Also known as
- Short-nosed Spearfish US
- Shortbill US
Identification
The smallest billfish — a slender Indo-Pacific bluewater predator built for sustained surface cruising and acrobatic strikes. Mostly an incidental catch.
- Dark blue back fading to silvery-white belly with no body bars or dots
- High triangular first dorsal fin exceeding body depth, with dark blue leading edge
- Long, slender filamentous pelvic fins
- Unusually short bill — the shortest of all billfish
- Females grow larger than males
Where it holds
- Oceanic
Behaviour
An Indo-Pacific bluewater open-ocean predator hunting current edges, temperature breaks, and offshore upwellings within the upper 100m. Surface daytime hunter — uses the bill to slash and stun bait. Distinct day-night vertical pattern: surface during the day, deeper dives at night to hit upward-migrating mid-depth bait. Mostly solitary or in small loose groups. Highly migratory and oceanic — rarely enters coastal waters. Narrow thermal preference of 24-26°C (75-79°F).
Diet: Small Mackerel, Flying Fish, Scad, Small Bonito, Lanternfish, Squid
How it's caught
Line Fishing
Trolling
The dominant Indo-Pacific approach — almost always an incidental capture in mixed-billfish trolling spreads. Pull a spread of small skirted lures (15-25cm) and rigged ballyhoo or squid at 6-9 knots along current edges, temperature breaks, and offshore upwellings. 10-24kg light to medium tackle. Smooth drop-back on strikes for clean circle-hook hookset.
Spear Fishing
Bluewater Spearfishing
A challenging Indo-Pacific bluewater spearo target — daytime surface behaviour makes them more accessible than deep-diving billfish, but encounters are opportunistic. Hunt blue water along current edges and bait concentrations down to 25m. Use a 110-130cm bluewater speargun with 7.0mm shaft, slip-tip, breakaway rig, and float-line into a hard float.
