Family Time: Summer Schoolie
If you've got adventurous young kids who want to join the offshore fishing action, then mahi-mahi will provide some real thrills for small-fry anglers.
by Alan Jones
When people think of offshore fishing, many envision an angler sitting in what looks like a barber’s
chair, holding onto a rod the diameter of a pole-vault pole, while struggling to hang on as a
massive fish rips line off a reel bigger than a ripe honeydew melon. For many adults, that’s their
end-all-be-all definition of a good time — but if you’ve got young children, it’s merely a
spectator sport for them … and not a very good one. After all, you can’t really call it “family
bonding” if you’re busy yelling, “Get back kids, and stay over there out of the way. Daddy’s got a
big one!” On such trips, it might seem to your children that the only way they’ll salvage the day
is to bring along some extra batteries for their portable video games.
The Dolphin That Isn't Flipper
Right around the time school lets out for summer vacation, action along U.S. offshore waters
begins heating up for the dolphinfish — aka mahi-mahi, aka “the dolphin that isn’t Flipper.”
Although dolphin can grow to 80 pounds, typically they’re considerably smaller. Oftentimes, these “
schoolies” are only a pound or two, which are the perfect game for small kids — even those packing
a SpongeBob rod and reel.
Dolphin are found in all tropical and sub-tropical waters of the world. Off the U.S. coast,
they’re most plentiful near the Gulf Stream — a warm current that follows the southeastern coast
from the Keys to near Virginia, where it turns east and moves across the Atlantic to Ireland. To
illustrate this current’s magnitude, consider that the total amount of heat carried by the Gulf
Stream is estimated to be 1.4 petawatts, or roughly 100 times the world’s total demand for energy.
For families on vacation trailering their boats, your best bet for finding dolphin without making a
long offshore excursion is along the coastline running from Fort Lauderdale south to the Florida
Keys, where the Gulf Stream closely hugs the shore.
Catching Mahi-Mahi
The best boats for catching dolphin are center or dual console boats in which you can move
around easily, in case of multiple hookups or if you hook fish that don’t cooperate (which applies
to most of them). Cuddy cabin boats are fine too — especially if they have a wide walkaround. In
South Florida, the summer weather pattern tends to be fairly predictable, with the best weather
usually occurring earlier in the day, followed by afternoon thunderstorms. If you check the marine
forecast and monitor the weather closely, it’s possible the boat sitting on the trailer in your
backyard will be adequate. Even those anglers with larger, seaworthy aluminum walleye boats with
lots of freeboard can trailer them down to the Keys for a vacation and fish comfortably, because
you don’t have to go too far offshore for dolphin action. A good strategy is to get out early for
the first bite, and when you’ve caught enough fish, head in and snorkel on the reefs when the sun
is directly overhead, then head back to the house before the afternoon thunderstorms roll in.
Most fishing gear is too large for small kids to use comfortably, but fortunately there’s
tackle made especially for kids that’s perfect for catching “peanut” dolphin. Rigs such as Zebco’s
AVS v1.0 Advanced Youth System spinning combo are available for kids ranging 6 to 10 years in age,
and they cost around $35. For bait, head to a local tackle shop and pick up six to nine rigged
small ballyhoo that already have the hooks and leader attached — or you can use a Calcutta
Bullyhoo, which is a soft plastic ballyhoo look-alike. You also need some cut bait, so buy some
unrigged ballyhoo or mullet. The best thing about catching dolphin is that you don’t really need
too much local knowledge, since they don’t stay in a fixed location. When you’re getting the bait,
be sure to ask around the shop about the depth and general area in which local anglers have been
catching them, and that’s more or less all you’ll need to know to get started.
Rigs such as Zebco's AVS v1.0 Advanced Youth System spinning combo
are available for kids who are interested in the thrill of offshore fishing.
Your First Mission
An awesome first-time place to try is the azure waters off Key Largo. A good strategy here
for rookie dolphin fisherman is to head past the snorkeling reefs a couple of miles and keep going
until the water changes to an indigo-blue color. Stay within sight of land for your first mission,
using the large microwave tower near Pennekamp National Park as a visual reference. Make sure you
have a GPS and a chart of the area, and keep an eye out for afternoon thunderstorms that will
usually form from the landside.
Instead of blind trolling, look for the telltale bright-yellow sargasso weed, which will be
floating on the surface. The wind tends to make it form into lines that sometimes run miles long.
When you see a nicely formed line, go ahead and get excited because you’re likely on the brink of
catching your first dolphin. Put out two lines with the rigged ballyhoo using your heavier rods and
reels, and troll as close to the weedline as you can without snagging the baits. Stagger the
ballyhoo so one is farther back than the other, and go fast enough so that they’re skipping happily
on the surface. If you see diving birds anywhere, head toward them because this is a strong
indication of feeding fish. Before you start trolling, be sure to cut up a few of the unrigged
ballyhoo into chunks about an inch long and have several light spinning rods rigged with 12-pound
line, tipped with a couple feet of 30-pound mono leader and a single 6/0 hook.
Dolphin Fever
There will be no mystery when your first dolphin hits, because it will launch into the air
with an acrobatic flip. Take the engine out of gear, reel in the other line and get ready, because
the real fun is about to start. For some reason, schoolie dolphin will usually hang around the boat
as long as you leave a freshly hooked fish in the water, so don’t land the first one until you get
a second fish hooked. One of the most thrilling moments in fishing is when you see dozens of these
neon blue and green fish start slashing around in the water surrounding your boat. The first time
you see this spectacle, both you and your kids are going to be excited, so be prepared for a few “
dolphin-fever”-induced mistakes. No yelling or losing your patience — there’s plenty more fish
where those came from.
When the first hooked fish gets fairly close to the boat, toss out a handful of the cut bait
to stimulate feeding of the school, and hook a piece of bait onto one of your smaller rigs — then
cast it 20 feet or so from the boat and let it float naturally. If your kids are small, go ahead
and cast for them. If the fish are different sizes, try to choose a small one for them by yanking
the bait away from larger fish. When you get one hooked that’s the appropriate size, hand it over
and gently coach them on how to pump the fish, and not to reel while the fish is taking out line.
When you get the second fish close, land the first one with a net if it’s small or with a gaff if
it’s larger. Go ahead and pop them right into the fish box if they’re at least 20 inches long from
the head to the fork of the tail. You can take pictures when the bite’s over and they’ve settled
down a little. They quickly change in color when you land them, going from blue to green to yellow
in short order.
You’re allowed 10 fish per person, but that’s going to be more than you’ll need. Just take
enough to feed your family and leave some fish for later, because your kids are definitely going to
want to go out fishing tomorrow too.
