Mahi Mahi

Mahi Mahi, also known as dorado or dolphin fish are fast growing, pelagic fish. They are among the most beautiful of all fish.

Younger fish school in large numbers, orienting to sargasso weed or floating debri. Larger fish are loners or travel in small groups, but still orient to floating structure.

The males develop a blunt forehead and grow larger than the females, sometimes reaching lengths of 5 feet and weighing 30-50 lbs.

Mahi Mahi is low in saturated fat and is a good source of vitamin B12, phosphorus, and potassium and a very good source of protein, niacin, vitamin B6, and selenium.

Dolphin can be fished for a number of ways. The simplest and most common is to troll around sea bass pots or lobster pots. Weed lines and floating lumber or other objects are excellent places to look. Dolphin sometimes orient to objects as small as a coffee cup.

When targeting dolphin around objects, trolling ballyhoo at about 5 knots can be productive. A number of different rigs work, and weedless rigs may be needed. When trolling around a weedline, The drag is left very loose so the fish can eat the bait.

Anglers may also pull up to structure and throw out bait to dolphin. It's best to keep one fish hooked up at the boat until the next angler has one on. Anglers rotate so that there is always one fish hooked and swimming near the boat. This keeps the school at the boat. Casting lures can be productive for dolphin. A 2 or 3 oz. single hook metal jig is very effective. Also surface poppers or Gotcha syle plugs work well.

Many anglers prefer pitching cut bait to dolphin. A good local bait is a strip of skipjack tuna, false albacore or bonita belly. Frozen silversides can be another good bait.

On the Atlantic coast, dolphinfish (Mahi Mahi) are found along deepwater areas such as the Wilmington, Baltimore, Poor Man's, Washington or Norfolk Canyons.

These structures have amazing features which produce conditions that attract several types of fish and other ocean life. West of the canyon walls are shallower but still productive areas. Near the canyon walls, the bottom becomes steeper and rockier. Fish congregate along the drop offs to catch food that is caught in the hard running current. Along the edges are lobster traps which are marked by orange buoys or "lobster balls".

The buoys attract mahi-mahi, also known as dolphin fish. Not only are the mahi-mahi excellent fish to catch, but they also attract the larger marlin which feed on them heavily. A trip by a buoy can be uneventful, or one or more lines might be attacked by mahi mahi, tuna, marlin or other fish.

Grilled Ginger Mahi-Mahi with Florida Tropical Fruit Salsa

Ingredients

(4) 6 to 8 ounce Florida mahi-mahi fillets

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

6 shallots, minced

4 slices fresh ginger, unpeeled, minced

1 clove Florida garlic, minced

black pepper to taste

Preheat grill or broiler.

Arrange fillets in grilling basket or on broiler pan coated with nonstick cooking spray; set aside.

In a small skillet, melt butter over medium heat and add minced shallots, ginger and garlic. Cook 8 to 10 minutes until golden.

Remove skillet from heat. Reserve 1/2 of the ginger-shallot-garlic mixture; set aside. Brush fillets with remaining ginger garlic mixture.

Grill or broil fillets 4 to 5 inches from heat for 6 minutes or until cooked through, turning once.

Transfer fillets to plates and drizzle with reserved shallot-ginger garlic butter.

Serve with Tropical Fruit Salsa or your favorite sauce. Yield: 4 servings.

For more Florida seafood recipes, visit www.FL-Seafood.com.

Grilled Mahi Mahi Steaks with Lime

Ingredients

1/4 cup fresh lime juice (2 to 3 limes)
2 tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
6 large mahi mahi steaks (about 1-inch thick)

Preheat grill or broiler.

Whisk lime juice, olive oil, garlic, soy sauce, mustard, salt, and pepper.

Brush fish with one-third of the dressing, saving the rest.

Place the mahi mahi steaks on the grill, and cook.

Flip steaks and coat with sauce, cooking just until done.

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Two species of dolphin fish are known to occur in US waters, the common dolphin and the pompano dolphin.

* The common dolphin can reach lengths in excess of 60 inches and weights of 80 pounds.

* The pompano is smaller; seldom reaching 30 inches in fork length and nine
pounds in weight

* Both species are known to occur in the same school.

* Pompano dolphin are more oceanic in occurrence and are thought to be
more common in the Gulf of Mexico and in South Florida than along the rest
of the US east coast.

* The annual US pompano dolphin harvest is not known.

* Little information is available on pompano dolphin in US Territorial waters.

Game Fish of the Saltwater Flats and Shallows

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