KISS Mahi-Mahi Fishing

We anglers definitely over-complexify things sometimes. Quite often, actually. Will it really make that big a difference if you tie a Bimini Twist, versus a modified Albright? If you choose 8/0 hooks instead of 10/0? If you use a 15-foot shock leader, versus 20 feet? Sure, at times the details can make a huge difference, but quite often we grapple with a choice that boils down to six of one or half-dozen of the other. And this is often the case when it comes to catching mahi-mahi.

When you encounter a weedline or paddie in an area where mahi are found, don’t worry about trying to locate the ideal lure or structuring a complex trolling spread. In truth, this simple KISS mahi fishing method works great: Take a couple of spinning rods in the 20-pound class or thereabouts, and tie a swivel on the end. Then tie on four to five feet of 30-pound test fluorocarbon leader (you may want to up-size that, if large fish are known to be around). Next tie a 4/0 to 10/0 hook onto the end of the leader. Finally, grab a squid. Not those big expensive “rigging squid,” but one of the lowly little squid you buy a box of for flounder fishing. Run the hook through the tip of the squid’s mantle, in one side and out the other.

Now you’re ready to deploy the lines, shift the boat into gear and idle along at clutch speed. Twin-engine boats that idle at more than a mph or two might want to engage one motor, only. If you go much more than a couple of mph the squid generally spin, but at super-slow speeds, they drag nicely through the water (and if you do have one that’s spinning, just rip it off the hook and replace it). Deploy the squid 50 or 60 feet behind the transom, and go along the weedline or around the weed paddy.

If any mahi are present, you’ll almost always see those green-blue missiles come streaking in out of nowhere, to pile on the simple nose-hooked squid – it’s KISS offshore fishing at its finest.

Lenny Rudow