Mahi-Mahi (Dolphinfish) regulations
Troll ballyhoo and lures along weedlines, color changes and floating debris in blue water. Spring on the Atlantic side is world class.
Applies to: state waters
| Species / zone | Season | Size | Bag | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dolphinfish/Mahi-Mahi Gulf State Waters | open now Open year-round | None | 10 per person or 60 per vessel, whichever is less | hook and line, spearing Captain and crew are prohibited from retaining a bag limit |
| Dolphinfish/Mahi-Mahi Atlantic State Waters | open now Open year-round | 20" fork length | 5 fish per person, or 30 fish per vessel, whichever is less. | hook and line, spearing Captain and crew are prohibited from retaining a bag limit For-hire recreational bag limit is 5 fish per person. Vessel limit is limited to the number of customers fishing multiplied by bag limit. |
- Legal gear includes hook and line and spearing.
Source: FWC, extracted 2026-09-12. Review flags: The page lists separate bag limits for 'Private Recreational' and 'For-hire Recreational' in Atlantic State Waters. The JSON schema supports one bag_per_person and one bag_per_vessel per rule entry. The private limits (5/30) were used for the main fields, and the for-hire specific vessel calculation was moved to notes. If strict separation is required, this would need two entries for Atlantic State Waters, but the schema implies one rule per species per zone.
Seasonal pattern
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Forecasts by region
- Mahi-Mahi (Dolphinfish) in Panhandle
- Mahi-Mahi (Dolphinfish) in Big Bend and Nature Coast
- Mahi-Mahi (Dolphinfish) in Tampa Bay
- Mahi-Mahi (Dolphinfish) in Sarasota Bay and Charlotte Harbor
- Mahi-Mahi (Dolphinfish) in Southwest and Ten Thousand Islands
- Mahi-Mahi (Dolphinfish) in Florida Keys
- Mahi-Mahi (Dolphinfish) in Southeast Florida
- Mahi-Mahi (Dolphinfish) in Treasure Coast
- Mahi-Mahi (Dolphinfish) in Space Coast
- Mahi-Mahi (Dolphinfish) in First Coast