Dolphin Season start in April? Does

by CAM Sta

CAM: “Does dolphin season start in April?”

“Absolutely,” says Captain Ray Rosher, Founder of R&R tackle, and Skipper of the Miss Britt, a well-known South Florida charter operation. “We do catch dolphin in April, and it gets better and better as we move toward June. e rst peak times for catching dolphin in South Florida are in late May and June. en there seems to be a lull and there is a second peak, especially for the larger sh, at the end of the summer in late August and early September.” CAM:

“Over the past 10 years have you noticed the dolphin season occurring later in the year?” Rosher: “No, historically it’s been consistent. What I have noticed is less sh in general… We don’t know exactly why but suspicions are an increase in pressure commercially in South and Central America and more recreational pressure here is likely the cause. ere are more boats with better technology, faster and more e cient engines, better electronics, and the like.”

Dolphin are fast growing with a relatively short life span. ey do seem to handle pressure better than many other species. ey spawn year-round and grow fast. Rosher: “I was involved with a study some years ago where we caught a 4 lb. bull dolphin and 9 months later that same sh weighed 56 .6 lbs…” is means that sh doubled in size every 72 days. If we applied that same rate of growth over the same period of time, say to a, 7 lb. human newborn, the child would weigh roughly 99 lbs. by 9 months. So maybe this isn’t apples and oranges or any other rough back-of-the-napkin fruit, but it does illustrate that these sh grow fast.

We also asked Captain Rosher about pompano dolphin as there are 2 species of dolphin that have basically the same range worldwide. Coryphaena Hippurus, the common dolphin, and Coryphaena Equiselis, the pompano dolphin are 2 separate species and can be di cult to distinguish. He said in his experience in South Florida “1 in 1000 sh account for Equiselis.”

CAM: “During our summer months what do the migratory patterns of these sh look like?” Rosher: “Generally speaking we tend to see the smaller sh heading North with the current and the larger sh swimming into the current in a Southerly direction. However, that’s not to say that the population, as a whole, isn’t moving North. If a 40-pound sh stops under some debris or a weed line to feed and he stays there for a period of say, 24 hours; Even at a moderate rate of current the water has moved the sh something like 70 miles North during that period.”

Dolphin are a symbol of sport shing for sure. ey are fast and colorful and tasty. ey’re aggressive and acrobatic on the end of a spinning rig. You could almost say they are the quintessential o shore game sh. If you would like to sh with Captain Ray Rosher visit him on the web at MissBritt.com