Many years ago, Kona skipper George Parker made ­headlines around the world when he caught the first certified, world-record grander Pacific blue marlin. Since that 1,002-pound giant in November 1954, Hawaii’s lee eddies have churned up a stream of 1,000-pound blues that continues today. Kona waters usually average two or three granders per year, along with more Pacific blue marlin IGFA records than any other sport-fishing hot spot. That parade of records continues. In March 2013, Alex Nuttall boated a 958-pound blue marlin with Capt. Chip Van Mols on the Kona charter boat Monkey Biz II to claim the IGFA women’s 130-pound-class record.

Kona’s consistent billfish success sparked a worldwide revolution in big-game fishing because these big fish were caught on lures pioneered and developed in Hawaii waters. Meanwhile, big-game fishermen elsewhere had been saying you could catch billfish only with bait. Even those doubters caught the Kona wave and started catching marlin on Kona-style lures. Kona is also the perfect starting point for novices who have never caught a fish in their lives. It happens every day, 365 days a year. Newcomers are well served by a well-maintained fleet of top-of-the-line boats and expert captains.

Plus, Kona’s big fish hunt in deep, calm waters near shore. The 100-fathom line is a 10-minute run from Kona’s two main fishing fleets at Honokohau Harbor and Keauhou Bay. What’s more, the biggest fish of any week is usually a marlin in the 500- to 900-pound range caught by a complete newcomer on a four- or six-hour trip. On any day of the year, a visitor can find a suitable charter and hope to catch one or more of Hawaii’s mighty four: billfish, ahi (yellowfin tuna), mahimahi (dolphinfish) and ono (wahoo).

Billfish of Every Kind

Blue marlin, black marlin, striped marlin, sailfish, shortbill spearfish and broadbill swordfish — Kona’s waters are home to every billfish found in the Pacific. But each has a different story, and you should know those stories when you make plans.

Big blues are the billfish that pay the bills in Kona. Blues of all sizes are here year-round, but they are usually most common during the summer tournament season, from June through early September. Mid-Pacific currents can supply a fresh run at any time, however. For example, sometimes April surprises offshore trollers with fish heavier than 500 pounds on every day of the lunar cycle. Catches like these show that the lunar cycle has little, if any, influence on billfishing in Kona (unlike the effect different phases might have in other fishing areas).

Kona granders have also been landed in January, March and July. March, which might otherwise be considered the offseason elsewhere, has turned up more of Kona’s historic granders than any other month, and that includes the 1,649-pound Kona all-time record in 1984. The 1,376‑pound IGFA record for 130-pound class was caught in May 1982. Indeed, granders have been caught in Kona waters every month of the year. Licensed commercial fishermen are allowed to sell blue marlin in Hawaii, but professional skippers prefer tag-and-release for clients who want to let vital fish go. In any given week, more of Kona’s blues are tagged than kept. Visitors should make their wishes known when setting up a charter.

Hawaii’s Striped Marlin

Striped marlin cruise through Kona water’s year-round, but the big run extends from December through March. The Hawaii state record, 212 pounds, turned up here at the end of March 2011. That’s big for a north Pacific stripe, which is noteworthy because South Pacific stripers max out at more than double the weight of their northern cousins. Striped marlin are most attracted to Kona when winter waters cool down into the mid-70s. During those “chilly” times, the luckiest trollers might get up to a dozen striped marlin bites, and hook about a third of them.

Those same striped marlin ­conditions also attract shortbill spearfish of world-record size. Kona’s frisky shortbills ­presently hold 16 IGFA marks for tackle as light as 4-pound-class, and even on fly gear. Record-seekers troll hookless teasers to draw a spearfish within range, and then present a lure, fly or bait on the most sporting gear available. For most visitors, however, the spearfish is a surprise catch when trolling for blues and stripes.

For black marlin, Kona is outside the normal migration range. The entire Kona fleet sees only a handful each year, and these are much smaller than the giants of the Great Barrier Reef far to the south. Old-timers will remind you that the state record weighed 1,205 pounds, but that once-in-a-generation fish was caught in 1980.

Broadbills are the secret sensations for fishermen who know when, where and how to catch them. Most of Kona’s rod-and-reel swordies are caught at night during ika-shibi (traditional hand line) trips that target tuna. With its giant staring eyes, the broadbill is readily attracted to lights at night and to the squid schools that gather in the glow. The state record 503-pounder took the bait in June 2006 at the start of what are usually the three best swordfish months. Only a few boats cater to the night-fishing trade.

Hawaii Tuna Fuel Jet Revolution

More than fifty years ago, Hawaii troller Henry Nishikawa ignited the jet revolution when he caught a world-record ahi on a metal-headed lure drilled through and through with holes. His 269-pound yellowfin didn’t last long in the record books after anglers in the eastern Pacific discovered a tribe of bigger tuna off Mexico. Yet the IGFA record book is still overwhelmingly Kona on the ladies’ side: Kona catches made by women hold the 16-, 20-, 30- and 50-pound-class marks.

Though Kona waters attract ­resident schools of yellowfin year‑round, ahi are most abundant in late spring and throughout summer. As schools migrate west to east through the islands, the big runs reach Kauai first by Mother’s Day in May and Kona by Father’s Day in June. When the action is wide open, lucky boats can catch as many as 10 a day, all in the 100- to 220-pound range, by trolling or live-baiting with aku (skipjack tuna) or opelu (mackerel scad). During the rest of the year, ahi specialists target them with green-stick gear, and continue to catch a few each trip.

