Whereas the unique goal of my final offshore fishing journey was tuna, we ended up solely catching some mahi mahi (dolphinfish) off an enormous weed line on the opposite facet of the Gulf Stream. The Mahi mahi or dolphinfish is among the coolest fish to run into on the market. Proper off the bat, they’re one of the vital colourful pelagic species you can find, typically a mixture of vibrant inexperienced and blue with blotches of gold throughout their flanks. That coloration is the rationale for an additional widespread identify for them, dorado, golden or gilded in Spanish. Past the coloration, mahi are extremely quick swimming and acrobatic fish which make for an ideal battle on rod and reel. Lastly, they’re one of many fastest-growing fish on the market. They solely stay for about 5 years however are able to reaching 88 kilos in that quick span of time, making them an ideal goal to take dwelling for dinner. So talking of a mahi dinner I’ll present you easy methods to break one among these colourful fish down at this time.
Breaking it Down on OutdoorHub
First off I’ll present you easy methods to break one down like another fish you catch. Take your knife and ranging from proper behind the bones of the pelvic fins work your manner up at an angle up in direction of the highest of the pinnacle of the fish. Ensure that to maintain your knife tight to the collarbone to not waste any meat. One factor you need to do otherwise at this step with mahi is to go extra ahead than typical on high of the pinnacle with the knife. They’ve a superb little bit of meat sitting on high of their head. As soon as you chop the fish on each side take your knife and run it up the stomach from the anus to your first cuts to open up the abdomen. With the abdomen cavity opened up, begin scooping the heart out utilizing your knife to chop by means of any more durable membranes if wanted. Depart the heart hooked up to the pinnacle of the fish. 
Now all of your cuts are full you may pop the pinnacle off by twisting it to pop the backbone. If there may be any connective tissue or meat nonetheless connecting the pinnacle, simply reduce by means of them however not the heart. While you pull the pinnacle away, it ought to pull all of the organs with it so long as you didnt reduce by means of them already. Give the physique cavity a rinse and scrub the bloodline out from beneath the backbone. Now you’re able to fillet the mahi like another fish.
Take your knife and begin close to the tail of the fish, operating it up alongside the lengthy dorsal fin of the fish to chop by means of the pores and skin initially. Then take the knife and slide it up alongside that seam, you need to really feel the skeleton of the fish as you are taking the knife alongside, however you don’t need to press to exhausting into them. Should you do press to exhausting you may unintentionally reduce by means of the bones and into the opposite facet, and in case you don’t really feel the skeleton you’re in all probability too excessive off the bones and are leaving meat behind. When you get to the backbone run the tip of the knife alongside the backbone, following its contour. Carry the fillet up together with your thumb a bit as you go to allow you to see and hold the fillet from getting reduce up as you do that. As soon as over the backbone simply use the skeleton as a information in your knife and reduce the decrease portion of the fillet off. When you rise up to the ribcage of the mahi, reduce by means of the pin bones and ribs together with your knife to pop the fillet free. Repeat this for each side. After the fillets are freed from the body, trim out the ribcage and pin bones. As soon as the fillets are boneless pores and skin the fillets by beginning on the tail together with your knife very flat to the reducing board with a little bit of stress down on the pores and skin and slide the knife ahead to take away the pores and skin.
Should you don’t like taking the pores and skin off the fillet the standard manner, there may be an alternative choice with mahi, you may simply pores and skin them such as you would a catfish. Hint your fish with the knife on each side, then up close to the pinnacle work your fingers beneath the pores and skin, breaking by means of the connective tissue. Then simply evenly pully the pores and skin off the fish straight again in direction of the tail. Then simply fillet the fish as you’ll usually. I do need to say this leaves the sinew on the fillets which I don’t see as an enormous challenge on the subject of cooked fish. However in case you are the one one filleting a bunch of mahi, this does prevent some effort and time, so your not caught there cleansing fish all day.
Whereas not one thing that I believe most if any of yall will do, it’s also possible to make swordfish baits out of the mahi bellies. You simply take your knife and reduce into the stomach proper behind the pelvic fins after which reduce alongside in a single movement alongside the abdomen of the fish and a number of the anal fin. This does reduce into somewhat little bit of the meat within the tail however not an excessive amount of. However when you think about swordfish baits are $30-40 a chunk a little bit of meat isn’t that unhealthy of a value. After you are taking the stomach off you may simply break the mahi down like regular, both simply filleting or skinning then filleting.
