How to Bill a Billfish

Some years ago I was in the cockpit of a sportfish with a guy who seemed to more or less know what he was doing, when another angler hooked up with a marlin. Always on the lookout to get cool pics like the one you see here (wink, wink) I asked him if he’d mind handling the fish while I handled my camera. He said “sure,” and then when they got the fish up next to the boat fumbled a few times, finally got a grip on the fish’s beak, looked at me, and said “what do I do now?”

As it turned out, he had never billed a marlin before. And for a first-timer truth be told he did just fine; after getting a few shots off with the camera I leaned over, wiggled the hook out, and we released the fish without any problems. Still, as simple as billing a billfish would seem to be there are a couple of rules to observe.

1. Always grab the bill with your palms facing down and your thumbs facing each other. If you grab from below with your palm up and the fish leaps or surges you’ll have a much harder time holding it down.
2. Keep your legs spread, your knees bent, and most importantly your center of gravity low. If you feel your feet coming off the deck at any time, don’t think twice—open your hands and let go of the bill.
3. Even small billfish should get two hands on the bill, and its always best to have someone else remove the hook.
4. When you want to get a picture with the angler, he or she should go to the side of the boat and lean close to the fish. Then you can lift it partially out of the water and get your snapshot. Bringing a billfish into the boat is likely to be far more traumatic for the fish (especially if it gets dragged across a gunwale) so it’s best not to do so.
5. After the hook is out, hold the bill forward of the fish’s mouth as the captain puts the boat into forward gear. Lower your hands into the water so the movement of the boat pumps water into the fish’s mouth and across its gills to help revive it. Then slide your hand back far enough that your pinkie finger goes between the fish’s upper and lower jaw. Don’t worry about getting hurt because billfish don’t have sharp teeth and can’t chomp hard enough to damage your finger. When you feel the fish trying to bite down on your finger, you know it has recovered enough energy for you to let go and watch it swim away.