Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Prime time for Mahi-mahi
Get fishing on holiday weekend.
With easterly winds of 5-10 knots forecast for Memorial Day weekend and large mats of weeds offshore, fishing conditions should be ideal for catching dolphin.
The only question is whether the colorful fish will be around to help South Florida anglers celebrate the holiday.
Dolphin fishing last year was the worst it has been in a long time. The fishing has been better this year, but different from previous good years.
Richard Stanczyk of Bud N’ Mary’s Marina in Islamorada said he hasn’t seen the big dolphin that he had in years past, but this year the charter captains at the marina have been catching plenty of fish 5-15 pounds.
In Keys terminology, the smaller fish are known as schoolies, and the bigger fish are known as gaffers, because they have to be gaffed to be brought into the boat.
“The gaffers and schoolies are out here today,” Stanczyk said Thursday afternoon. “It has the makings of a much better year and hopefully lasting through the summer.”
Memorial Day Weekend is historically the best time to catch big dolphin in South Florida. So if you head out over the next few days, here are some tips that might help you bring home something good for the grill:
Capt. Willie Howard of West Palm Beach targets dolphin by looking for temperature breaks. He subscribes to one of several services that provide water temperature and current readings and heads to where there is a temperature difference, or break, which anglers can also find by watching the water temperature readings on their depthfinders.
“There’s some nice temperature breaks out there. They go from 78, 79 degrees near shore to 82 offshore,” said Howard, who specializes in catching dolphin on his charters out of Lake Worth Inlet (captwillie.com), and added that the breaks this week have been in 700-800 feet.
“It’s usually good to fish along the break if there’s weed there or not, but with weed is better.”
Stanczyk also is big on fishing around weeds and where the water temperature is warmer. He noted that a temperature break might not be far offshore.
“The most important thing down here right now is don’t overrun the dolphin and watch for the birds,” he said. “Weed itself will not indicate the dolphin. Watch the weed and look for birds. When you find that combination, you’ll find the fry that the dolphin feed on.”
Howard said that three or four sooty terns (seabirds) working a weedline is often a good sign of dolphin. He’s seen dolphin push small fish from under the weeds to on top of the weeds, and the terns swoop down to eat the fish.
When you find those small fish, you can use a net or sabiki rig to catch some for bait, especially if the dolphin show no interest in what you’re trolling or casting.
Howard and his son Max are always on the lookout for jumping bait, and it doesn’t take much to indicate that a bigger fish might be around. Last year they saw some bait jump in 75 feet off the Breakers and cast out a jig with a sardine, which resulted in an 18-pound dolphin.
In addition to birds and weeds, look for floating debris such as pallets, tree trunks or even an old refrigerator. Like the weeds, the debris attracts bait, which attracts dolphin. The longer the debris has been in the water, the better.
“Never go by old debris that has growth on it,” Stanczyk said.
If you don’t see dolphin or don’t immediately get a bite, don’t leave.
“People will say, ‘Geez, there’s no fish,’ but those fish might be sitting there 100 yards away,” Stanczyk said. “Sometimes they won’t respond to a trolled bait, so toss out a live bait or a fresh bait like a ballyhoo and let it sink.”
And even when the dolphin are biting, don’t hesitate to drop a butterfly jig or feather jig or live goggle-eye well below the debris. That tactic can produce much bigger dolphin as well as wahoo, which often hang below schoolie dolphin as they feed.