Hawaii’s state record ahi (a July catch) of 325 pounds is unusually large for central Pacific yellowfin tuna. Kona’s biggest ahi each year normally hits 250 pounds (258.5 in 2013). The state record bigeye (277 pounds in July 2013) and the biggest albacore (89.2 pounds in April 2011) both were caught on the Big Island’s windward (eastern) coast. The albacore weighed more than any on the IGFA record list but did not qualify for world-record status because it was caught on commercial-fishing gear. Kona ­fishermen regularly catch albies (tombo ahi) in the 60s and 70s on sport fishing tackle.

Mahimahi, Hawaii’s Gift to the World

Almost 70 years ago, Hawaii Big Game Fishing Club official George Perry set the 130-pound-class IGFA world record for dolphinfish with a 72.5‑pounder. That record didn’t last long, but the name “mahimahi” is Hawaii’s gift to the world, because it replaces the confusing name “dolphin” on restaurant menus. Though Hawaii has no current IGFA mahimahi records, the state-record 82-pounder confirms the potential. That record fish was a September Kona catch, but mahimahi are available any time the current drags a “floater” within trolling distance.

Mahimahi live up to their name (it means “very strong”), and the brightly colored, agile acrobats do their muscular tricks in Kona waters year-round. Occasionally huge schools gather around flotsam and jetsam for a wide-open bite that can go on for days. Then, skippers gear down to match the catch with sporting 20- and 30-pound-class rods. Unless a Kona skipper finds a floater, mahi are incidental catches on marlin and tuna trips.

By the way, the mahimahi record aside, Perry went on to catch the largest blue marlin in each of the first two Hawaiian International Billfish Tournaments (HIBT). The HIBT became an annual Kona fishing feature in 1959 and soon inspired dozens of other Kona tournaments. During the most popular tournament months of June, July and August, events compete with each other every week

Ono Blitzes, Summer Phenomenon

A Guide to Big Fish off the Big Island

Ninety years ago, a mysterious fellow known only as “J.B. Stickney” caught a 124.75-pound wahoo in Hawaii waters to set the world record. That was five years before the IGFA was founded, a time when records were compiled by Van Campen Heilner of Field & Stream and Francesca R. La Monte of the American Museum of Natural history. Ono — what wahoo are called in Hawaii — average 30 to 40 pounds, which makes J.B.’s catch even more extraordinary.

Big ones do show up now and then — state-record-holders Tom Brandt and Sky Mullins surprised their 133.2‑pound ono off the windward coast of the Big Island in December 2000. The major ono run reaches the Big Island in May of each year and hangs around into early September. Some ono are caught year-round, with early morning being your best chance. Kona skippers typically troll the 40-fathom line at the start of each trip to pick up any ono that might be harassing the nearshore bait schools.

To ward off the ono’s sharp teeth, skippers rig their special ono lures with single-strand stainless leaders. Ono slash at heavy-headed subsurface lures like weighted jets and lead-head feathers. On a typical trip specifically for ono, a successful boat might catch three or four fish. In years when ono blitz the summer currents, boats are known to hook as many as 40 on a single trip.

Other fishing areas might see the diversity of big-game fish that Kona has, but few have them in the sizes regularly seen here. In Kona, your next strike could come on any day of the year, in any phase of the moon, at any turn of the tide, on routinely comfortable seas, and be one of the Pacific’s biggest and most exciting game fish.

Shore Fishing off the Big Island

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You’ll find anglers on bridges and beaches, bait shops open long before dawn, big tackle stores that carry enough gear to outfit a fleet of sport-fishers, and a line-up of fishing tournaments year-round. Numbers tell the story, too.

Jacksonville has the highest rate, per capita, of fishing license holders of the four biggest Florida metropolitan areas. That beats Tampa-St. Pete, Orlando, and Miami-Fort Lauderdale. Jacksonville takes the crown for the hardest-fishing big city in Florida.

The region’s rivers, maze-like marshes, bays, the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW), jetties, beaches, and offshore grounds form a network of waters unlike any other in Florida. Two spring scenarios to target are shallow-water redfish and trout, and offshore, schools of migrating dolphin swarming at the Ledge.

Catch Seatrout and Redfish in Jacksonville

Big tides breathe life into Jacksonville’s extensive marsh-and-creek system.

“We have a 5-foot tidal swing, on average, every 6 hours, so the locations to fish are constantly changing,” says Capt. Buzz Brannon, who’s guided anglers in Jacksonville for more than two decades.  He runs an 18-foot Beavertail Vengeance in the shallows, stalking reds, trout, flounder, and other species on spin and fly. One of his favorite bites is for “hillbilly bonefish,” what some folks call redfish when they get them in the grass on big tides, he says.

For seatrout, Brannon likes dusk and dawn, low-light times. In the spring, when the finger mullet show up, both trout and redfish take topwater lures. “Anything with a hard edge along the St. Johns will be holding mullet,” he says.

Fishing the city’s infrastructure — bridges, docks, seawalls, and industrial installations along the water (where legally accessible) — produces a variety of species. Both natural and manmade habitats hold good fish in Jacksonville, one of the city’s many surprises for visiting anglers.

It’s been the best year of redfishing Brannon has seen for quite some time. In 2012, an increase in the redfish bag limit to 2 fish per person took a toll on the redfish. In September 2022, the bag limit was lowered back to one redfish per person, and since then, the fishing has been steadily improving, Brannon says.

The nourishment of those rich waters flowing in the St. Johns generates and draws abundant life to the nearshore and offshore waters, including a pelagic fishery that’s been a standout hotspot in recent years— the Ledge.

