Dorado

Scientific name:	Coryphaena hippurus
The dolphin (dorado) was caught by ancient Polynesians on polished shell spoons and in 1769 by the crew of Captain Cook’s good ship Endeavour trolling pork-rind baits. It’s probable that Christopher Columbus’ ships stocked their larder in the dolphin latitudes of the western Atlantic. A beautifully colored gamefish (dorado means "gilded" in Spanish) with a flair for aerial acrobatics and short, swift runs estimated at 40 miles per hour, it can be caught by virtually any method – trolling, drifting live bait, spinning, bait-casting, or on the fly.     Dolphin are gregarious school fish and if the first one hooked is not boated but left to swim nearby, the remaining fish will stay within casting distance for a period of time. Despite a potential large size (present record 87 pounds), light-tackle artists using 6 – to 12-pound test work the ocean weedlines with great success. The dolphin usually expends so much energy in "burst" runs and surface play that the ubiquitous heavy trolling gear doesn’t do the fish justice.
Travelling time to fishing ground: 40 minutes to 2 hours