![]() ![]() I bring all this name stuff up because I've noted that in the last couple years more and more fishermen are calling dolphin "mahi," and as someone who is not very keen on the recent trend of everything under the sun being described in the most politically correct words imaginable, I'm not happy with my fellow anglers who think they need to dummy-down the words they use to describe their catch rather than continue to educate others that when they say "dolphin" they mean "dolphinfish" NOT Flipper. In Mexico, dolphinfish are known as dorado, I don't know what Mexicans or Hawaiians call Flipper dolphins but I'm sure they're wise enough not to call them dorado or mahi-mahi. Wisely most restaurants have ditched the common name dolphin for the Hawaiian version "mahi-mahi." I'm not sure why the Hawaiians felt the need to name the fish twice unless they got tired of telling tourists, "NO it's NOT Flipper dolphin, it's mahi it's MAHI"! These days anyone who lists "dolphin" on a menu is liable to have a lynch mob assembled in their parking lot, or at the very least their staff will spend more time telling horrified patrons, "It's NOT Flipper!" than serving food. This big misunderstanding is more of a problem for folks running restaurants and fish markets. At least "we" know what we're talking about. ![]() This is where most of the really big dolphin are caught.Admittedly, the semantics of it all is a little quirky, but it has worked for us fishermen for a long time. If you spot a cruising frigate bird, make an effort to stay with it. They will find and lock onto a big dolphin and follow it for miles, waiting for it to feed. The Frigate bird holds a special place in a dolphin angler’s heart.Larger dolphin will follow schools of other fish – like false albacore or bonito – and feed along with them. Never mind that – just get some baits out. As you move to the birds, you may find that the feeding fish are not dolphin. You can spot a school of feeding fish by watching for a flock of diving birds. Sea birds follow schools of dolphin waiting fro them to find a school of baitfish. Weedlines can be several miles long and will find boats trolling along both sides of a long weed line. Anything floating on the surface of the water will attract dolphin. In blue water, look for weeds and flotsam.Dolphin may follow a school of flying fish closer to shore, but they will most surely be in the the Florida Gulf Stream. If the first dolphin caught is kept in the water, it will usually hold. Successful fishing methods include trolling surface baits (flying fish, mullet, ballyhoo, squid, strip baits) or artificial lures also live bait fishing or casting. The fish you pursue are in or close to the Gulf Stream. It is believed that they can reach speeds up to 50 mph (80.5 kph) in short bursts.Artificial Baits – Sometimes artificial baits out fish the natural baits.Natural Bait – Ballyhoo, Mullet or mullet strips.Drift a weed line with a freelined live ballyhoo.A properly working bait will be skipping along just under and on the surface. Trolling speed is between 4 ad 7 knots, just fast enough to make the bait work properly.As an overview, consider these tips: Trolling If you wish to hone your angling skills or learn how to catch Dolphin, when or where to fish for the species you haven’t fished for before, book a teaching charter. ![]() ![]() Catch dolphin by trolling dead and live bait or small artificial lures Charter fishing off of Stuart and Jupiter gives an angler a wide variety of species to fish for depending on the time of year and where you fish. In the Gulf Stream, along the Treasure Coast, Dolphin fishing remains reliable through July. It is abundant in the Gulf of Mexico, the Florida Current, and throughout the Caribbean. The dolphinfish is distributed in tropical and subtropical waters throughout the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans. The single dark dorsal fin extends from just behind the head to the tail and its anal fin is concave and extending from anus to tail. Its anterior profile of head on adult males is nearly vertical The head of females more sloping. Description:īright greenish blue above with yellow on its sides with a capability of flashing purple, chartreuse, and a wide range of other colors Its body tapers sharply from head to tail with irregular blue or golden blotches scattered over sides. The fish known as the “dolphin” is not related to the marine mammal of the same common name (family Delphinidae). The common English name for this fish causes much confusion. Synonyms include Scomber pelagicus, Coryphaena fasciolata, Coryphaena chrysurus, and Ecterias brunneus. ![]()
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