Big Dolphin off Jacksonville

About 55 to 65 miles off Jacksonville, depending on the marina’s location, the continental shelf slopes down from 120-foot depths and then drops off to 175 feet deep — the Ledge. The Gulf Stream runs nearby, and when its warm waters or any of its warm eddies circulate over the Ledge’s structure, prey, and predators get drawn into those dynamic flows. In winter, these waters hold good numbers of big wahoo, ranging up to 70 and 100 pounds, often caught high-speed trolling and more recently, Capt. Tim Altman of Hoodoo Charters says, by live-baiting.

“Guys are having incredible days for wahoo at the Ledge slow-trolling live baits like blue runners and bonito,” says Altman, a multiple-time wahoo tournament winner and a fanatic for those fish.

Capt. Altman runs 11-hour charter trips to the Ledge for pelagics including wahoo and dolphin aboard his Saltwater Challenge, a 36-foot Contender with triple Mercurys. In April, the game switches to catching big dolphin.

“We’ve crushed it the last few years for big dolphin at the Ledge, lots of them,” he says. “We’ll start going out for them between April 12 and 15, and the biggest fish are early in the year. We get a good month and a half of solid dolphin fishing.”

His good news about dolphin fishing may surprise people who’ve heard about a lack of fish in recent years around South Florida and the Keys.

“I’m aware that South Florida has seen a real decline in their dolphin fishing, especially around Key West, Marathon, and Miami. I can’t explain the difference in Northeast and South Florida fishing,” Altman says. “The old-school guys say the migratory pattern for yellowfin tuna has changed, so maybe that’s the case with dolphin, too, or maybe the currents have changed.”

Dolphin at the Ledge

Altman and his crew leave his Amelia Island marina at 5 a.m. and head out to the Ledge for an 11-hour trip. He’ll check RipCharts on his phone and screenshot the image of the temperature breaks at the Ledge. On his Simrad he also has SirrusXM weather for sea surface temperature readings offshore. He’s looking for temperature breaks with ocean water temps 76 degrees and warmer, weed lines, and edges.

“During dolphin season, as we get near the Ledge, I’ll put out small Nomads or a horse ballyhoo skirted with an Ilander on a planer with wire to target wahoo. Beyond the Ledge, we’ll run everything on the surface.

“Some days skirted stuff works, but I don’t believe there’s anything more effective for dolphin than a properly rigged, chin-weighted, split-bill ballyhoo,” he says. “When you see that big dolphin coming, or if you get a hit, you free spool it for 15 to 25 seconds, and I’m telling you that works.”

The dolphin come through in packs, and between times Altman and crew can also bottom fish for triggers, snapper, grouper, or whatever’s in season. They’ll likely have sardines in the livewell and they’ll chum dolphin by their boat with cuttlefish or squid, keeping a lookout, ready to throw a live bait to any big fish coming to the boat.

“You’ve got to be ready for those big fish. You’ll have a bunch of schoolies, the boat’s kicked out of gear and you’re live-baiting. The fish get all around you. Then you’ll see the dolphin scatter and that’s indicative of a shark or a big dolphin coming in to tear them up. I’ll tell you it’s incredible when you see that big dolphin coming through the water to you. Man, that’s fun.”

Jacksonville Florida Fishing Captains

• Capt. Tim Altman, Hoodoo Charters, (904) 859-6314, www.hoodoocharters.com
• Capt. Buzz Brannon, Northeast Florida Angling, (904) 570-7878, www.northeastfloridaangling.com

Bait Stores

•             B & M Bait & Tackle, Jacksonville, (904) 249-3933
•             Brown’s Creek Bait & Tackle, Jacksonville, (904) 757-1600
•             FishBites Trading Post, St. Augustine, (904) 217-8012

Note: Special thanks to the FWC and its licensing department for the analysis of its data on fishing license holders by municipality across the entire state of Florida.

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Costa Rica is a must-visit destination for saltwater anglers, offering a variety of inshore and offshore species all year long. Interested in breaking a line-class or all-tackle world record? The International Game Fish Association (IGFA) documents anglers fishing in Costa Rica have set close to 200 world records, including bottom fish and pelagic species such as Pacific cubera snapper and sailfish.

One Pacific hotspot is the fishy coast off Nosara. Given its remote location and limited infrastructure, the fishing pressure is low compared to more popular fishing communities like Los Suenos, Quepos or Crocodile Bay. And unlike other Costa Rican fishing spots, the fishing grounds off Nosara are just six miles from the beach. Fishing along this northwest region is truly for diehard anglers. You won’t find mega-million-dollar fishing machines or fancy night clubs, but it is a place where world-class fish roam.

Costa Rica Inshore Targets

I stepped onto the small wooden skiff that transports clients from Playa Guiones to our 27-foot super panga called the FV Explorer. We were fishing with Fishing Nosara, a top sport-fishing operation that also offers a great vacation stay. Morning excitement was building, even if expectations weren’t too high. We were visiting in August, the end of peak season. After navigating the surf zone — including three sets of head-to-overhead waves — we made it to the mooring area.

Captain Antonio and mate Raffa greeted us. Antonio quickly asked me, What species do you want to target today? Familiar with the area, I answered, “Let’s spend the morning inshore, targeting roosterfish or cubera snapper and the afternoon targeting offshore species.”

