Starlifter

Launched the boat from Joe's Bayou that Sunday afternoon. Ended up fishing well into the night. Idled the boat into the Destin Harbor in search of live bait. Caught some pigfish, and then set out towards the Destin Bridge. Drifted just outside the channel on the south side of the bridge on an ebb tide. Nothing was happening drifting just after a slack tide when wham! My line starts peeling off for several seconds! I start thinking a bull Red or possibly a shark took the bait. Suddenly my line goes completely slack then suddenly my line starts screaming off my reel again. I'm hoping the fish tires out to be able to take back some line, though it just keeps going. I apply just a miniscule amount of extra drag when my line just stops. After reeling in my line, and wondering what I just fought a Dolphin surfaces for air about 15yds from the transom. It dives and surfaces moments later not too far off the bow of the boat exhaling, making that distinct blowhole whoosh both times it surfaced. I realized I battled a Dolphin by then, and only reason I did not hook it was due to having nose hooked my live bait. I figured the Dolphin grabbed the bait behind the hook and made a mad dash for it until applying extra drag must have ripped the hook out the pigfish's nose! It was a fun initial fight, and what always makes fishing fun for me is never knowing what's going to take the bait next.

jross31455

i like to call those creatures Porp(ass's) instead of the real name of porpise.

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BVBHAWKS

Has anyone ever caught a dolphin by accident and had to remove hook and release?

bigrick

There's no way in hell anyone can land a dolphin, they are pure muscle.....

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2002 236 Key Largo w/ 2011 200 optimax

saltwater redneck

From my experiance with the fish stealers of the sea they are very aware of the hook, i have watched them grab a cig with 2 hooks in it and peel off line until you pull the hooks out , same with snapper they( porp-asses) have robbed me plenty of times and i have never seen or heard of one getting hooked in the thieving process .

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bigrick

xfaew

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2002 236 Key Largo w/ 2011 200 optimax

nathan70

I've never seen one actually "hooked" either. I don't know how they do it. I think the just hold it with their teeth. If you would like to grab one and try to unhook it, be my guest. That would be fun to watch. You better have an international to even think about getting one in.

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Sailor50

I was fishing the bottom years ago, got something on the hook and started to reel it in, Felt another hit, bigger, and fought for 15 minutes, Got it up and a porpoise had my fish in its mouth. Bit it through and left. We played that game about 3 times, same thing, would catch something, then the porpoise would latch on, play awhile, and finally eat it, without the hook, They are just smarter than the average fish (mammal) Just give up and move on

Starlifter

When I checked the condition of my circle hook after losing the bait it was clean without any scratches. I figured most Dolphin's are aware of the hooks density with their use of echo-location.

saltwater redneck

i have read somewhere about sticking a short piece of steel pipe in the water and hitting it with another piece of metal is like scrambling their echo signals ???? i have not tried it but i will.

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