Sailfish Photos

This sail was caught by Don Schroder in March, 2004, on a 45-foot Jersey fishing from the port of Quepos. He is the guy standing behind the fish

The other guy is Danny, the boat's first mate.

Note how he grips the sail and the bill simultaneously in order to prevent the fisherman or any of the other passengers from being poked in the eye or another sensitive part of the human anatomy.

Once a sailfish or marlin has been brought alongside, or into the boat for photos like this one, it is released back into the ocean. There is but one circumstance in which this would not take place: if the captain thinks that it is big enough to qualify as a world record catch, it must be taken to the dock to be weighed and measured.

Costa Rica, by the way, is the site of many such world records, among the the largest sail ever caught by fly fishing.