More Mahi-Mahi Tips

written by Evan Anderson

Sometimes plan B becomes our primary objective before plan A even gets started. That was certainly the case in this episode of Into the Blue as Captains Scott Walker and Steve Rodger accidentally run across the most incredible seaweed line on their way to do some swordfishing (”sword-wishing” as Rodger calls it). “We look offshore of us, and here comes this unbelievable weed line,” says Rodger, “and there’s no way you can’t fish something like that.” And it certainly doesn’t disappoint. Within their first couple casts the captains discover that this patch is STUFFED with mahi-mahi, a feisty and delicious catch. We’ll take a look at some of the techniques and equipment Walker and Rodger used to haul in their harvest on this episode of Into the Blue.

Stick to the Clean Side

As the weed line catches Rodger’s attention in the distance, he throttles down on his Mercury Marine motor and drifts right alongside the ocean marvel. “They call that the yellow brick road,” says a grinning Walker as he rolls up the sleeves on his Scales hoodie, “That’s gonna be full of color, usually about a boat’s length wide, and runs to the horizon.” Seaweed lines like this are rare, so when you find one it’s like finding a hidden treasure.

As Rodger maneuvers into position, he explains that “You just pick which side is the clean side...sometimes it’ll switch on you.” A birds-eye view of the line will show that one side of the line has bits of seaweed drifting from it, carried on the current. The other side is just clean water right up to the line. Toss your bait into the water and gently move up and down the line on the clean side. Keep in mind, as Rodger mentioned, that sometimes the clean side will switch further down the line. “We got the bait up, didn’t get a bite,” says Rodger, “The bait looked fine...and I said put out those two ballyhoo and we’ll move down this line a little bit. And holy cow, we didn’t get more than a hundred yards ever without being hooked up.”

Ballyhooooooooooooo!!

The sun beats down on the two captains, grateful for their Scales gear to keep it off their skin, as Walker sets up another bait. “You told me this morning to rig two dolphin poles because there’s dolphin around deep into the winter,” says Walker. “January’s the new May, baby,” comes Rodger’s reply. Dolphin, of course, refers to the other name for mahi-mahi, dolphin fish or schoolie dolphin.

Our anglers’ bait of choice for today is ballyhoo, a small baitfish with a pointed bill for defense. “To catch a dolphin on a ballyhoo, you don’t have to get up in the dark and rig them,” explains Walker as he works, “you just have to have them. Break their bill off real clean, pop that hook right between the eyes, and just drag it like it’s bouncing like a flying fish right along the weed line and [the mahi] will come running.”

The Mahi diet consists mainly of the flying fish found commonly in the Florida Keys, so anything you have that can imitate them will work. Ballyhoo are great because they naturally look very much like flying fish. Walker recommends using 4” feathers if you don’t have ballyhoo available.

Bonus Tip: Vacuum Seal on the Go

Vacuum sealing meat is an absolute necessity with any game-centered outdoor sport. But having a sealer readily available isn’t always possible. Here, Walker shows us his DIY trick for quickly vacuum sealing his Mahi filets on the go.

First, place the filet in a sealing freezer bag. Next, fill up a bucket with water. Close the bag two-thirds of the way, then submerge it to get all the air out. Make sure that you don’t submerge the bag enough that water spills over the top and into the bag. Close the seal before removing the bag from the water. And voila! According to Walker, “That fish is good for 2 months like that.”

“That’s my kind of swordfishing!”

— Steve Rodger from Into the Blue

Our captains return to the marina with a big haul of mahi-mahi in the boat and even bigger smiles on their faces. Walker reflects, “Y’know we caught all we needed for both our families and friends, and it gave us hope to get back down on the bottom again.”

“That’s my kind of swordfishing!” Adds Rodger.

Check out the full episode below and see it all unfold on S11:E12 of Into the Blue.

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