South Florida Kite Tricks for Summertime Dolphin 
By Steve Waters US Source: sportfishingmag 7/1/2022
Steve Waters
Credit: Mike Mazur / Sport Fishing
Once upon a time, South Florida’s dolphin season peaked in spring. Now summer spells prime time. Traditionally too, anglers trolled baits and lures along offshore weedlines. But Miami captain Abie Raymond has developed a novel, yet highly effective, way to target this popular species—kite fishing.
 

One Kite Two Baits

Raymond uses a single kite to deploy two skirted ballyhoo along weedlines and across weed patches. The lure-ballyhoo bait combos resemble flying fish — one of a dolphin’s favorite prey species — and they aggressively chase Raymond’s kite baits as he trolls south into the north-flowing Gulf Stream current.

“They raise right up on them. They greyhound after them a lot of times,” he says. The feather resembles a flying-fish wing, blowing out air and water. The back half of the ballyhoo and its shape mimic a flyer’s body.

In fact, one dolphin that Raymond cleaned after a recent trip, back at Bill Bird Marina in Miami Beach, had a flying fish in its stomach along with a filefish, a triggerfish and a baby blue runner

 
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