State record set: 21-pound mahi-mahi fish caught off Westport
Sep 1, 2023, 12:37 PM | Updated: 12:57 pm
Wade La Fontaine, left, with his 21 pound, 48-inch-long mahi- mahi catch. (Photo: Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife)
(Photo: Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife)
A 21-pound, 48-inch-long mahi-mahi — also known as a dolphinfish or dorado — was caught 42 miles off the Washington coast by angler Wade La Fontaine Aug. 25, according to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) blog post on Medium.
Upon landing at the dock in Westport, the fish was inspected by a WDFW Fish Program biologist and then weighed on a certified scale at Ocean Gold Seafoods.
“I’m blessed beyond comprehension,” La Fontaine told WDFW. “I’ll be getting another tattoo of a mahi!”
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Dolphinfish (known scientifically as Coryphaena hippurus) are sporadically caught by recreational and commercial fishers targeting albacore tuna and other pelagic species off the Washington and Oregon coasts. Most mahi-mahi caught off the Washington coast are smaller, falling in the 6- to 12-pound range.
WDFW believes La Fontaine’s fish was more reminiscent of large dolphinfish caught in warmer waters off of southern California, Mexico and Hawaii.
“I’m so appreciative to Keith Johnson, Darrell Johnson, Raymond Paraíso, and Aden Kallerson with Far Corners Adventures Sport Fishing,” La Fontaine said, according to WDFW’s post. “Without these charters doing it (making the run offshore) day after day, I wouldn’t have had a chance to connect with this fish.”
Washington’s previous state record dolphinfish was 16.27 pounds caught by Albert DaSilva out of Ilwaco in 2013.
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Dolphinfish are listed within the “other food fish” category, according to WDFW, and have a daily limit of two per person. “Other food fish” refers to species that occur in Washington waters irregularly, including opah, swordfish, striped marlin, barracuda, white sea bass, bonito, California yellowtail and pomfret.
Recreational anglers fish for albacore approximately 40 to 100 miles off the Washington coast, with commercial fishers venturing out even further. Occasionally albacore will come in as close as 30 miles and, on rare occasions, they have been known to come in as close as 15 miles or less.
