SportFishing and Charters Forum - Best artificial lure for Dolphin

Let's throw this one out there and see what happens.
What is in your opinion and why the best artificial lure for trolling dolphin?
Please include size of lure and speed of trolling for additional info.

I've always had good success with the Moldcraft Needlefish. 6 - 8 knots. The most hits come on a purple and black skirt with sliver flat head in the wake about 10 - 12' back.

http://www.moldcraftproducts.com/lures_needle.html

We use the Islander skirts green & yellow over a Bally. Seems to work for us.

I run a W I D E assortment but a pink and white Lil Bubbler from C&H Lures catches 50% of our dolphin and a few sails and wahoo mixed in. I fish primarily out of the Marathon area.

This is area dependent and also depends on what they are feeding on.

We can take every fish in a school ( if we wre ever dumb enough to do so) using doubled green and pink 4.5" hootchies when they are keying on squid, or 5.5" black and silver rebel fast tracs when they are keying on fin baits in Mexico.

BLue/white or Pink/white stubby bubblers. Green/yellow,pink is good too.

I love the little chuggers and hookers from moldcraft (5").....bait is the best. But, these guys work great with bait or a longer skirt rigged underneath.

Here in Florida, it's a winner by KO: Blue & White Iland lure over a medium ballyhoo rigged on a 7/0 Mustad 3407 using 80 or 100lb mono. Some folks like the Pink & White

Trolling speed is dictated by your boat's set up, but figure 6-7 knots.

For a straight artificial, the Mini Green Machine or small Modcraft Chugger.

PB

Stubby Bubblers (any color) with or without small/med bally hoo trolled 6 knots. :thumbsup:
Shel

carolina mini flying fish in the clear/blue color, never seen the phins attack anything with so much enthusiam... Ive seen thim swim accross an entire spread containing islanders/stubby bubblers/small moldcrafts and just slam that little rubber flying fish... theyre like magic... and everytime I tell someone they laugh at me... ;?

chartreuse sea witch with a small or med bally trolling 6-7 knots...right behind a bait ball dredge just outside the wash.

This lure is a killer on dolphin. Or one like from another maker. Door knob and dolphin color.

http://stores.channeladvisor.com/harleerod/Items/634742142027?&caSKU=634742142027&caTitle=ProFish%20Door%20Knob%20Saltwater%20Big%20 Game%20Trolling%20Lure%2011%22%20Dorado

Daisy chain of the smaller Moldcraft squids fished from the short rigger are deadly around here for them. Fish with a sea witch or some other relatively small lure with a hook and ballyhoo on it.

black and red billy bait mini turbo slammer. Don't leave home without it!
I think this thread proves that almost anything will work though...

That's exactly right "Endlessocean". It's interesting to hear what other people use for the same fish. I definitely learned some new things.
Thanks.

EndlessOcean - 12/25/2008 10:41 AM

black and red billy bait mini turbo slammer. Don't leave home without it!
I think this thread proves that almost anything will work though...


:thumbsup:

We have pretty good luck with old fashioned cedar plugs, especially red and white ones.

More to "EndlessOcean's" point...we were pullin' 7 lines outta Charleston one day a couple of years back...everything from Blue/White Islander to nekkid-hoo...Dolphin school charged the set, breakin' the surface as they came and hit 5 outta 7 ...the 4 of us managed to boat all 5, but the point here is no two lures were the same... Chinese Fire Drill would be putting it mildly..

If fish are hungry (which is most of the time) they will strike anything that resembles the local food chain (bait fish).

As for what is the best lure. That is kinda like what is your favorite color? Different folks with different strokes.

These really work great. Check out pictures......from Capt. Joe website

http://www.captjoes.com/

Dolphin Weenies are the hottest bait for an artificial bait that you can pull. When tipped with a Uncle Josh white pork strip they are deadly on all sizes of dolphin. From the small peanut dolphin up to the 50 pounders. Weenies also work on many other species of offshore fish such as yellowfin tuna and sailfish. The good thing about the Dolphin Weenies is that you aren't pulling a natural bait that you have to worry about the fish taking the bait off of the hook. A fish will continue to come after the Dolphin Weenie until it gets the hook. You don't have to worry if your bait is pulling straight or not. The Weenie always pulls straight. We make our Dolphin Weenie rigs using 10 to 12 ft. of 80 lb. mono, a 4 1/2 inch octopus skirt with a 1/2 oz. egg weight in the head, and a Mustad 3407SS 6/0 hook.

Blue/White Dolphin Weenie $5.00ea
Pink Dolphin Weenie $5.00 ea
Green Dolphin Weenie $5.00 ea

Check out my "Tails Up Trolling Lures" Listed on the Trading dock, they come in 12 color combinations. They work great with Dolphin and Tuna along with other types of fish.

One more for the Stubby Bubbler in any color. That lure has caught everything from Blue Marlin to Scad for me. Curiously it hasn't caught a Sailfish yet. I always run at least one in all my spreads along with the obligatory Cedar Plug. The Rattle Jet has also been a good producer for Dorado.

I purchased these lures from Cpt. Len down in Islamorada and they work great on Dolphin, school Bluefin and they also work great in front of a ballyhoo for whites.

