Mahi Mahi
The Mahi is a popular gamefish known for its beauty and its acrobatics once hooked. These are brightly colored fish with distinct golden-green and blue that fades to a yellow-white belly and patches of blues and greens on its back and sides.
Mahi have long, compressed bodies, with blunt, rounded faces and long-based dorsal fins extending from the head to their forked tail. Mature males have prominent foreheads protruding well above the body. Females have a more rounded head and smaller forehead.
What are other names for a Mahi?
Mahi are often referred to as common dolphinfish, mahi-mahi, dorado, and dolphin, among others.
How big do they normally get?
Mahi are known to be fast growers and are commonly around 3 feet long when caught. However, it’s not uncommon for them to reach 6 feet; the IGFA world record Mahi was caught off Costa Rica and weighed 87 pounds.
What Region do they normally live?
These fish need warm water and can be found worldwide in temperate, tropical, and subtropical waters. They are highly migratory and at certain times of year will be located anywhere through the Gulf.Typically, Mahi show up in Texas during the months of June through October.
What habitat do they prefer?
Mahi like to feed and hold offshore under floating debris and weed beds. At times they have even been known to follow large ships. Smaller Mahi are schooling fish and travel together; larger adults travel alone or in pairs.
What do they eat?
These fish are not selective and will eat anything that swims slower than them. This includes juvenile Mahi feeding on crustaceans and adult Mahi diets mostly made up of bony fish, including a high percentage of flying fish.
Are Mahi targeted by anglers?
Mahi is highly prized as a gamefish by all anglers. They are known for their fast, flashy, and acrobatic reactions when hooked, especially on the fly.
