Dolphin
One of the most sought after game fish in the world are Dolphin. Also known as Mahi-Mahi and Dorado. Because of the excellent table fair they can be found around the world on most seafood restaurants menus.
Dolphin can be caught here off the Palm Beach Coast all year long. They can be as small as a pound or up to 60 pounds . Florida law requires the dolphin to measure at least 22 inch long and a 5 per person limit We have caught them from close to the beach to well offshore. 100 to 800 feet seems to be the best range. It seems dolphin prefer closer in on the drop-off the morning and late afternoon. Dolphin are mostly a topwater feeding fish. Dolphin feed mostly on flying fish and smaller bait fish that use sargassum weed for protection. I have found flying fish, squid, baby sea turtles and plastic bottle caps in their stomachs.
We prefer to troll dead ballyhoo, bonito strips or split tail mullet for dolphin. We pull rubber squid teasers behind the boat to attract the dolphin. Its always a thrill to watch dolphin come charging in on your trolling baits. When live baiting with the kites we tend to catch quite a few of the large class dolphin. All are effective methods. Dolphin are one of the prettiest, hard fighting fish we catch with brilliant colors of yellows, greens, blues, and golds. When they are played out and near the boat everyone gets to witness their pectoral fins that light up in amazing fluorescent blues. Dolphin are known for their amazing aerial displays. They are extremely aggressive sometimes eating multiple baits. Through out the year dolphin are found feeding on baitfish around sargassum weed and other floating objects. Its not uncommon to have 30 plus fish swimming around the boat all at one time. Chumming and leaving one fish hooked in the water behind the boat insures the school will stay around the boat. All these characteristics make Dolphin (Mahi-Mahi) one of the most desired targets of our clients.