Any medium weight conventional set up should work fine. Therefore a two meter rod rated for 10-15 kg and lure weights of up to 30 grams should be basic. Spinning rods and matching reels in the same line class, Lighter spinning or casting rods and reels for schools near the boat.

A good s Spinning reel rated for 10 to 15 kg braided liner which is good for casting is worth its money.  The tackle used to catch Dorado ranges from light sacpinning tkle for smaller schooling Dorado, to heavy trolling equipment. Trolling rods in the 15-20 kg class with matching conventional reels spooled with matching mono-filament line. Unfortunately, Dorado are often hooked when trolling with heavy tackle meant for larger fish such as Marlin and so they are totally outmatched and really don't get a chance to show what they are made of.  This is one of the great tragedies of sport-fishing. 

Once you have the firs fish on, do not boat him until you get the second hook up. This method makes your boat into a FAD (Fish Aggregating Device) all by itself and you will often find the Dorado feeding right at the boat. Keep a spinning rod handy for pitch baits and once you get your first fish close to the boat hold him there about 10m away, rig up a dead sardine on the spinning rod and cast it out and let this drift because if it was a shoal all the other Dorado’s will be following that fish, only once this baited line goes on with a fish do you bring in the initial fish, and you repeat this procedure until there is no more action. Often you can get another 5 or 6 Dorado once you have the initial hook up, but almost always you will at least catch the mate.

If you hook a 15 kg+ Dorado on a lighter salt-water bait-casting rod and reel you are in for quite a fight. Whatever you cast to them, make sure you watch out with heavier lures as Dorado jump wildly when hooked and the lure could come flying back at you at a high rate of speed. Once you have a hook up and you are fighting the fish, do not clear all your lines and never ever stop the boat. Keep one of the rigger lines and the shot gun out as many times you will get the mate screaming off with one of these whilst you are fighting the initial hook up. The best thing to do is before you gaff the fish, have a crew member open the fish hatch so when you gaff the fish, you gaff and bring over board directly into the iced fish hatch in one move and shut the door. Dorado are bad tempered fish, and when hooked up fight like mad and jump like crazy, once on board they go even crazier and if not dealt with correctly can cause injury to those on the boat, especially when chain gangs are involved.

Landing – Bring the fish on board as quickly as possible. Gaff the fish in the head, or the tail region if necessary.

Stunning – Stun the fish immediately after it comes on board to eliminate bruising. It is best to club the fish with a metal bar or wooden bat while the fish is still on the gaff.

Brain Spiking – Spiking, immediately after stunning, is an option that destroys the fish’s brain. Spiking can significantly reduce the rate of early chemical decomposition in the
muscle. Before spiking a fish, make sure that you are well balanced and have a firm grip on the fish. Place the tip of the spiking tool (screwdriver, ice pick) on the soft spot of the fish’s head above the eyes. Push the spike at a 30 degree angle into the skull, and move from side to side to destroy the brain. Successful spiking will cause the fish to shudder, muscles to flex, and then go limp in a couple of seconds. This may require some practice, and may not be possible under all conditions. Above all, be careful not to injure yourself or fellow anglers!

Bleeding the Dorado is a good idea, even if you can keep it cold. Its is always at least some hours, before he reaches the kitchen. Otherwise the meat might get soft and mushie.

Bleeding – Bleeding improves the muscle appearance and flavor and may aid in rapid chilling. It is also essential for sashimi grade fish. Bleed the fish on the deck, immediately after stunning or spiking, while the heart is still intact and pumping. Use the method which seems easier for you, or try a combination of cuts.

Gill Cut – Slice through the blood vessels that supply oxygen to the gills. Lift the gill cover and cut through the gill arch, and then put the knife through the gill membrane and cut up towards the spine to sever the blood vessels at the top of the gills.

Throat Cut – Cut the blood vessels between the heart and gills. Be careful not to cut up the heart. Slice through the V-shaped nape of flesh between the gill covers and the body of
the fish, and sever the major artery that is just below the skin surface.

Gutting — After allowing 5 – 10 minutes for bleeding, or until blood flow stops, removing the guts or viscera from the fish provides two advantages for maintaining good quality. First, you remove a source of bacteria and enzymes. Second, chilling is improved by removing a significant amount of warm body weight, especially if the fish has been feeding. Cut the belly from the anal opening forward, open the belly cavity and remove the guts. To completely remove them, slice the entrails as close as you can to the gill area. Be careful not to slice through the belly wall and into the meat. This technique will allow the chilling medium, either slush or ice, to closely contact the muscle both inside and out. Be sure to firmly pack ice into the belly cavity during iced storage.

Rapid Chilling (Slush Icing) – Bring along an extra cooler or use the boat’s bait tank if possible. This extra effort may be the most important technique for retaining the excellent, or “just- caught” quality of the meat. Fish will cool 4 to 5 times faster in slush ice because the fish will be completely surrounded by the 32ºF slush water. This requires bringing extra ice, above the amount for storing the fish. The recommendation is for 2 parts ice to 1 part seawater, but more may be necessary with the warm Red Sea waters. Make sure that ice is always present and covering the surface of the slush. Add more ice as it melts. Transferring the fish to iced storage is recommended when the fish reaches a backbone temperature of 50ºF. For large fish, this can take up to 8 hours, or even longer. However, even an hour or less in the slush ice can dramactically lower the high, initial fish temperature. Slush icing should not hurt properly gutted fish. Transferring the fish to iced storage will depend on when the next fish is caught, the amount of ice left on board, time left before returning to shore, etc. Leaving fish in the slush tank for over 2 hours is not recommended, except for large fish.

