Pop Pop Bang Bang

Dorado, Mahi Mahi, Dolphin Fish, Popcorn Bream, Green Machine…Call them what you like but Coryphaena hippurus are one of the most exciting and acrobatic fish to target. They fight hard and fast and pull no punches. Their antics include normally jumping out the water again and again with some incredible acrobatic displays, and darting off on swift powerful runs, knitting your line if you are not careful and having zero regard for you as an adversary. So often you will also find that you double up so that means double the chaos and double the fun. Even when you have them boated you may think the fight is over but it almost never is. So be very careful when boating a ‘green’ fish as this fish is a Cage fighter of note and it’s for all the above reasons why they are so gleefully targeted by us anglers. Plus the fact that they are delicious to eat as well.

As the water starts to warm up you will find these beautiful green bullets arriving in great numbers and normally the Dorado start arriving around mid-November in KZN waters up at Cape Vidal and Sodwana. This year they have arrived very early. The guys were catching good numbers and good size fish in Cape Vidal over this first weekend of November and the first Dorries have been caught in Durban Waters already. Dorries are even caught as far South as the waters off Cape Town but are more often found up to and including parts of the Transkei. They love the warm, clean water so if the warm currents go far South, so will a few Dorries. And they are generally around until the end of March with some being caught as late as June in some years. As the winter sets in so they follow the warmer waters back north or deep and it is the warmer waters that give them such a healthy appetite with some anglers having caught one Dorado on several baits as he was munching his way through the boat’s spread.

Dorado love blue water, and are open ocean migratory fish and when that water is that almost purple colour you are sure to have some Dorado around. They travel at high speed and cover huge distances. So they will often be caught in the deep water meaning the guys fishing who are fishing for Marlin and big Tuna in the deep will often get Dorado as a by catch even when not targeting them specifically. Off KZN they are very often found in around 35 to 40 metres of water making them easy enough for Kayaks, Jet Skis , smaller boats and the big boats to target. They will frequent areas where there are lots of baitfish and hunt voraciously and have on quite a few occasions been caught right on the backline. I caught one in about twelve metres of water off Eastmore about two years ago, so keep your bait out all the way till you are ready to pack up, especially if there has been bait in the shallow water then fish that water for a bit.

A few tips for easy places to target Dorado
Around the ships off Durban- but be sure not to interfere in any way with that ship. Normally you will be fine just trolling around them as they are anchored. Be careful not to go too close and be aware that the water can become a bit turbulent around the big vessels so be smart when doing this. Close to popular wrecks such as the Fonteo near Umhlanga, off Salmon bay, Jolly Rubino off St Lucia, as this is where there is a lot of baitfish. Colour lines- if you find a definitive colour line work the water on the clean side. The scum line attracts smaller fish feeding on nutrients which in turn attract bigger baitfish, which in turn attract the Dorries. Floating debris or flotsam- it’s like a mini ecosystem being created. Flotsam that has been in the water for a while quickly becomes a mini reef system complete with different life from all levels of the food chain from barnacle to Trigger Fish to even juvenile Dorado. Besides the attraction of the food available, scientist in the US have found that Flotsam is used by certain fish to orientate themselves in the vast expanse of the ocean. So they will use this as a ‘home base’ as well, hunting in the deep and then returning to their ‘home’. The study was done on Tuna but who’s to say Dorado don’t do the same. A good pair of Polarized Sunnies will come in handy here. And then there are particular fishing spots that are well known for Dorrie activity, such as Cape Vidal. The beauty about a spot like cape Vidal is that they can be found very close to shore. So you have the option of going deep if on Ski Boat or Jet Ski or target them just off the launch site on a kayak. Generally best tactic at Vidal is go out and grab your live bait early and then work the point area in about 25 to 40 metres of water. If you feel fit enough on a kayak work your way down to the lighthouse but beware when the Dorado are around it means the North to South current is pushing and your paddle back will be fun, to put it mildly. Also at Vidal don’t be scared to work the bait mark area. If there is bait there then the gamefish will feed there eventually as well. You will also often find Dorado feeding with other game fish among the birds so always be on the lookout for birds diving. But don’t race straight through the bait ball on your jet Ski or Ski Boat please, the bait will just sound and the fun will be over before it has even begun. On a kayak you can get away with it but in a motorised craft always approach that bait ball from the sides. Dorado are not lonely fish. You will find the smaller size fish in bigger shoals, and the big ones travel in pairs. So when targeting them always expect at least a second fish, and keep fishing the area even after hooking and landing the first. A good tactic is to keep the hooked Dorado in the water near the boat to attract the mate in, and once they close enough pitch a bait to the mate and you should go tight there too.

Dorado tactics
Being such greedy feeders these Bolts of Green and Blue can be targeted via numerous methods- Live Bait, Dead Bait, Trolling lures and Kona’s, Stick baits, poppers and even spoons and jigs.