A few minutes later, we were trolling small metal lures and catching foot-long skipjack tuna and bonito for baitfish. Once the tuna tubes were filled, we hit the local fishing hotspots, spending a hot, hazy morning in search mode, tossing surface plugs for roosterfish and bottom fishing for cubera snapper. But the fishing was slow and we didn’t hook a fish. Our spirits were low until the VHF radio started chirping loudly and a Spanish voice shouted, “Fishing Vessel Explorer, can you read me?”

A Spotlight on Dorado

When Antonio got off the radio, he eagerly asked us if we wanted to chase dorado. He told us his colleague had spotted a homemade fish aggregating device (FAD) about 10 miles south of our location. It was swarming with dorado. FADs are manmade structures that are commonly deployed or anchored throughout the Pacific Ocean to concentrate marine life. Fish are attracted to these manmade objects just like natural floating debris, such as seaweed, logs and coconuts.

“Sure,” I answered to Antonio, but with less enthusiasm than he would have liked. I hadn’t flown to Costa Rica to catch school-size dorado.

My mahi-mahi fishing experience dates back to my days as a federal fishery observer aboard commercial pelagic longline vessels in the northwest Atlantic Ocean. As a fish biologist in the late-90s, I measured numerous mahi-mahi that were caught incidentally on longline gear. Plus, I landed plenty myself on hook-and-line along the weedlines where we often set commercial fishing gear. During my time on the high seas, I learned mahi-mahi are pretty easy to catch in large numbers. Despite being an acrobatic flyer, I had never battled a large one. The biggest mahi-mahi I landed weighed 15 pounds, and the largest I recorded was maybe 30 pounds.

In my opinion, dorado are the most colorful fish in the ocean — bright yellow, blue, green, or other electric tints on their sides. They change color dramatically as soon as they hit the deck. I’ve seen schoolies change from bright yellow to blue to grey in less than a minute. Although both sexes have similar vibrant displays, their body morphology is much different. Females (called cows) have a sloping forehead; males (bulls) have a blunt, vertical forehead. Unusual for the fishing kingdom, males grow much larger than females.  

Hot Costa Rica Dorado Action

“How big are these dorado?” I asked Antonio, as we reached the homemade FAD. Raffa was rigging 50-pound-class boat rods with large live baits. Terminal tackle included an 8/0 Eagle Claw circle hook tied to seven feet of 50-pound-test fluorocarbon leader. “Grande!” he said. Apparently, the light-wire circle hooks were the key to hookups in the clear Costa Rica waters.

First tossing frisky large baits into the blue abyss and reaching a slow trolling speed, we approached the FAD from the south. The captain yelled “Listo!?” Almost immediately after passing the small FAD, our two stout rods doubled over. The reels started to scream.

My wife and I quickly grabbed the rods and held on. Handling the rod with a tight grip, I was confused by the sheer power of the fish. These fish couldn’t be dorado. They were both digging down like a yellowfin tuna or billfish. Glancing over at my wife, she too had a look of excitement and shock. I could feel the power of every head shake. When the fish hesitated, we pumped and retrieved as much line as possible.

About 10 minutes later, both fish launched toward the surface at full speed, going airborne like missiles fired from a sub. Twisting and turning out of the water, it became apparent our fish were not majestic sailfish, but iridescent bull dorado. With each crank of the reel, our fish came closer to the gunwale. My wife’s flamboyant green-blue beast was first to the gaff. The fish was so big that Antionio had to help Raffa heave it over the gunwale. About a minute later, my dolphin met the same fate. Thrashing on the deck, the colorful fish began to change colors like LEDs synchronized to music. With our hearts pounding and sweat dripping off our faces, the adrenaline rush left us wanting more.

Big Dorado Want Big Baits

I was shocked the dorado attacked such large baits given their relatively small mouths.

“This is the only way to catch big dorado,” Antonio told me. “The bigger, the better. If you want to slay schooling dorado you can sight-fish with small jigs, plugs or natural baits. But if you’re after large bulls, you need to troll large marlin-type plugs or live tuna at least 12 inches long.

“The bigger dorado are often found below the smaller ones, so you have to troll slowly to allow the baits to swim deep. Obviously, small dorado are found year-round in our area, but if you want to catch the big bulls, then you need to fish during June through August.”

How deep do the baits swim? I asked.

“Our baits are probably 30 to 40 feet down,” explained Antonio. “Also, if you noticed, we started trolling about 100 yards before the FAD. If we throw the baits out next to the FAD, they will just get attacked by the smaller dorado first.”

With the hot sun beating down and calm seas, we continued hooking, fighting, and landing dorado until the bait was gone. The cooler was full enough to feed a village, so we called it a day and headed back to the mooring area. Later, we brought our fresh catch to La Luna, our favorite local restaurant, where they cooked us a feast while we sipped margaritas and watched the sunset.  

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Few fish are prized more for their sporting ocean fight, speed, high-leaping ability and good-taste at the end of a fork as the dolphin, or mahi-mahi.

Biologists and fisheries scientists have known for years that pelagic, ocean-ranging dolphin travel far and fast, and grow at remarkable speed to hefty blue-water battlers.

Leading in the on-going scientific work learning about dolphin is the Dolphin Research Program (DR), that has a wide range of fishermen tagging and releasing dolphin they catch, so fish travels can be documented. So far this year about two dozen tags have been returned from dolphin caught at many locations, representing nearly a 5 percent recovery rate of tagged fish.

According to a DR report on Oct. 15, the group received its 22nd recapture of a tagged dolphin this year. It came from a commercial fishermen at Puerto Plata, located in the Dominican Republic. The dolphin was caught at a “fish aggregating device” (FAD) 19 miles offshore. What makes this tagged fish interesting is it was tagged by another fisherman Sept. 15 at a different FAD northwest of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.

