OK,
This year I plan on being in the right place at the right time for a shot at a dolphin OTF.
Who has experience with this? I’ll be taking my 9wt, since I don’t own anything larger. I know they will eat just about anything once you get them fired up, but does someone have a particular fly they like to use?
Any tips/tricks are welcomed.
Oh yeah - and I’ll be looking to take down a cobia when I get back in town this April.
I PETA the fool…
I’ll join you with my 9wt. I’ve been wanting to try it. My boat or yours??</font id=“blue”>
ive caught schoolies down in the keys on the fly (8wt) it was a blast…until a shark ate one of the dolphin and broke the rod…
whatever it is it has to be worked fast- clousers, decievers,they will really eat almost anything but they tear flies up so have extras.
If your looking for a record with IGFA just remeber the boat must be out of gear when you cast.
strip…strip…FISH ON!
Get out and do b/c it is a blast! I have caught a few dolphin OTF with the biggest about 30 #. Several year ago in Abaco we got into them thick and caught about 15 fish. They started to get wise and there were ahandful of fish behind the boat including a 50# bull. We watched him as he raced back and forth b/w flies as seemed like he wasnt going to eat. Then, all of the sudden he swallowed this big ole fly a girl friend had out and off to the races he went!
9 or 10 will do for most dolphin but a bull like that will spank your ass on the 10 (caught on a 12 wt)!
I am into tying big streamers right now for the summer offshore. I really want to chem some wrecks or weed lines and fish deep with sinking lines.
The dolphin are hard to set the hook into sometimes so keep the boat in gear if they are under the boat. Stick with sparse synthetic flies too as I think the large hackled flies get caught up in all the teeht and that complicated the hook set. A tandem hook can’t hurt.
Also, if you got the balls do the “Baja Special”…troll that fly, set the drag and hold on! You can hold the rod out to the side of the boat low to the water and “jig” the rod giving the fly great erratic actin.
I hooked several yellow fin in Abaco doing that but landed none. The fly looks so different than the rest of the spread it will draw fish.
quote:
Originally posted by ReelescapeI’ll join you with my 9wt. I’ve been wanting to try it. My boat or yours??</font id=“blue”>
Well, I don’t plan on taking my 19’ Baycat quite that far out. I’ve gone with others in their boats this past year quite a bit and we almost always have dolphin come to the boat when we stop to drift and bottom fish after lunchtime. Perfect time to put a fly in the water.
If you have room this year let me know and I’d be glad to come along. I think chumming them up off a weedline to get them close enough and then wearing them out OTF would be a blast!
I PETA the fool…
quote:
Originally posted by CalibogueGet out and do b/c it is a blast! I have caught a few dolphin OTF with the biggest about 30 #. Several year ago in Abaco we got into them thick and caught about 15 fish. They started to get wise and there were ahandful of fish behind the boat including a 50# bull. We watched him as he raced back and forth b/w flies as seemed like he wasnt going to eat. Then, all of the sudden he swallowed this big ole fly a girl friend had out and off to the races he went!
9 or 10 will do for most dolphin but a bull like that will spank your ass on the 10 (caught on a 12 wt)!
I am into tying big streamers right now for the summer offshore. I really want to chem some wrecks or weed lines and fish deep with sinking lines.
The dolphin are hard to set the hook into sometimes so keep the boat in gear if they are under the boat. Stick with sparse synthetic flies too as I think the large hackled flies get caught up in all the teeht and that complicated the hook set. A tandem hook can’t hurt.
Also, if you got the balls do the “Baja Special”…troll that fly, set the drag and hold on! You can hold the rod out to the side of the boat low to the water and “jig” the rod giving the fly great erratic actin.
I hooked several yellow fin in Abaco doing that but landed none. The fly looks so different than the rest of the spread it will draw fish.
What size are the flies you’re using? Should I be thinking of using my sinking line, or my usual WF floating?
I PETA the fool…
WF Floating is fine. Personally, I’d opp for the 10 weight but I’d rather be over gunned than under gunned. As for the fly try something with a lot of flash that combined with a good synthetic or buck tail. Typically, they are not too picky if you can get the fly in front of the fish they usually eat it. As for your hook up rate, if you will tie your flies on a good quality smaller Owner AKI or Gamakatsu you’ll be able to stick the fish with a lot less effort, just make sure that you try to strip strike in case they miss the fly on the first take. When they start to track your fly but are reluctant to take it switch off to a weighted pattern like a Clouser, then once they start to track on the fly kill it and that will often trigger the strike if they have not already tied to ripped the rod out of your hand. Also think about a bit tippet if you get into some big schoolers. You can also use the same Flashy Flies over live bottom and recs for Kings!
Vary you fly sie…take many with you!
Surprisingly, the tuna hit a small 3" epoxt streamer but the big dolphin ate a 9" streamer. I will usually use a sink tip but plan to take the sink line for some deep fishing this year…chum and chunk, maybe a hoo or king!
we’ve done OK w/ a smaller dolphin still on the hook(conventional gear) and in the rod holder w/ all his buddies swimmin around him “Hey whatcha eatin?” right off the back of the boat. last year I tried for Kings (continuing this year) w/ heavy chumming and a 10wt. Never got a King but had several epic battles w/ large 'cudas just a few past the jetties. fished EP Tinker Mackeral flies
You can do it the same way you do it with regular schoolies when you find a weed line just look under them and I have used a large all white deceiver or baitfish pattern. The nine weight will work but if you can try to borrow a ten weight. Good luck to you
I used a 10wt and trolled a poppin fly last year and it was a blast but like someone said HOLD ON
I read in an offshore mag a few months back about taking a piece of plywood, drilling a few holes in it, dangling some cut bait from steel leaders throught the holes and floating them in the weed lines. I have been thinking of trying this and casting under the ply wood. Only problem I see is loosing site of the wood. I’d hate to leave a piece in the water to get hit by another boat. Thoughts?