Buddy

Here is some of mine http://www.thehulltruth.com/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=226321&posts=5

Do you usually run a chum bag also when trolling for these fish?

no chum bag

Melton Cherry Jet (small) in blue / pink fished in any positon at any normal trolling speed ;)

Is there a tutorial available how to build such a lure?
@Capt. Roberts: They really looks very good. :thumbsup:

Hey guys quick question, im really new about running a boat. My family and i rented a boat last year in the florida keys and went dolphin fishing. I just dont know what speed im suppose to be trolling at, people are saying 4 knots 6 knots lol this may sound foolish but i only understand it by RPMs.. I was trolling at about 2000 RPMs..is that about right? also what kind of skirts do you guys recommend trolling for these fish? also how far back do i let them back from the boat? sorry for so many questions just trying to learn as much as possible...

Dolphin Jr. in Florida.............Can't miss. Been around forever.

We rig 4.5" octopus squid in a daisy chain about 10-12" apart, usually put 5 squid on a chain with a hook in the last. we kill the dolphin on it and dont use as much ballyhoo.:thumbsup:

BLue/white or Pink/white stubby bubblers. Green/yellow,pink is good too.

That is my answer. On the other hand, dolphin have everything on this table.....

Is there a tutorial available how to build such a lure?
@Capt. Roberts: They really looks very good. :thumbsup:

6/0 to 8/0 34007 Mustad hook on 6 ft of 60# FC, we use a pin rig with a spring clip to hold the ballyhoo.......the forward end of the lure is a crimped loop.

Hey guys quick question, im really new about running a boat. My family and i rented a boat last year in the florida keys and went dolphin fishing. I just dont know what speed im suppose to be trolling at, people are saying 4 knots 6 knots lol this may sound foolish but i only understand it by RPMs.. I was trolling at about 2000 RPMs..is that about right? also what kind of skirts do you guys recommend trolling for these fish? also how far back do i let them back from the boat? sorry for so many questions just trying to learn as much as possible...

Sorry but RPMs does not work because different boats travel at different speeds at different RPMs

The standard is either MPH or knots and not RPMs

They strike from any distance . . . even far far back a couple of hundred yards

Troll around floating debris and weeklines
.

Dolphin are notorious for being short biters

Cedar plugs work really well because the hook is at the end of the lure

Suggest that some of the lures you select have hook at the tail end


Good luck


.

lure- anything works if fish hungry, i'm partial to pink, but real flexible.
distance- hard to beat 10 ft behind boat, no max length, if clean water stretchem out to show more fish, if lots of grass keepem short so easy to keep clean.
speed-boat length, 1.34 X sq root of water line length, then boat trys to climb wave and uses more fuel and goes no faster until trys to plane. fastest economical hull speed covers most ground and shows lures to most fish.
jim
don't forget a jig or one of those softplastics on spinner for casting.

I like the billy baits mini turbo slamer in pink/white 7-8 kts

I mostly use the 6" Zuker's feathers. Seems any color works as good as the next.

Whatever else I am running, I always include a pink & blue Gatlin Jet.....it seems like that one gets hit every time whether anything else does or not.

This 40+ pounder that I released last summer hit a big purple and black moldcraft. I caught dozens of 40 pound class fish last year in the best dorado fishing I have seen in seven years fishing in the Sea of Cortez, all on marlin feathers. The most productive colors were probably blue and white flying fish colors and petroleros. I used primarily feathers by ALlure and moldcraft.

This 40+ pounder that I released last summer hit a big purple and black moldcraft. I caught dozens of 40 pound class fish last year in the best dorado fishing I have seen in seven years fishing in the Sea of Cortez, all on marlin feathers. The most productive colors were probably blue and white flying fish colors and petroleros. I used primarily feathers by ALlure and moldcraft.

Seems like there are more big squid around every year.

I theorize that this may be why they are hitting the larger squid plugs, especially the brown and red petroleros.

Here's another one that took a marlin feather before a marlin could get it. This one I kept and weighed in at 49#.

Seems like there are more big squid around every year.

I theorize that this may be why they are hitting the larger squid plugs, especially the brown and red petroleros.

Jeff......Maybe that was it. There were a lot of squid. Whatever it was it made for the best dorado and sailfish action I have ever seen in Loreto. Six sail releases a day was not uncommon. Interestingly, marlin were more scarce than in years past.

This 35 pound bull took to the air trying to give back an ALlure blue flyer.

Awesome picture

Here's another one that took a marlin feather before a marlin could get it. This one I kept and weighed in at 49#.

OK, now you've convinced me Bill.

You definately need a fishing partner. LOL.

We use the Islander skirts green & yellow over a Bally. Seems to work for us.

I use the Islander skirts too, but over a plastic squid, not a ballyhoo, and for wahoo while trying to avoid dorado. This hoo is about the 15th caught on this red and black Islander combo and the plastic skirt had been chewed off so that the 10/0 Mustad 7732 was about 3" behind the lure. Dorado and marlin also will hit this lure, but when wahoo are around I prefer not to be bothered by the others.

This 35 pound bull took to the air trying to give back an ALlure blue flyer.

Bill- This is an AWESOME pic!!:thumbsup:

I have good luck with Suomo and Boone jetheads in flying fish, dolphin and squid colors.
For really big ones, I have caught several over 30 pounds on a big Coggins jet head in flying fish color that I pull on the short flat line. The big ones will also eat the little lures.
I troll mostly jetheads for everything except marlin and Moldcraft Bobby Brown Specials are my top pick for those fish.

Another thing I had a pack of dolphin go nuts over last year was a Daisy chain of small moldcraft softee birds rigged with an Illander 15ft behind them. Caught a nice bull of over 40 on that setup. I caught another one that weighed 48lbs. last year on a small green/pink stubby bubbler all by itself way, way back in the spread.