Mahi-mahi
Also called Dolphinfish, Dorado
Mahi-mahi is a fast-growing, open-ocean game fish, also called dolphinfish. Fly anglers target it around floating structure like weed lines, debris, and buoys.
- Group
- Inshore & coastal
- Category
- Species
- Level
- Beginner
- Water
- Saltwater
Last updated
What Mahi-mahi means
Bright colors, and on bulls a blunt, high forehead, give mahi-mahi an easy look. You will also hear the name dolphinfish. It is not related to dolphins.
Most fly-caught mahi come from bluewater situations, boats working weed lines and anything floating that holds bait. Shots are usually quick and close, with the fish changing speed and direction fast.
Flies are baitfish patterns with flash, often in chartreuse, pink, white, or orange. A wire bite tippet is not the default for mahi, but abrasion resistance matters, especially around structure and the teeth of larger fish.
Why it matters on the water
Mahi show up where food concentrates. If you learn to read weed lines and floating debris, you spend less time blind-searching and more time ready for short, sudden shots.
They also punish slow rigging. Having a leader built, a clear plan for who casts first, and a fast retrieve and strip set makes a bigger difference here than adding distance.
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Read next
- BaitfishSmall forage fish that predators eat, like minnows, shad, smelt, and mullet. In fly fishing, “baitfish” also means the food source a streamer is meant to imitate.
- Double haulA double haul is a fly-casting technique where you pull on the fly line with your line hand on both the backcast and the forward cast to increase line speed.
- StreamerA streamer is a fly meant to be moved to imitate a baitfish, leech, sculpin, or crayfish. It is often fished with strips, swings, or a steady retrieve, but it can also be dead-drifted.
- Strip setA strip set is a hook set made by pulling the fly line hard with the line hand while keeping the rod low, instead of lifting the rod tip.
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