Dorado (Mahi-Mahi) in Costa Rica

What dorado are

Dorado (Coryphaena hippurus) go by three names: dorado in Spanish, mahi-mahi on restaurant menus, and dolphinfish in fishing record books. They have nothing to do with dolphins. A dorado has a long, flattened body with a dorsal fin that runs almost from head to tail, a deeply forked tail and colours that are hard to believe: electric blue-green on the back, gold on the sides and belly, sprinkled with blue spots. Adult males, called bulls, grow a tall, square forehead; females (cows) have rounded heads.

They grow fast and don't live long. FishBase lists a maximum reported age of 4 years, a maximum length of 210 cm and a published weight of 40 kg, and MarViva gives a common size of about 1 m. The IGFA all-tackle world record, about 39.5 kg (87 lb), was caught in Costa Rica's Gulf of Papagayo in 1976.

Where to find them in Costa Rica

Dorado are offshore fish of warm surface water, and MarViva records them off both coasts. Sport anglers catch them along the whole Pacific, from Guanacaste to the central Pacific and the southern Pacific.

Their habit of gathering under anything that floats is the key to finding them. Logs, palm fronds, weed lines and other debris give small fish shelter, and dorado hang around to eat them. After heavy rain, the rivers wash this debris out to sea, which is one reason dorado fishing improves in the rainy season. Dorado also travel with sailfish, so they often turn up on billfish trips.

Best months

You can catch dorado in any month, but the second half of the year is the strongest.

• Crocodile Bay, in the south, reports dorado arriving in numbers from October, with runs in November and December and good fishing in July.
• Adventure Tours Costa Rica, on the central Pacific, puts the strongest dorado season from late May through November.
• MarViva's fisheries data shows the largest catches in Costa Rican waters from October to February.

Taken together, about July to December is the best bet. Check the season chart for each fish side by side.

How crews fish for them

The usual method is trolling small to medium lures or rigged ballyhoo at a fairly quick speed, watching for birds, floating debris and weed lines. When the crew finds a log or line holding fish, the game changes: a hooked dorado is often kept in the water so the rest of the school stays near the boat, and everyone else casts lures or pitches baits to them. Light spinning tackle, 15 to 30 lb class, is plenty for most school fish, and dorado are a great fish on fly.

Once hooked, a dorado jumps, cartwheels and runs. Bring it to the boat with care, because a big bull can thrash hard on deck.

The rules

Dorado aren't on Costa Rica's list of catch-and-release species, so you can keep some to eat. The fisheries regulation (Decreto 36782, article 68) allows 5 fish per trip to be landed for your own use or taxidermy and bans selling any sport catch. INCOPESCA's legal minimum size for dorado sold in Costa Rica is 80 cm (agreement AJDIP/026-2018), and releasing smaller fish is a good habit even though sport catches can't be sold anyway.

Everyone fishing from a boat needs an INCOPESCA sport fishing licence (Ley 8436, article 75). It comes in 8-day, 30-day and 1-year versions, and many charter operators can arrange it.

Eating quality

Dorado is one of the best-eating fish in the ocean: firm, white, mild and moist. Ask your crew whether they can fillet it and suggest a local restaurant that will cook it for you. Grilled, in ceviche or in fish tacos, it's hard to beat.