She’s got over 1 million Instagram followers who know her for her bikini content and Southern charm, but Sarita Natividad has another side that’s been turning heads lately — and it involves a 31-foot center console, deep blue water, and some seriously impressive fish.
The Spanish-American model and content creator grew up in Foley, Alabama, right near the Gulf Coast, but her love of fishing actually started even before that.
Sarita traces it all back to her dad. She grew up fishing in Michigan’s freshwater before her family relocated to Gulf Shores, Alabama, where she got her first taste of offshore fishing. That move changed everything for her.
“I love fishing at home in the Gulf,” she says, “but my absolutely favorite place to fish is the Florida Keys.”
And she’s got a real reason for that. In the Gulf, you have to travel far out to reach the deep water. In the Keys, you can be 10 miles offshore and already be sitting over the deep blue. For someone who’s after species like mahi mahi, snapper, grouper, amberjack, tuna, and the notoriously hard-to-catch wahoo, that kind of access makes a huge difference.
The Wahoo That Changed the Game
If you want to understand just how serious Sarita is about this, look no further than what’s mounted in her living room.
After years of trying to catch a wahoo — one of the fastest and most elusive fish in the ocean — she finally landed one in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. It weighed 70 pounds and stretched 66 inches long. She was so proud of that catch that she had a replica made and mounted it on her wall.
“It puts the biggest smile on my face every time I look at it,” she says. “It’s the best tasting fish I’ve ever had and I wish I could catch them more often.”
That wahoo currently holds the title of her biggest catch outside of billfish — which says a lot, because Sarita has been putting in serious work in Cabo chasing marlin.
Cabo and the Blue Marlin That Got Away
Sarita makes regular trips to Cabo San Lucas specifically to target marlin, and she’s had some heart-pounding moments on the line. Striped marlin are her bread and butter down there — she calls the fight on a striped marlin one of the best adrenaline rushes she’s ever experienced.
But the blue marlin is still on her bucket list. She’s had a few on the line over the years, each time for just a few seconds before they broke off. For now, she keeps chasing.
One thing she’s firm on: marlin and sailfish always get released. Every other legal, in-season catch goes in the cooler.
Her Fans Had No Idea
When Sarita started sharing her fishing content, her followers were shocked. Watching her reel in heavy fish from deep water — working the rod, managing the fight, landing the catch — wasn’t what they expected.
“My fans were shocked to see me reeling in big fish from down deep,” she says. “It’s such a workout and you have to have good technique and patience.”
The response has been overwhelmingly positive. People love seeing her genuinely in her element, and her catch-and-cook content has become a fan favorite. She keeps it real from the moment the hook sets to the moment the meal hits the plate.
The Double Standard She Loves Busting
Sarita is well aware of the assumption some people make when they see a woman on a fishing boat. They think she needs help. They don’t expect her to be the one fighting a 50-pound fish to the surface.
She loves proving them wrong.
“I think people assume because I’m a girl that I need help or can’t catch strong fish,” she says. “I love proving them wrong.”
She’s even got tournament ambitions. Sarita wants to compete in a fishing tournament as a female angler and win — specifically to cash in on the Calcutta side bets, where the female angler with the winning fish typically takes home the largest payout.
The Boat, the Beach, and the Sunset Bite
At home, Sarita doesn’t rely on charters. She runs her own 31-foot center console that she and her family converted from an old parasail boat into a fully rigged fishing machine. That kind of setup speaks for itself.
She’s out on the water early — usually by 7 a.m., when the bite is best. But she also has a soft spot for the sunset bite. It may not produce as often, but there’s something about waiting for that last big strike of the day with the sky turning orange behind her that she can’t give up.
When she’s not offshore, she’s working the beach, targeting pompano, Spanish mackerel, sheepshead, and anything else cruising the shoreline. She loves the calm of it, even if the big fish require something more intense.
“Fishing can be relaxing,” she says, “but I love the chaos that comes with offshore fishing. The rush of finding a huge school of mahi and trying to land as many as possible before they get away is so intense.”
That chaos is exactly where Sarita Natividad is most at home.
