threatens entanglements or self-release. You might find ribbons of 3 feet, but 18 to 30 inches is common.

Fishing for ribbonfish at night over boat lights. — Boat lights help attract ribbonfish to your bait offerings.

RIBBONFISH CARE

With teeth that’ll make a barracuda nod in respect, ribbonfish present a finger risk. But that’s not the only hazard.

“A ribbonfish has a raspy ridge on its underside that will scrape you if you get too close,” Sahr said. “If you try to grab them, they’ll curl up around your arm and you usually get scraped.”

To this point, Sahr uses a hook-out to invert the hook and drop his ribbons directly into a small bucket on the back deck. Once he fills the bucket, he’ll transfer the catch into his 60-quart Engel cooler positioned on the bow.

As bait, whole ribbonfish—dead or alive—are excellent slow-trolled behind a downrigger. Simply hooking one on a stinger rig and letting it slowly sink behind a drifting or anchored boat is also highly productive for a variety of fish. Small treble hooks spaced about 8 inches apart on single-strand leader wire is the usual rig; use a jighead for the forward hook, if trolling.

Unless you plan on taking your ribbons directly into action, brining is essential for avoiding freezer mush. Sahr combines a 3-pound box of coarse kosher salt and a 1-pound box of baking soda with about 2 gallons of seawater and then adds a couple bags of ice. That first bucket at the stern has only the dry ingredients and sea water to quickly dispatch the fish for easier handling. The larger cooler holds the brine mix plus fresh ice to maintain freshness. Back home, Sahr slips ribbons into plastic sleeves to keep them straight, vacuum seals each one and freezes until his next kingfish trip.