Rare blue dorado caught off Mexico

A dorado caught last week off Mexico was exceptional not because of its size, but because of its extraordinary coloration.

Although it was on the small side, the dorado caught by Keith Proudman, part of a group from British Columbia, Canada, was strikingly blue and in glaring contrast to the more typical greenish-gold dorado caught by his friends.

“We could see the colors in the water and were unsure what it was,” Dave Ball, part of the charter off Barra de Navidad in the state of Jalisco, told For The Win Outdoors. “The skipper knew, though.”

Keith Proudman (right) poses with blue dorado. Photo: Dave Ball

Dorado, as the Spanish name implies, flash golden hues while chasing bait and fighting on the hook. Their colors fade noticeably, however, after they’ve been gaffed and boated (see photos).

But not every dorado lives up to its name. Every so often, a blue dorado is caught.

Powder-blue dorado caught in Sea of Cortez. Photo: Dave Maynard

In 2013, Dave Maynard was part of a group fishing in the Sea of Cortez. They caught 154 dorado in four days, and six of them were blue.

More recently, Mark Rayor of Jen Wren Sportfishing in Baja California’s East Cape region, logged the rare catch of a silver dorado.

“They’re an odd fish and turn all sorts of colors,” he said.

What a typical bull dorado looks like. Photo: ©Pete Thomas

Proudman, who is from Victoria but now lives in Barra de Navidad, was hosting his Canadian friends during the fishing charter.

Ball, who lives in Campbell River, B.C., said the group caught three dorado, using mullet as bait, before Proudman hooked his “prized blue dorado.”

“The first three were real good fighters, with runs and multiple jumps,” Ball said. “But the blue one was a little smaller and came right alongside the boat.”

Silver dorado caught in Sea of Cortez. Photo: Mark Rayor

Dorado, also known as mahi-mahi and dolphinfish, are famously acrobatic and prized as table fare.

They inhabit tropical and subtropical waters around the world and are typically encountered far offshore, often in large schools beneath floating debris.

The International Game Fish Assn. lists as the all-tackle world record an 87-pound dolphinfish caught off Papagayo Gulf, Costa Rica.