Most Dorado are caught on trolling lures such as rubber skirts meant for Marlin or Sailfish or feathers meant for Tuna.  They also hit trolled plugs such as Rapalas. Dorado are an open water species that often associates with floating debris such as logs.  If you are in an area with Dorado any floating object is worth a look as it may concentrate the fish.  If you have anything to chum with that can really get them going. Dolphin usually prefer what I call a semi-hot bait. That is, not too slow and not too fast. I place a rod in a rod holder and let line back behind the boat. These are flat lines – ones that are not attached to an outrigger. I put one on each side of the boat back thirty to fifty yards. I run the trolling speed of the boat up until the bait is one the surface and “skipping” with the front of the bait just out of the water. Sometimes I will troll four rods, two way back fifty to sixty yards, one half way back and one bait right up close to the boat in the prop wash.

Ballyhoo or a net full of live sardines tossed into the water can be used to excite the Mahi-Mahi's into a feeding frenzy. Hook-less teaser lures can also be employed in the same manner. The teasers or live chum are tossed into the water, the fly is thrown to the feeding Mahi-Mahi Once hooked, Mahi-Mahi are acrobatic game fish displaying spectacular blue, yellow and green colours.

Chumming with cut bait or leaving a hooked fish in the water can keep schooling fish near the boat for multiple hookups.

dolphin feed on deep-water creatures that rise up when the sun sets. Dolphin spend more time at the surface during the day when food is more available there.

Fishing lures deeper, perhaps with downriggers, may be an overlooked tactic. And it is also wise to seek their preferred water temperature of 74 to 77 degrees.

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Most Dorado are caught on trolling lures such as rubber skirts meant for Marlin or Sailfish or feathers meant for Tuna.  They also hit trolled plugs such as Rapallas. Halco Laser Pro 160’s as well as Small- and Medium size Kona’s are recommended. Any tropical location where there is good fishing for other pelagics such as Sailfish or Tuna should have some Dorado. You will often find them hunting near shallow submarin islands, coral stocks and ledges, colour lines, current lines and floating debris which.will concentrate them.They roam the open sea down to a depth of may be 100 meter. Therefore forget about poppers. Lipped lures like Rapalla X-Rap splash baits are first choice. Colours which I prefer are Pink, Red heads and Blue Silver. Heavy feathers too work extremely well - just change the tuna hook to a single one. Kona’s from 8 to 15 cm produce formidable results too. Avoid extremly elongated lures: Dorado favor to bite the head!

All off these lures can be trolled from 4 knots right through to around 9 knots.

Once a school of Mahi are encountered, casting with small jigs or Fly casting using a bait-and-switch technique can be successful.

Conventional trolling rods and reels work well, but medium to heavy spinning tackle will work equally as well. Just make sure the reel holds several hundred yards of line.

30- to 50-pound gear is more than adequate for trolling for Mahi-Mahi. Fly-casters may especially seek frigate birds to find big Mahi-Mahis, and then use a bait-and-switch technique. Ballyhoo or a net full of live sardines tossed into the water can excite the Mahi-Mahi into a feeding frenzy. Hook-less teaser lures can have the same effect. After tossing the teasers or live chum, fishermen throw the fly to the feeding Mahi-Mahi. Once on a line, I use twenty to thirty pound test mono-filament line on my dolphin reels. But, remember, I am specifically targeting dolphin. Charter boats will usually be trolling fifty or even eighty pound line. The beauty of trolling the Red sea is that you never know what you will find.

Larger fish will eat larger baits.  Dorado have relatively small mouths but it always amazes me how they can somehow still engulf relatively large baits.  When they are fired up they will eat almost anything, alive or dead.

Like many other pelagic species, dolphin are attracted to floating objects and are commonly found in association with floating mats of sargassum.

We suggest loading the reel with 30 lb fused line as opposed to braided line or mono. Fused and braided lines provide much superior casting distance as compared to mono. The reason being is the much smaller line diameter of fused and braided lines. In addition, the fused and braided lines have virtually no stretch that enables the angler to carefully work even the most difficult lures, sense the softest hits, and very easily set the hook. Fused line is favoured to braided line because it possesses better abrasion resistance which is much less likely to form a wind knot.

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The Tackle Requirements

• Leaders usually made from 50 to 70 pound test wire, or 80 pound test mono-filament. The reason for a wire leader is that other species than Dorado (like Barracuda) may strike your bait. These leaders are usually six to eight feet in length.

  The line should be fixed with a 3 ft length of 30 to 50 lb fluorocarbon leader utilizing a 50 pound barrel swivel. The small body of the swivel practically eliminates any chance of picking up debris and offers a quick connection place between the line and leader. The angler must be cautious to not reel the swivel into the rod because it can damage the guides. Many anglers use an albright or uni-knot in place of a swivel. This knot is generally challenging to tie properly with braided and fused lines.

  Circle hooks are excellent as they improve hook-ups additionally are more beneficial for the fish if you intend to releasing what you can’t eat. Tie your 4/0-7/0 hook to the leader, about 3 to 4 feet of 30 to 60 pound mono or fluorocarbon, and affix to your primary line. You can utilize a Spider Hitch to produce a loop in the other end of the rig to affix to the main line by the use of a snap swivel. Size of hook and leader depend on the size of fish behind your boat. It beneficial to have several rigs made up in advance in varying sizes.