What is Kitefishing? A Closer Look

Kite fishing is a relatively new technique for Sailfish, Wahoo, Mahi Mahi, Tuna and more that involves fishing with a childhood friend, the kite.

What is Kitefishing?

In simplest terms, it is a kite with fishing lines attached that you fly over the ocean to catch large predator fish. To make it a little more complicated, it is a special kite with special attachments attached to a fishing line that is attached to your fishing pole. You can do Kitefishing from a boat or from the shore. This technique helps you get farther away from the boat so as not to spook the fish and is a perfect way to get close to the reefs or other areas you cannot get to by boat.

How Kitefishing Works

To go Kitefishing, you need a strong wind because the kite won’t fly without that. However, many charter captains specializing in Kitefishing have a helium balloon attached. This does two things; One, if there is no wind or hardly any wind, the balloon will lift it in the air and second, if that does not work or if the wind dies down and the kite falls down, the balloon will keep it afloat and easier to spot in the waves.

Optimally you want the first line of the kite to be about 50 to sixty feet away from the boat. This is the farthest hook; depending on how many hooks you have on the kite, there will be about 15 to 30 feet or more between them.
Each line has a release clip up top and a bait attached to the other end.
Depending on your experience, you may just have one bait about ½ to 1 foot under the surface. As you get more experienced, you can fly with baits right below the surface 30 to 50 feet apart. Some professional charters have two or three kites going on at once. This gives a better chance of hooking something because you have 9 lines in the water, not 2 or 3.
The release clip releases when you get a hit, and your battle begins. The line is now hot, and you must reel in your catch. If the fish goes backward towards another of the baits, simply reel up the other fish or fish out of the water, and you are still fishing.
The kite stays up with its other lines to hopefully entice another fish to bite.

What Fishing Gear You Need to Kitefish.

For Kitefishing, you need some specialty fishing equipment.

Kite

There are typically two to three types of kites that you can fly:

Balloon

Either a blown-up balloon or a helium balloon.

Release Clips and O-rings

The release clips break off when a fish is on the line, and the line drops in the water. The O-ring keeps the release clip in place.

Kite fishing poles

For releasing and flying the kite. The size of the pole does not really matter.

Reels

You can use any reels, but electric reels tend to be best when trying to reel in a kite in 20-knot winds.

Fishing Poles

Can be any poles you use for deep sea fishing for whatever you are trying to hook up with.

Fishing Line

30/40/50 Fluorocarbon

Accessories

Live Bait

The Most Common Gamefish You Catch While Kitefishing

Kite fishing is a great fishing technique and one that will afford you the possibility of many different types of fish, specifically the trophy fish everyone wants to catch

Sailfish
Mahi Mahi
Tuna: Yellowfin, Blackfin, Bluefin
Marlin
Wahoo
Kingfish
Cobia
Snapper
Sharks

The Top Fishing Destinations that Kitefish

When it comes to Kite fishing in the United States, Florida is King. Kite fishing was introduced to the US in Florida, and some of the best fishing captains specializing in Kitefishing reside in this state. Sailfish is the main catch for Kitefishing in Florida, but you can still get your hooks into Mahi Mahi, Tuna, Wahoo and even a Blue or White Marlin. It is quickly becoming more and more popular with charters and with anglers. You can Kitefish all up and down the coast and the Gulf, but the best places to go Kitefishing in Florida are:

Another hotspot in the Gulf of Mexico is:

Kite fishing is becoming very popular on the West Coast. Now many captains are using this technique, especially for giant Bluefin Tuna.

Kite fishing is becoming a sensation for many anglers throughout the nation and the world. Many captains are learning or are experienced in this fun technique. While it is not new, it was invented by the Chinese many years ago, it has been used and is being used all over the globe. Kite fishing is a very effective technique because it keeps the bait up near the surface in the sights of all predator fish. Whatever trophy fish you have dreamt about, going kite fishing might be a great way to have your dreams come true.