Springtime Mahi Tactics
By: Willie Howard
(Photo courtesy of FloridaSportsman.com)
High-jumping mahi-mahi are beautiful, tasty prizes that have lured countless anglers over the years to the Gulf Stream waters off Florida’s east coast.
But finding always moving dolphin, as these share commonly known, in the flowing Gulf Stream current can be a hit-or-miss proposition a bet many anglers will take if they’re willing to burn fuel searching vast expanses of blue water for the floating weed mats and debris that attract dolphin.
South Florida’s offshore anglers were pleasantly surprised during the summer and fall of 2015, when they consistently found dolphin feeding along weedlines and current edges, usually 10 miles or more offshore.
“The dolphin bite was as good as I can remember for a while,” said Capt. Carl Miller of the Miller Time charterboat based at Boynton Harbor Marina, referring to the September 2015 action about 12 miles off Boynton Beach.
The consistent mahi bite produced plenty of opportunities for light-tackle fun as anglers put away trolling outfits and enjoyed drag-punishing action on spinning rods holding live baits such as pilchards, Spanish sardines and finger mullet.
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