Lures
This type of fishing for Dorries is very fun, and can be pandemonium if the fish are wild. If fishing from a Jet Ski or Ski Boat pulling Kona’s and deep diving lures when on the move can be very effective. Using this method you can find those Dorado in the middle of nowhere. Good lures to use are The Williamson Soft Dorado catcher( Motorised lure), Williamson Diamond Jet Feather ( motorised lure), Williamson Sailfish Catcher, the new Rapala X Rap Extreme, Nomad DTX Minnow, Halco Max 190 and 130, Halco Laserpro 160 to 190, Williamson Speedpro in natural colours and pink, Dorado love pink.

Slower trolling or trolling on the kayak then change those Halco Max to the 110 size, Halco laserpro to 120 or 140DD, even though the 160 can still be effective, The Kingfisher Rattler, Strikepro magic Minnow even depending on what they feeding on. Colours I would focus on here is the Purple/black/silver Halco ( R 15), bonito, blue sardine – Halco, red head and Fire Tiger and Pink Tiger.
Like I said earlier you can very often go double up, but if you don’t then make sure you have a casting lure handy so if you reel in the first Dorrie you can throw a popper or Stick bait straight away to try and attract its mate or mates.
Watching a Big Bull Dorado, or any size Dorado for that matter, hit a popper on the surface is a real sight to behold. So when targeting these fish this season, be sure to put some time aside to target them on Poppers. When they hit it you will not be disappointed. Some good Poppers to try out this season are the Nomad Design Chugg Norris, same lure that Bok Van Blerk got his cover fish on, Fish Inc also have a great range of poppers such as the Scrumhalf, and then there is the Halco Roosta range which has been tried and tested many times in our waters, Rapala have just brought out the X-Rap Magnum Xplode and if you don’t have at least one Sox Handmade Popper in your arsenal then you are missing out on one of life’s great pleasures. When using a Popper you are generally sight fishing or have seen the fish already. Another time to use the popper is when you pull up next to a baitball getting smashed then throw it in the mix. And as mentioned earlier when you have already bagged your first Dorrie, or your mate is on and you are in the vicinity, pop for its buddy.
Stick baits can be used to very much the same effect. Try out the floating range from Fish Inc such as Wing, Winglet and Prop. These have an incredible action. Fish Inc also have a sinking Stick bait called the Hooker. This is great to cast over the edges of a bait ball and bring it back deeper thus targeting the fish that are darting in and out of that bait from the depths. The sinking stick works especially well when the winds up. The Nomad Madscad is exactly that. It has a mad action and perfect for chasing that Dorrie who’s mate is busy tussling with your fishing buddy. Jackfin Pelagus is also a great lure and the flying fish pattern looks deadly.
Spoons such as Halco Twisty’s, Bite Me and Kingfisher Sprat spoons are perfect for when the Dorado get fussy. Believe it or not it does sometimes happen. They may be only feeding on smaller sprats so you need to match the hatch.

And then something from left field. Dropshot. There are more than a few anglers who swear by Dropshot for Dorries. They reckon they cannot leave them alone. Another method is Bucktails such as the Spro range. Everything loves bucktails.

Live bait
Most of your common live bait works well. Small Maasbunker, small Mackerel, redeye and even Sand Soldiers. There a variety of tactics you can deploy. Circle hook size 3 on 30 pound Fluoro or Mono leader tied with Snell or Rapala knot is always good when you know there are not too many toothy critters around. A trace I have had a good degree of success on is a single Treble size 4 to 2 depending on size of your livie on no 4 wire. This is pinned behind the head of the livie so it forces it swim down a bit. If fishing a place like Vidal where toothies roam freely then simple single size one with a size four treble on number five or six wire fore bite trace, and size four or five wire leader.
Slow drift or slow troll when live baiting and it’s a good idea to keep one livie on the surface, and the other down rigged to about ten or fifteen metres on a six ounce sinker. Leave the drag set very loose or even on freespool, with the ratchet on. When the fish takes the bait let him eat. Count slowly to eight or ten then tighten up. If fishing a circle hook all you need to do is tighten the drag and the hook will set itself, especially when using a snell knot.

Dead Bait.
Dorries are hungry creatures and will not leave a dead Sardine or mackerel alone if presented correctly. A simple dead bait trace that works very well is a small no 1 single through the nose, no. 6 wire bite trace, no. 4 treble through the back of the bait, Pink skirt and finished off with a no. 5 or 6 wire lead trace.
So go out there and have some awesome Dorado fun this season. Remember to show a lot of respect to this fish while fighting it and once it has been boated, always be alert for surface action, flotsam and other tell-tale signs.

Dorado are among the fastest growing fish making them very resilient to fishing pressure. However, their current vulnerability is moderate to high, and as with all our fish stocks, show respect, throw the little ones back and don’t over exploit them, regardless of who your skipper is, who your mommy is or what your status with your mates is.