The straight-line distance between the two Dominican Republic FADs is nearly 200 miles. DR says that the average travel of this fish was just over 6.5 miles per day, and in a month the fish grew an astounding two inches.

On Oct. 25 DR got its 24th dolphin recapture of the year, this time in the Pacific Ocean. They report that angler Todd Floyd had a RD tagging kit and during a recent trip to the Gulf of California tagged several fish and released them. Amazingly, just 10 days later, one tagged dolphin was recovered caught off Loreto, Mexico. Most startling about the recovery of the 24-inch dolphin that Floyd had tagged is it had grown one full inch in just over one week.

That phenomenal growth rate of dolphin shows the fish are indeed piscatorial eating machines. That’s one reason they rate so high with anglers, as the fish feed well and often, and take a wide range of cast and trolled lures as well as live and rigged baits.

Not all details are available yet, but DR says that a recaptured dolphin was recorded the last week in October off Jaco, Costa Rica, in the Pacific Ocean west of the country’s capital city of San Jose. The fish is believed to have been perhaps tagged and released off Ecuador last February – a distance of about 500 miles.

In July of this year a dolphin tagged near Ft. Lauderdale in June 2021 as a 16-incher was recaught off Venezuela – 374 days later after wandering open blue water. In that short span of time the dolphin grew to 57 inches long, and weighed 58 pounds.

Tagging kits for dolphin are available from DR through their website or Facebook page, and anglers are encouraged to participate to further the knowledge of this remarkable ocean-roaming gamefish. Rewards for returned dolphin tags also are made by DR.

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National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) fisheries scientists are requesting Hawaiian fishermen to collect dolphin (mahimahi) stomachs for their research.

The stomach contents will help NOAA scientists better understand what mahimahi eat. The study also will show how much mahimahi diet is made up of coral reef inhabitants.

Anglers can receive financial rewards for participating in the program, according to NOAA.

“Collaborating with the fishing community is an important component of this work,” says Keith Kamikawa, fishery management specialist from NOAA’s Pacific Islands regional office. “We’re conducting science while getting Hawaii fishermen involved.”

Kamikawa explained that while coral reef fish live their adult lives near shore, when they mature and spawn, their larvae drift out to sea and develop in the open ocean where mahimahi roam.

“There they grow from tiny plankton to pelagic juveniles just a couple of inches long,” he said.

Kamikawa says juvenile reef fish may become prey of mahimahi (and other pelagic predators) while on their way back to the reef to grow into adults.

If reef species are an important part of mahimahi diet, protecting coral reef habitats where they mature and spawn could play a significant role in maintaining populations of mahimahi around the islands.

NOAA scientists rely on mahimahi stomach samples donated from recreational, subsistence, and charter fishermen, who catch more mahimahi than a fleet of NOAA boats could, and anglers can provide scientists with stomach samples year-round.

NOAA offers a “punch card” program to obtain recently caught mahimahi stomachs from fishermen. Anglers also must share the catch location, type of bait used, and size of the mahimahi, plus other catch-related information.

Fishermen will receive one point for every mahimahi stomach. For every 10 points, they receive a $50 gift card to a local fishing supply store. So far, fishermen have donated more than 300 dolphin stomachs.

“We’re really getting a great look into mahimahi diets in Hawaii,” said Nan Himmelsbach, a research associate who works for NOAA. “Preliminary results using DNA barcoding techniques have revealed that the majority of prey items found in mahimahi stomachs are juvenile stages of reef-associated animals, such as goatfish and surgeonfish.”

Scientists use genetics to identify digested mahimahi prey that would otherwise be unidentifiable. They’ve learned that notoriously ravenous-eating mahimahi have an extremely diverse diet.

So far, scientists have identified more than 500 prey items from the mahi stomachs they’ve processed.

The post Get Paid by NOAA for Catching Mahimahi appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.

The privately financed Dolphinfish Research Program (DRP) reports that a rare international return of a tagged dolphin has been made recently.

Venezuelan angler Carlos Rosales caught a dolphin with a DRP tag, showing it had been a free-swimming fish for over a year, moving from South Florida to Venezuela before it was caught a second time.

DRP reports that the dolphin had been caught by Capt. Todd Lewis and his son Parker off Lighthouse Point near Ft. Lauderdale on June 25, 2021. The 16-inch dolphin was caught in 100 feet of water, tagged and released by the Lewis’s

Rosales caught the dolphin a second time off the coast of Venezuela on July 4, 2022 – 374 days after it had been caught, tagged and released in South Florida as a 16-inch juvenile dolphin. The recapture of a tagged dolphin is only the 24th international recovery of a DRP tagged fish. It’s the third recovery for dolphinfish tagged and released along the U.S. East Coast that has been reported in Venezuela.
DRP was not able to get an accurate size of the dolphin when Rosales caught the fish the second time off Venezuela. But the DRP data base of research from over 20 years of such catches and recaptures of dolphin shows the fish had grown to a remarkable 57-inches in length, with an estimated weight of 58-pounds.

Such stunning growth rates seem implausible, except for the fact that dolphin are among the world’s fastest-growing marine fish. They grow at staggering rates. And the fish range far, wide, and fast, as they shadow baitfish schools on which to feed.

“Dolphin are eating machines, almost a non-stop foraging apex predator, which is why they so readily hit lures and baits, and why they can grow to 80 pounds in under four years,” said South Carolina marine biologist Don Hammond, who was the head man at DRP for many years.

