Trolling Inshore Mahi

Fished yesterday with Mike, Ed, and Dean in the ocean for mahi. We trolled up two mahi up to 15 pounds. In addition, we had several nice false albacore. The highlight of the trip was hooking a large wahoo right next to the boat and we watched him eat. Mike fought the fish for over two hours but we were never able to get him into gaff range. He eventually wore through the leader and broke off. If you look closely in the last picture you will see the wahoo. You can't tell in the picture but it was between five and six feet long. Pro Tip: After hooking up on the troll, be prepared. You never know when other fish will pop up. We hooked the wahoo yesterday right next to the boat while fighting another fish.

Underwater Mahi Photos

Here are some underwater shots I got yesterday. Pretty cool stuff.

Sea Isle City Mahi

Ryan, John, Dusty, and I fished yesterday for mahi. We had a great bite. We caught five big mahi to about 17 pounds. All were over 12 pounds. The bite has been fantastic. And close to home. We also had a really nice sized false albacore. Pro Tip: Learn to rig ballyhoo several different ways. Different rigging methods produce better at different times.

Big Mahi

Fished Wednesday with Richard, Richard, and Nick in the ocean. We trolled for mahi in the ocean and were rewarded with four gaffer mahi to 17 pounds. The mahi bite has been awesome with bluewater fishing close to home! Pro Tip: Want a good picture? Take it as soon as possible after boating the fish. Make sure the sun is behind the photographer. Most fish, especially mahi, lose their color quickly after leaving the water. So act fast!

Humpback Whale

Here are some stills of the whale we saw the other day on the way home. Awesome!

Mahi, Whales, and Sharks

Fished yesterday with Lori and Luke in the ocean for mahi. We had a great bite. We landed three mahi and released three others and had a ton of bites. The biggest fish was around 15 pounds. All on the troll. On the way home we saw a humpback whale (video and pictures to follow.). In addition we stumbled upon a massive shark blitz with hundreds of sharks in a feeding frenzy. (Again, pictures and video to follow.). It was quite the National Geographic Day. Pro Tip: Keep a sharp eye out when running from place to place. The observant angler will see things that are even cooler than the angling action.

More Inshore Mahi

Fished with Kevin, Chris, Ben, and Zack in the ocean. We had the weather and the optimism and it paid off. We caught four mahi from 5-14 pounds trolling. It was a close ride and we headed in when we caught our fill. The inshore mahi bite has been wonderful. Pro Tip: Natural baits work much better than lures for mahi. Learn to rig ballyhoo in different ways for greatest success.

Mahi on the Fly

Patty and I headed headed out on Saturday morning in the ocean. We were chasing mahi and we found them. I had a 14 pound mahi on the flyrod and Patty had a similar sized on on live bait. Lots of fun. The mahi bite has been great and close to home. Pro Tip: Learn to throw a cast net. Live bait opens up lots of warm water opportunities and makes open ocean fly fishing much more productive.

Fly Rod Mahi

Fished with Eric and Susan again today in the ocean. The objective today was to catch some mahi on the fly and we did. Eric and Susan each caught their first mahi on the fly today. We also had a few more on spinning rods. The biggest mahi weighed 20 pounds and the others were in the teens. In addition, they each caught an enormous black jack on the fly as well. It was a good day! Pro Tip: Strip your fly immediately when fish are actively feeding. If a fish sees your fly motionless, it can get a good look at it and become uninterested even after you start moving it.

Sunset Sharking

Fished with Bill Thursday night for sharks in the ocean. Fishing was very slow and we came up empty. Pro Tip: When snagging bait you can usually improve your hook up rate by letting the snag hook sink deeper than you think you need. For every fish on the surface there are hundreds below.

Joe Hughes

Sharks

Fished with John and family Thursday morning for sharks. Lack of wind made for a beautiful day but the Sharking was slow. We caught and released two dusky sharks. Pro Tip: Fresh bait out produces frozen most of the time. Be ready to use what's available in your slick to catch more sharks.

Evening Striper

Fished with Eric and Susan Wednesday night for bass in the back. It was a beautiful night but the water temps ranged from 60-83 degrees and the fish were off the feed. Pro Tip: Mono sinks slower than fluorocarbon and is a better leader material for flyrod poppers.

Mahi on Fly Plus Cobia

Fished with Byron, Ben, and Ryan today in the ocean. We started out catching some sea bass and fluke. All shorts. That wasn't our goal though. We wanted to catch something cool on the fly and we succeeded. Byron caught his first mahi on a 7wt flyrod. After taking him into the backing a few times we boated his fish. It was about 8 pounds. We also caught and released a nice cobia that was about 25 pounds. In addition, we hooked but broke off two other cobia of similar size. The cobia bite has been great this month. Pro Tip: Let the drag to its job. Never try to "stop" a big fish by tightening the drag or clamping down on the spool. Take your time and enjoy the ride. You will land more fish.

15 Sharks

Fished with Rick and Chase today on the ocean for sharks. We had an epic day. We had fish pretty quickly. We ended up with 14-15 dusky shark releases today. The fish were around 20-60 pounds. Lots of visual bites. We were not fly fishing today but if we were we would have caught them on the fly as well. Things have really picked back up. It has been awesome! Pro Tip: Big baits can sometimes mean pulled hooks. Sometimes smaller baits result in better hook ups.