FishRankings.com
Saltwater Surface Least concern

Mahi-mahi

Coryphaena hippurus

Electric blue and gold that fades to grey within minutes of leaving the water. The fastest-growing fish in the ocean — from egg to 20 kg in a single year.

Also known as: Dorado · Dolphinfish

World record

87 lb 0 oz

Manuel Salazar · Papagayo Gulf, Costa Rica · 1976

Overview

Scientific name
Coryphaena hippurus
Family
Coryphaenidae
Max length
6' 11"
Typical length
3' 3"
Max weight
88 lb 3 oz
Depth range
0–85 m
Conservation status
Least concern
Difficulty
Easy
Fight
Table quality

How to catch it

Anything floating holds them: pallets, weed lines, buoys. Cast small ballyhoo or a fly and keep one hooked fish in the water to hold the school.

How big does it get?

What turns up on an ordinary day, and what a very good one looks like. Almost nobody catches a maximum-size fish — this is the honest spread.

Typical 3' 3"
Maximum recorded 6' 11"

1.8 m angler

Character

What this fish is actually like to catch.

CharacterFightDifficultyTable qualitySizeSpecies prestige

Where it lives

Its band in the water column, against the ocean's real depth zones.

Where it lives0 m50 m200 m085

When to fish for it

Relative catch activity through the year, northern hemisphere.

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Distribution

Trophy Score of all :n logged catches of this species. A score means nothing until you can see the population behind it.

Top catches on FishRankings

The heaviest of this species recorded by our community.

Nobody has logged one yet. Claim the top spot.

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4 Related species

Species Species Worth Max length World record Depth zone Fight
Milkfish Chanos chanos 252 5' 11" 25 lb 0 oz Surface Brackish
Atlantic Tarpon Megalops atlanticus 250 8' 2" 286 lb Surface Brackish Vulnerable
Bonefish Albula vulpes 222 3' 5" 16 lb 3 oz Surface Saltwater Near threatened
Atlantic Tripletail Lobotes surinamensis 213 3' 7" 42 lb 5 oz Surface Brackish

"Worth" is what a catch of that species is worth before any of your own skill counts — higher means harder to find and harder to beat.