“Dolphin don’t know where they are, and they don’t care. A dolphin is happy and at ‘home’ if it’s in water temperature it likes – and there is plenty of baitfish around for it to eat. This is one of the primary keys for finding dolphin, and that includes big fish – food, abundant food, which is why they are so often holding around large beds of sargassum weeds.”

So far this year, DRP reports 104 boats have submitted dolphin tagging reports. The also have had international tag returns from Venezuela, Antigua, Ecuador, and the Dominican Republic.
Consistent DRP tagging of dolphin is being done in several new international locations including the United Arab Emirates, Aruba, Ecuador, Mexico, and the Gulf of Mexico.

One interesting dolphin tag return, DRP reports, is one that recently washed up on the southwest coast of the United Kingdom. DRP says that “doesn’t represent a true recapture, but does raise the question of whether in the future a trans-Atlantic movement for this species” will be documented.

“My belief is dolphin may completely circle the Atlantic Ocean, rather than simply following a north-south migration along the East Coast of the U.S.,” says Hammond. “It also underscores the need for international co-operation for dolphin management.”

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Hot Spot: San Diego, California
Species: Bluefin, yellowfin tuna, mahi, yellowtail

“All the buzz is about bluefin tuna,” reports Jordan Jennings, an angler and outdoor writer out of San Diego, California. Jennings says anglers are catching bluefin up to 60 pounds just nine miles off the beach. Farther north, big bluefin tuna are taking kite baits and high-speed trolling plugs. With all the tuna action, Jennings encourages anglers to start the day catching mahi on live bait. “We are seeing a huge volume of mahi-mahi,” he says.

For Jennings, a typical trip starts with a stop at the bait barge for a scoop of sardines. Then, he heads west to southwest looking for floating kelp patties holding dolphin and yellowtail.

He uses gyro-stabilized binoculars to scan the water for floating kelp patties. He says the water temperature has been in the low to mid ‘70s with beautiful clean blue water. Using online Satfish satellite charts, Jennings looks for temperature breaks and color changes. “We’ve been spoiled with gorgeous weather and less wind than the last couple summers.” Early in the morning, the winds are four to eight knots, then he expects to pick up out of the west or northwest at 10 to 15.

When he finds a floating pile of kelp, he rigs a live sardine on a 1/0 to No. 1 J-hook and 12 feet of 15 to 30 pound Seaguar Gold fluorocarbon leader. Jennings instructs, “Hook the sardine through the nose to make it swim on the surface, butt hook the bait to make it swim down below the kelp.” He says the water has been so clear, nose-hooked baits have been the best.

When he sees a yellowtail swimming across the surface, he turns to his casting rod and a surface iron with four feet of 50 to 60 pound Seaguar Blue fluorocarbon.

Once he has his fill of dolphin and yellowtail, he works his way inshore. “The best tuna bite has been in the afternoon on slack tide,” he says. As Jennings reaches inshore locations like Nine Mile Bank, he starts to look for schools of tuna feeding on bait pods. He also searches for working birds and picking terns. If the tuna are feeding aggressively, he casts a large topwater popper or stick bait with 50 to 60 pound fluorocarbon leader. “Since the topwater bite is a reaction strike, I use a heavier leader.” If the tuna are finicky, he goes for a live sardine on a 1/0 to 2/0 circle hook and 20 to 30-pound Seaguar Gold fluorocarbon leader.

Jennings is most excited about the big bluefin tuna bite. The traditional big bluefin tactic is fishing a rigged flying fish from a kite or helium balloon. This year, Jennings says high speed trolling with a Nomad 200 to 240 Madmacs is just as effective and a lot easier. He pulls the lures at 10 to 15 knots using 130-pound standup rods. “Trolling is a lot easier than messing with kites and balloons,” he says.

Through the rest of the season, Jennings expects the offshore fishing to stay hot. “September is my favorite month,” he says. He hopes the water will stay warm through October. “I think we’ll see more tuna moving north before they turn west and head offshore to Tanner and Cortez Banks. “We have plenty of great offshore fishing out of Southern California,” he says.

Tackle Box:

Live bait:

• Rod: 7-foot Seeker Live Bait
• Reel: PENN Fathom 2 25 Narrow
• Line: 50-pound Yozuri Superbraid

Topwater Tuna:

• Rod: 8-foot Seeker spinning rod
• Reel: PENN Authority 6500
• Line: 65-pound Yozuri Superbraid

Surface Yellowtail:

• Rod: 9-foot, 3-inch Seeker Jig Stick
• PENN Fathom 25 Narrow (star drag)
• Line: 65-pound Yozuri Superbraid

High speed trolling:

• Rod: 7-foot Seeker OSP Rail Rod
• Reel: PENN 50 VISX
• Line: 130lbs Seaguar braid
• Leader: 100lbs Seaguar Blue label wind-on

The post So. Cal Bite is on Fire appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.

It was a first-time trip tapping Mexico’s famed Cabo San Lucas offshore fishing for Randy Romero and his wife Araceli. From a Cabo resort they booked a last-minute half-day charter on Aug. 17 through Pacific Time Sports Fishing. And on Aug. 18 they headed offshore with Capt. Jose Gonzalez and his mating son Juan on their boat the La Patrona.

“We didn’t know what to expect,” said Romero, age 30, from Milton-Freewater, Oregon, located east of Portland. “I’d never been there previously, and Araceli had never even been on a boat.”

