DORADO (Coryphaena hippurus)
DORADO CARACTERISTICS
- Dorado or green dolphin (mahi mahi) has got a long flat body.
- Its dorsal fin starts on top of the eye and almost reaches its forked tail.
- Male has got a hump on forehead giving it a square face (bull dorado.
- Female has got a round head and a thinner body.
- Dorados often live in couple and male is the biggest!
- It has dazzling colours. In the water, its back is greenish blue, its sides are golden yellow and its belly is white. Outside of the water, it becomes all golden and grey after being dead.
- Dorado can reach 1,8 m long, weight up to 40kg and a top speed of 55mph.
DORADO BEHAVIOUR AND REPRODUCTION
Dorado is a pelagic fish in tropical and tempered latitude that mainly moves into schools within the very 20 first meters under surface.
It grows very quickly. It can weight up to 5kg at the age of 1. Its sexual maturity is very early and active (at around 35cm for females and 45cm for males). It does not live older than 4 years.
Its curiosity and voracity will make it attack big marlins’ lures, although we are trolling, looking for big pelagic pieces (marlins, tunas, sailfish.
Dorados are attracted to any floating object (vegetal wreckage, boxes, long lines’ balls, net pieces…).
The ideal is to find a good old piece of wood, immerged for a long time, which actually constitutes a natural shelter with the whole food chain (phytoplankton, small fish, small young dorados, but also wahoos, yellowfin tunas, sharks, marlins).
FEEDING OF DORADO
Carnivore, it feeds with:
- zooplankton.
- all species of fish, flying or juveniles.
- calamari.
- shellfish.
FISHING DORADO
Dorado is part of the most beautiful fish one may catch.
- Trolling, one must try to keep the very first catch out of board, especially if it’s a male. This is to try catching all the others. If one dorado is released or unhooked, the risk is to see the rest disappear!
- Popping, after having spotted a wreck, with small lures (like poppers or stick bait) on surface. Be careful! Most accidents happen with triple hooks while dorado is moving around in the boat.
- The most efficient technic is baiting, drifting with live or dead bait, like small pieces of fish or pieces of calamari, but still feeding dorados to attract and carry on teasing them.
- Slow trolling with live or dead baits: “balyhoo”, horse mackerels and other small pieces will be very good.
Fighting a dorado on light tackle is always exalting. Lively and tonic, it swims vigorously under the surface rapidly changing direction. It moves and jumps very acrobatically and spectacularly with a delight of colours. It only defeats after having left all its energy.