collected vessel tracking data for every offshore outing (n = 65)
during that time period. Over that time period this fishing team tagged 3 or more fish in 98 separate schools while bailing. Above is the frequency of size in terms of fork length (FL) for all of those schools. Visually, you can see from the plot that it appears that the size composition of most of the schools encountered were fish less than 20” FL (white dashed line). Numerically, 38.7% of the schools had a size composition per school less than 20” fork-length but 53.9% of all individuals encountered across schools were less than 20” FL. On average, 4 size classes were present per school with a range from 1 to 8 size classes per school. What this means, if you assume your fishing style is similar to the Killin’ Time II fishing team i.e., you start to fish when you see birds, something floating, or travel along a weedline, the likelihood is higher that you will encounter small dolphin so you should be prepared with an arsenal of tools e.g., non-offset circle hooks or non-offset circle hook jigs, a dipnet or sling, a towel and gloves, and an ethical angling mentality to ensure the smallest individuals you encounter are caught and released with the least amount of injuries. In doing so, you can also safely and effectively land the size classes that you prefer to bring home for table fare and release the size classes that you would like to continue to grow and spawn and contribute to a healthier dolphin fishery. For video tips on how to properly handle and tag and release small dolphin check out the video below.