But off they went, trolling for dolphin and billfish about 10 miles offshore. Late in trip they were heading back to the marina when they spotted a dolphin jump out of the water.

“We headed that way, and when we got to where we saw the fish leaped we had a strike from a big dolphin,” says Romero. “The fish started jumping, and running, and I started cranking on my reel.”

The more it jumped the more excited the boat crew got as they realized it was a giant of a dolphin, or dorado.

“They started calling it a dinosaur fish,” he added. “They called other boats on the radio, and they all started chiming in about the dinosaur fish we had on. It was wild and incredibly exciting.”

Romero fought the fish nearly 30 minutes, with the dolphin jumping repeatedly. Finally, they got close to their prize, and Juan gaffed it and brought it aboard.

“We all started high-fiving and jumping up and down,” he continued. “Capt. Jose said it’s biggest dorado he’s seen in 8 years chartering at Cabo – a real dinosaur catch, he said.”

The fishing fleet and marina were well aware of their catch, and a cluster of boats followed the La Patrona back to the marina to witness the weighing and congratulate the anglers and boat crew.

At the dock the fish measured 68-inches long, and weighed just a few ounces shy of 81-pounds. Randy’s fish is in a rare category of dolphin weighing over 80-pounds, with only a few IGFA fish recorded at better than 80-pounds.

The IGFA All-Tackle World Record dolphin is 87-pounds, caught in Costa Rica in 1976 by angler Manuel Salazar. That fish measured 69.50 inches in length. It’s less than two inches longer than Randy’s 68-inch dolphin from Cabo.

Only four other dolphin weighing over 80 pounds are in the IGFA records book. So Randy’s catch is in rare company.

To top off their Cabo fishing day, Araceli Romero delighted in battling a striped marlin, but losing it right at the boat.

“We had a great day with a beautiful sunrise, fun captain and crew,” said Randy. “When we first started fishing that day Araceli was getting seasick. Then we caught the dolphin and she forgot all about it. Then she fought her marlin, and never mentioned being ill again.

“We can’t wait to go fishing again, and Araceli is ready to go.”

The post A Near-World Record Dolphin appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.

Islamorada proudly bills itself as the Sport Fishing Capital of the World, and for good reason. From here, an angler can catch creek-mouth snook in Everglades National Park, tempt a bonefish on the shallow flats around the village’s six islands and head offshore to battle a sailfish—all in the same day.

No matter the length of your angling bucket list, you can check off a whole bunch of species in Islamorada.

The ocean and backcountry flats host bonefish, permit and tarpon, the most sought-after triumvirate in the shallow-water game. Over grass flats and around the mangrove islands in Florida Bay and the national park, anglers can target snook, redfish and sea trout, as well as a variety of shark species, mangrove snapper, tripletail and cobia.

Weather from March through June and from September through November delivers preferred water temperatures for inshore fishing. During summer, visitors depart early in the morning, before the shallows heat up, or fish late in the afternoon, when temperatures cool and a spectacular sunset is almost guaranteed. 

Offshore, yellowtail and mutton snapper as well as grouper, king and cero mackerel swarm structure and coral reefs out to more than 100 feet deep. The same spectacular marine and fish life attracts scuba divers from all over the country.

Just outside the reef line, sailfish swim through the Keys. Plan to visit from November through April for the best opportunity to hook one of these acrobatic, hard-fighting billfish.

The offshore humps, where the ocean floor rises to within 400 feet of the surface, attract baitfish and opportunistic predators such as blackfin tuna, amberjacks and sharks. The humps produce year-round, but spring typically marks the peak of the bite, when the most and biggest fish are landed.

Dolphinfish, also known as mahi-mahi, usually top the list of popular offshore species for anglers hoping to catch dinner. Sharp-eyed captains look for weedlines, floating debris and diving birds to locate schools of the colorful fish, which show up in the spring, but in recent years have proved most abundant from August through early December.

Anglers often stop to catch dolphin on their way out to the swordfish grounds, which lie 25 to 30 miles offshore. Daytime swordfishing, where captains drop baits to the bottom in depths of 1,500 feet or more, was pioneered in 2003 by several innovative Islamorada fishing fanatics.

All Islamorada restaurants, from fancy to family style, offer fresh, local seafood. Lodging options range from high-end resorts to Old Florida motels to floating houseboats, where visitors can rest up and spend the following day on land viewing the works of painters and sculptors at the Morada Way Arts & Cultural District.

Non-anglers can find a different type of fish thrill by hand-feeding the 100-pound tarpon that gather at Robbie’s Marina and taking in a marine mammal show at Theater of the Sea, all of which make a visit to Islamorada a capital idea.

The post From Inches to Leagues — Explore All the Depths of Islamorada Fishing appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.

Thirty miles off Oregon Inlet, North Carolina, trolling down a weed line in a 50-foot sportfish, we ambushed a pack of big dolphin. The fish attacked our spread, leaping out of the water, slashing behind a skipping bait, greyhounding from one side of the spread to the other.

With outrigger pins popping, rods bending over and lines coming tight, mate William Howell called anglers out of the cabin while Capt. Jason Snead put the teal-green Dream Girl into a tight turn.

Once all the rods were heaving with big fish and the reels losing line, Howell instructed the anglers to grab a gimbal belt and a fishing rod. Snead kept the boat idling forward while the anglers worked their fish to the boat.

Big dolphin don’t come easy. The broad green-and-blue fish streaked side to side and leaped into the air, frantic to escape. The anglers labored over their reels while captain and mate orchestrated a line dance with anglers shuffling around the cockpit to stay untangled.

