Dolphin, also called Mahi Mahi or Dorado, is a favorite target species in the Florida Keys and can be found anywhere else. These fish are beautiful, tasty and acrobatic warriors. While they will usually eat food, they are very limited on calm summer days, especially around the full moon. There are a few tips for those days when the dolphin seems to have chin hair.
advice one: when competing with dolphins they have mixed lures. Smaller lures, less than five inches long, are attached to the boat and one or two lures over ten inches long go further back. Be flexible, if you know the fish are in the area but not biting, change your trolling speed. Faster and slower is better in the bite, slower is more effective in a good bite. I exchange for greater lures, and for smaller lures. Change things if it isn’t working, but don’t fix something that isn’t broken.
Tip two: Live bait is often the ticket on a clear day. If you find yourself surrounded by a sizeable school of dolphins that just won’t eat, the world’s favorite. Here is a big biting mucus, live shrimp or small live pills. If you are lucky, you live well as a bait, live with them as a convict. This is to send a few dozen around the boat with fish you find. Pilchards will run right back to the boat if you are in clean water and will bring the fish to you. Live the shrimp too, give a few freebies to the fish, and set the hook on one shrimp. Once you have the hook, leave it in the water and try for a piece of food. Once they have one, they will usually start feeding on the others.
Tip three: Food bait to attract fish. Take a log or two of convicts and a large mesh bag or box. If you drag and chum a large weed patch or line, you can drag the bait from the line to your boat. Take that opportunity to catch a few seaweed lines and use these foods. This trick has saved the game more than once! It’s the last technique most of the time, but I tend to use it more often around large weed patches on calm days.
Tip four: A dolphin loves a dolphin! Rig one of the school of dolphins strong suit and some fishing big. Some of the biggest dolphins have been caught running from the smaller dolphin along with big blue marlin wanting to play with the opportunity on a sporting day. This is the reason why strong rod and reel big fish eat big baits.
These are quiet days for dolphin tips, but not bad tips for any day of dolphin fishing. Having a variety of baits and bait sizes is always good. A ziplock bag and/or some fish oil are a good tip for windy days. If you find a grate (any floating debris holding the fish) chum or ditch it and spray fish oil . Slippery much easier and easier to find fish.
One last note, while the big fish eat big bait, don’t forget to eat the elephants peanuts. Those small lures and baits often exclude the area. Have a well equipped hook arsenal with a good strategy and you can catch a dolphin in any situation.
