MAHI MAHI MELEE!!! Video

[CAMOTOP]

Many of you have already seen my video of the freegaff our mates pulled off aboard the "Spanish Fly" down in Costa Rica. Here's some of the nonstop action from before and after their show...

[SeaBiscuit]

That is truly world class dolphin fishing! Excellent video! The crew seemed to be having a big time!
SeaBiscuit

[Captain Fred Archer]

First fished down there about 30 years ago when I was hired by a new resort to train their boat crews, which consisted or artisenal fishermen who knew little if anything about big game fishing. The short story was the people were great and the fishing was absolutely mind bending. This video reminded me of how BAD the dolphin fishing was down there..."BAD" meaning that there were so many of them that it was actually hard getting through them and to the marlin, sails, and tunas that we also wanted to teach the crews about.

The best way I found of doing that was by using the at the time new technique of bait and switch fishing. Even there, it required heaps of discipline to hold off on pitching baits to monster bulls or ripping a bait pitched for a marlin or sail away from the dorado. The local fishermen we worked with were way sharper than many gringos I've met when it came to quickly picking up the bait and switch game, something that many still practice today.

That area was the first where I saw dorado longliners. I guess they became a serious problem in later years, but there weren't many of them during the early days and the few who were fishing were serving mostly local markets. Later the business took off and the slaughter began.

The dorado/dolphin sure are fantastic fish that I don't think often get the credit that they deserve because of their abundance. They are without doubt one of my favorites...not those poor little baby weedline bailers some brag about beating up in huge numbers, but those huge, 70+ lb bulls we used to encounter in Mexico, Costa Rica and other top venues. And sweet eating too? Mighty hard to beat in so many ways.

Thanks for the look at those fish.