Sunset reports ?

[Bert Rodgers]

I have noticed a lot of spearfish reports (5 yesterday) out of Sunset Marina. Are folks reporting hatchets (roundbill spearfish) or are they longbill spearfish?. In over 40 years fishing out of OC i've never seen a true spearfish.

Bert

[frankypettolina]

I know Ronnie Fields caught a double of longbill spears 2 days ago.

I caught 3 longbills last year, first time I had ever seen them here.

[Breakin Loose]

Can anyone post a pic of the two types of fish?

[C-Duck]

We caught a longbill during the Kids Classic. Very cool and very different. Unfortunately we have no close up shots...broke the leader wiring the fish before we could grab the bill. It was awesome though. Totally different coloration and look. We kept thinking it was a little blue then a white then a blue then realized it was neither. And we have caught a few Hatchets (roundscale spearfish), and they are a totally different coloration too, and husky. Maybe some guys on here will disagree, but whites seem to light up neon light blue and blue. Hatchets light up a neon green. The spearfish lit up a real neon purple-ish color. Whatever the case, its cool as all get out. Wish I could fish every day because of that. I am sure somebody on here will post some good pictures. I'd bet someone like Franky, John Duffie, etc. who catches a lot of billfish, have some good pictures of each example.

Curtis Campbell
Reel Estate Sportfishing
Ocean City, MD

[aclax8]

Here is a horrible pic of a spearfish I caught in last year's WMO. Purple color was awesome. Congrats on the Dolphin Curtis!!!!

[marlin magnet]

Here is one we caught last summer 2010

[MarlinHunter03]

Ok, now I'm confused. I thought I had this all figured out. I'm pretty sure I know what whitey looks like but I might have confused the difference between the longbill spearfish and the roundscale spearfish.

In pictures that I've looked at of the longbill spearfish they have a dorsal fin that is more pointed but that also remains much higher all the way down the length of the fishes body. I personally don't think I've ever caught one.

What I thought we were seeing in the northern waters was the roundscale spearfish. These fish look like they're lit up beyond belief with their coloration extending all the way to the tip of their bill. I would say the one Marlin Magnet posted is a roundscale spearfish, but I'm not so sure anymore. When we caught this fish I called it a roundscale spearfish.



This is a true white.



To my knowledge I don't have a picture of a longbill.

[marlin magnet]

Yours and mine are definitely a short bill spearfish. We wanted to harvest it as it would have likely dethroned the NJ state record. Here is another couple shots.

[dirtyj]

Here's another - we thought was a longbill but...

[dougsulser]

Yours and mine are definitely a short bill spearfish. We wanted to harvest it as it would have likely dethroned the NJ state record. Here is another couple shots.

They definately arnt short bill spearfish. The shortbill spearfish' bill is barely longer than the bottom jaw.