Jan. 18 - It's a Mahi Mahi Day

Sombrero Resort & Marina

“The sea does not reward those who are too anxious, too greedy, or too impatient. One should lie empty, open, choiceless as a beach – waiting for a gift from the sea.” -Anne Morrow Lindbergh

The hardest part of being in Marathon is deciding how to spend our day...this morning we decided to take the boat out. Stan has wanted to go fishing and running the boat helps keep the bottom clean. We took the boat through Sister's Creek and out past Sombrero Key Light...the water was an amazing color. Going from turquoise, teal and sapphire blues in the shallow water to a beautiful indigo blue in the deeper water. Once we got past the reef Stan baited his lines with Bally Hoo rigs and we began trolling for Mahi Mahi. Mahi Mahi are actually known as Dolphinfish, they swim close to the surface, chasing smaller bait fish and travel together in schools ranging from just a few fish to over 50 individuals. The larger adult fish travel alone or in pairs. Which explains why we hooked two at the same time. We both had a chance to reel in a fish that was 36”, which was a lot of fun. We have very limited freezer space on The Pearl, so our fishing day was done. We have bait left, so as soon as we eat a little fish we’ll be fishing again.

Dolphinfish Facts:

Coloration on a dolphinfish is quite dramatic with golden hues on the sides, irregular blotches of metallic blue and greens on the back and sides, and white and yellow on the underside. This fish is very colorful underwater, catching light and reflecting a wide range of brilliant colors. Freshly caught individuals change coloration very quickly, fading to a uniform silvery color.

The dolphinfish is a large fish, known to reach a maximum of 6 feet in length, but more commonly to lengths of 3 feet. This fish commonly weighs 30 pounds with a maximum of more than 65 pounds. Dolphinfish that school together range in size from 1-20 pounds while larger individuals live alone or in pairs.

The dolphinfish is distributed in tropical and subtropical waters throughout the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans. It is abundant in the Gulf of Mexico, the Florida Current, and throughout the Caribbean.

The beautiful water of the Atlantic

What a beautiful fish

Our catch of the day

My first Mahi Mahi

The not so fun part of fishing...but closer to a good meal