You Say Mahi I say Dorado

Whatever you call them, Dolphin Fish, Mahi Mahi, or Dorado – these amazing fish are one of the most exciting sport-fish the ocean has to offer. Most big game Anglers just can’t get enough.

So how can we catch more of these Dorado every time we find them?

The answer is not set in stone, but we have found a few tricks for Dorado Fishing that can help you land more.

Perhaps the most well know and by far the most important, leave one in the water!
If on the troll keep the boat moving at an angle that circles but just enough to not tangle the spread or additional lines
If you have bait chum it, and a good amount, with a mahi in the water and a few baits swimming around there could easily be 7 or 8 on the lines before you know it

Now let’s discuss these briefly.

If you hook a dorado on the troll, don’t rush him in. Bring him in slowly, turn the boat to an angle, bring in the other lines, throw bait etc. If you don’t have any bait a good surface iron master can get the dorado to go for it if they are hungry. If you have more than one on the line, keep one back 20 yards and leave him there. If no action, leave for at least an additional 3-5 minutes to see if the others come back. Dorado rarely travel alone. I would say this will add an extra dorado or 2 50% or more of the times you hook one. If your boat continually gets only one dorado on the troll, give these techniques a try – you will be pleasantly surprised.
The reason you want to angle the boat is the Dorado act different than wahoo, they don’t continue to attack straight, but rather hang around looking for bait and their small pack. The goal is to circle the same area with a dorado on the line and in the water to get them interested.
If you have a tank full of live bait, you are in business, throw some out, leave your fish in the water, circle the area and of course fly line the baits to get more and more. Always leave one in the water and don’t stop fishing until at least 5 minutes of no action has passed.

I hope these simple, yet effective techniques can help you all to get more of these beautiful fish to the boat. I hope some of you can practice releasing at least a portion of the mahi that come in, and always release the babies. If we all work together we can fish these amazing species for many years to come and land more everyday.