In short order, Howell handlined each mahi close to the boat, gaffing it and swinging it into the fish box. As the anglers shared high-fives and back slaps, Howell deployed the lines and Snead bumped the boat back to trolling speed. Dream Girl lurched and rolled over waves and troughs and all eyes searched the sea to find the next weed line.

Dolphin Season

This scene played out a few years ago. Today, Howell runs his own boat, Drifter. I caught up with him in late spring as he prepared for another season of dolphin fishing.

Howell expects bigger fish to show up off Oregon Inlet in April and hang out all summer. From mid-summer to early fall, the bulls move north. Between June and September, anglers from Virginia to New Jersey see their best big-dolphin action.

At least that’s how it’s supposed to go. The last few years, anglers have seen fewer big dolphin in early summer. So, when the sargassum weed lines up and the dolphin are on the feed, anglers need to be ready to make the most of the opportunity.

Finding Mahi

Howell generally hunts dolphin from 20 fathoms to the edge of the continental shelf. But to find big fish, Howell depends on sea-surface-temperature charts. “Water temperature is more important than depth,” he says. He looks for a substantial change in water temperature and color.

Once the boat crosses the change, Howell searches for floating sargassum that serves as a dolphin oasis. According to Howell, ideal conditions include a southwest wind blowing the weed against the edge of the Gulf Stream current.

Farther up the coast, anglers fishing off mid-Atlantic states don’t have the reliable Gulf Stream current found off Hatteras. Instead, they look for less significant changes in water temperature, clarity, altimetry and plankton levels that help amass sargassum and floating flotsam, which hold dolphin.

Once Howell finds the weed line, he slows the boat to 6 knots and puts out four rods. “I keep the spread limited to four rods to reduce tangles and keep the fish focused,” he says.

Big dolphin play like puppies in a dog park. Fewer baits in the water keep the dolphin on target and improve the chances for a good bite. If a dolphin hits a lure and misses, though, pull the ravaged hook out of the water and drop a fresh bait back.

Rigging a naked, unweighted skipping ballyhoo takes just a few minutes. In this video, the author walks you through the basic procedure.

Tackle and Rigging

Howell targets bulls with a quiver of 20-pound trolling rods paired with lever-drag reels spooled with 30-pound monofilament. To the end of the line, he ties a Bimini-to-no-name-knot connection to attach a 24-foot length of 80-pound mono and ties a 250-pound snap swivel to the end. For the leader, he ties a surgeon’s loop at the end of a 5-foot piece of 50-pound monofilament and terminates that with a 7/0, short-shank, thin-wire J-hook. Slip the surgeon’s loop into the snap swivel to complete the rig.

To add the bait, select a small ballyhoo, thaw it in saltwater and remove the eyes. Squeeze the bait and break its back. Take a 12-inch piece of copper rigging wire and thread one inch of it through the hook eye. Wrap that short end around the hook shank, leaving the remaining 11 inches of wire as a long tag end.

Hold the ballyhoo upside down and insert the point of the hook into the base of the gills. Thread the ballyhoo onto the hook as if threading a soft-plastic artificial onto a jig head. The point of the hook exits the belly and the eye of the hook rides beneath the ballyhoo’s eye.

Pass the long tag end of the rigging wire through the ballyhoo’s eye socket two times. Push the tip of the wire up through the base of the ballyhoo’s bill and then wrap the wire around 1/2 inch of the bill. Break off the remainder of the bill. 

Howell rigs some of the ballyhoo with a chin weight so that they slightly submerge, but he prefers to skip unweighted baits along the surface. 

Captain’s Tips

To deploy his four baits, he uses a mix of short rigger, long rigger and flat line positions. He keeps four more rods rigged and ready to pitch to dolphin in the spread. “I wouldn’t want more than six dolphin on at once,” he laughs, imagining the chaos that would create. 

He lets the baits drop back in the spread until they skip across the water or swim just below the surface without spending more than a few seconds in the water or in the air.

When a school of dolphin attacks, Howell keeps the boat trolling until all rods host fish. If a dolphin strikes short, he picks up the rod and jerks it, then drops the rod tip to make what’s left of the bait shoot across the water and sink back to the fish. If that doesn’t elicit another bite, he instructs the angler to pull in the bait while another angler drops a fresh ballyhoo into the spread.

Once a fish is hooked, he keeps the boat moving slowly ahead while the angler reels. “The key is to keep the fish behind the boat and the lines untangled,” he says.

When the fish is within 20 feet of the boat, Howell sets the 6-foot gaff in reach and lightly takes the line in his hands. Carefully, he guides the fish by holding the line low to the water to keep the fish’s head submerged. If the dolphin gets its head above water, it jumps into the air and most likely throws the hook.

Read Next: Mahi Fishing Tips

Once the dolphin is gaffable, Howell strokes it in the back just behind the head. Then, in one motion, he lifts the fish out of the water and swings it into the fish box — where it often explodes in a frenzy of tail whipping, rod-breaking energy.

When big dolphin school up behind the boat, or Howell finds a pack of fish on a float, he slows the boat and drops a rigged ballyhoo to the dolphin. He jigs the bait back and forth to get the fish’s attention. When he fires up a feeding frenzy, Howell can catch big dolphin one after another. “Dolphin fishing is one of the coolest things we get to do,” he says. Fast action, aggressive fish and an explosive fight make dolphin a fan favorite. “People love to catch them.”

The post How to Catch Dolphin in the Mid-Atlantic appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.