That's My Story

NEEDLEFISH – published Feb. 2005 – Western Outdoors Magazine Baja Backbeat Column

In all my years of reading about Baja fishing, I don’t think I’ve seen anything written about one of the great scourges of Baja sportfishers. I’m not talking about sharks or sealions. I’m not even talking about bonito or even (yak!) mackerel. Instead, let’s focus on a fish that no one even thinks about unless these fish are already well on their way to getting the goat, not to mention the bait and tempers of most Baja anglers.

Called “marciel” or “agujon” by locals, the needlefish…yes needlefish… has to rank right up there with some of the most reviled fish in the Sea of Cortez. Technically, there’s a small needlefish (about 18 inches to 3 feet long) and there’s a large needlefish species (up to 5 or 6 feet long), but since I’m not a technical guy, mostly they are a muy grande pain in the nalgas no matter what their size.

Ranging through most of the Cortez, but especially in the lower sections, these fish are long powerful critters that are almost tubular in shape marked by a long gator-like head full of needle like teeth. Normally silver or blue in color, they can arrive in packs out of nowhere. I have found them in the shallows up near the beach and rocks but it’s not uncommon to find them in blue water as well. However, when they arrive, their aggressive attacks on your lure, bait and tackle can only be described as something a tackle-manufacturer could love. With their rows of needle teeth they will grab and grab and grab s’more until there’s not much left of a slow trolled dead or live bait. If you have a feather, lure or lipped-lure, they will continually shred and rip at the jig until you reel back at best a tooth-marked lure or at worst, merely a head and a hook. Even moreso, the continual attacks can and will shred line so that when a true gamefish hits, you stand the chance of breaking off.

When you hit a “needle zone” , it will appear as though everything thrown into the water gets hammered. Often, you can see long silver “packs” of these predators following the lures or harassing a fly-lined bait. At this point you might as well move somewhere else. Needlefish have a very high nuisance quotient. Inexperienced anglers will think that they are getting bit by gamefish as the needlefish will grab a bait; run; then drop it as the angler tries to set the hook. Larger needles are strong enough to yank a trolled line right out of the outrigger resulting in a false bite and the need to re-set the lures or at least tighten the tension on the rigger clips.

When hooked, they can be incredible fighters on light tackle (but so are mackerel) and will launch themselves out of the water with surprising speed and agility almost like torpedoes leaping and skimming the water for10, 20, 30 or more yards. In fact, they have been known to come zooming at pangas, sportfishers and anglers with blazing rapidity and a mouth full of teeth causing more than a few nervous moments as anglers duck. Countless times, I have seen them move with such speed that they hit the boat and broke their necks or slightly embedded the point of their snouts into the fiberglass side of a panga. If one is coming at you, like a wahoo, it’s best not to be in the way! However, despite the initial fun, after awhile levity inevitably turns to frustration and choice words as anglers realize that the needles are depleting bait supplies; breaking lines; tearing up valuable tackle or preventing baits and lures from getting into the mouths of more glamorous quarry. Terrible is the price I have seen anglers and Mexican skippers alike exact on a captured needlefish treating them like the proverbial red-headed stepchild or worse.

If the needles are hitting, I know it’s going to be “one-of-those-days” when I’ll probably hear about it from my clients (as if I could control the needle onslaught). I don’t like them anymore than the next guy, but perhaps we need to adjust how we look at them.

As mentioned previously, needles are exceptional fighters. On light tackle or a flyrod, the battle can be fast, furious and sometimes one-sided as the needles will slash and tear off huge runs. Get tied onto one of the larger models with a girth comparable to some angler’s thighs and you could be in for one heck of a battle. They are certainly easy to catch. I have seen them take bites out of sardines, squid, mackerel, lures, feathers…even a piece of tortilla I once dangled behind the boat. If you throw a shiny spoon at them, they’ll jump all over that as well. Out of boredom on a slow day, I’ve had hours of fun with needlefish using my fly rod or spinner with one perk being that there are often other species around too such as jacks, bonito and tuna.

As for edibility, most anglers cringe when needlefish are mentioned as food. I think long cylindrical fish make many anglers think of snakes and they disdain needlefish even worse than some anglers turn up their noses at barracuda. As one angler told me, “Needlefish are meant to be disposed of , not eaten!” For many years, I felt the same. However, it was a group of my Chinese clients who enlightened my palate. I discovered that cut into chunks the meat has a slight blue tint to it much like some of the rockfish found in the states. When cooked up, the meat turns flakey white color with the only drawback being the copious number of bones. Nevertheless, it was some of my panga skippers that told me that the chunks can be put into a soup and the meat simply boils off the bones. Add some cilantro, chile peppers, carrots and onions and one angler’s trash fish becomes another angler’s delicious cioppino. Top with fresh tortillas and serve with good friends and tall fishing tales.

That’s my story…
Jonathan