When an angler mentions the words Mahi-Mahi, one immediately thinks of some of the best fishing action you can experience. Mahi-Mahi are great fish. They give an angler a fight that he or she will never forget. Mahi-Mahi are also known as Dolphin (not the bottlenose dolphin). Mahi-Mahi make long runs and will often leap out of the water when you are battling them. They are also excellent tablefare. On this adventure, we head down to Stuart, Florida- the Sailfish Capital of the World.

I telephoned Christopher Schultz of THE POWER BOAT CLUB and explained a little about of television show, ADVENTURES IN FISHING WITH CAPT. RAY KELLY. Chris said he would love to sponsor one of our shows in which we would feature his fleet of rental fishing boats which range from 16' to 28'. Chris said that we would probably target Mahi-Mahi because that is what would be in the area in September. Chris told me that his fleet are fully equipped with outriggers, GPS (with the fishing locations fixed in), radios, coolers and live wells. He also offers a fishing package and supplys anglers with rods, reels, and nets if you do not bring your own tackle. I could tell Chris was an experienced angler. Chris contacted PIRATES COVE RESORT AND MARINA and the General Manager, Gary Guertin said they would love to be involved with the production.

I booked a flight on PAN AMERICAN AIRWAYS from Islip to Palm Beach International Airport. We rented a car and drove 45 minutes and checked into THE PIRATES COVE RESORT. The resort is beautiful with each room overlooking the marina and Manatee Pocket. The accomodations were excellent. A nice feature of The Power Boat Club is that Chris will deliver your rental boat to your location or you depart from one of his two locations: The Casa Rio Marina at 1050 N.E. Dixie Highway or The Anchor's Aweigh Marina at 2225 N.E. Indian River Drive in Jensen Beach, Florida.

My cameraman, Artie Eggeling and myself were looking forward to the filming. The weather forcast was great and the Mahi-Mahi were supposed to be biting. When we saw the fleet of boats, we were impressed. Chris was supplying two 24' Master Marine Center Consoles with outriggers and fishing packages, for the shoot. I knew we were going to catch fish. Chris was also supplying a beautiful female angler, Maralisa Schuhart which I knew would add to the show. Maralisa works for Chris when she is not out fishing.

Bob Weisenseel captained one of the boats while Chris captained the other. As soon as we left the St. Lucie Inlet, both captains opened up the engines and we headed offshore about 5 miles. The outriggers were lowered and the baits were set out. The baits of choice were frozen pre-rigged ballyhoo and whole squid. Mahi-Mahi love both baits. Trolling is the best way to cover an area and that is what we did.

Within fifteen minutes, Chris and his angler, Derek Egan were hooked up on a double. Both anglers battled the fish and you could see they were getting a great fight. We wondered if they were dolphin or maybe king mackerel but when the fish jumped into the air you could see they were dolphin Both dolphin made long runs and skyrocketed in the air a number of times. I thought for sure they would lose at least one of them. Chris landed his fish first and then assisted Derek in landing his fish. Two for two. What a great way to start the day.

The next bait to be hit was the right outrigger on our boat, Rob grabbed the rod and you could see he was experienced at fighting fish. He would lift the rod and reel on the return. This is the best way to reel in a fish. This fish was also a dolphin. It jumped in the air and when it got close to the boat, it made another long run. Another interesting thing with dolphin are the way they change color and light up. The colors range from yellow to green to blue. They are a beautiful fish.

About 20 minutes later, Maralisa was battling a nice dolphin. You could see Maralisa was happy as she battled the fish. This dolphin was even bigger than Bob's. Maralisa was used to catching fish on long lines in Massachusetts and Alaska. This was Maralisa's first Florida fish and you could tell she was proud. When the fish came to the boat, Bob lifted the dolphin into the boat and they gave each other a high five. A true team effort.

The action slowed abit. Chris and Bob started to look for floating debris. Dolphin seem to congregate under floating debris. Bob found a floating piece of 4 X 4 and told Chris about it on the radio. Both Chris and Bob trolled in the area of it and sure enough it didn't take long. We could see Derek going for the rod that was on the right outrigger. It should be noted Derek is from Ireland and this was his first dolphin fishing trip. Derek was having the time of his life. As Derek fought the fish, it just kept fighting, skyrocketing into the air trying to shake the hook. As Artie and I filmed all this action, we knew it was going to be a great show. Dolphin fishing at it's finest! Derek landed this fish also. The score was four for four.

No sooner than I jumped aboard with Chris and Derek, Artie was hooked up. It was another nice dolphin. But before Artie could land it, Bob was fighting one also. As the two of them battled both fish, Maralisa cleared the other line. Artie's line crossed Bob's line and I thought for sure they was lose the fish. They exchanged rods and the battle continued. Bob landed his fish first. Artie kept the pressure on his dolphin as it continued to make long runs and jump into the air. I filmed the action. The action was unbelievable. One would think it was another fish story but this story would be another show for ADVENTURES IN FISHING and I knew our viewing audience would love it. If you are going to Florida this year, make sure you give Chris Schultz of The Power Boat Club a call (888-219-0703) and he will have one of his fish catching boats waiting for you. You can also email him at [email protected]. If you are staying in the Stuart area, Pirates Cove Resort is the place to stay. The telephone number is (800)-332-1414.

We are always looking for anglers, charter boats, party boats, and private that would like to be featured on ADVENTURES IN FISHING. If interested please email and check our website at http://www.adventure-fishing.com. And remember - Let's get kids hooked on Fishing...NOT on drugs!

Visit Capt. Ray at his website http://www.adventure-fishing.com or drop him a line at [email protected]