Summer means school's out, the kids are looking for something to do, and off the coast of Southeast Florida, Mahi are chewing. Whether you're taking the family out for a fun day on the water or trying to fill the box with meat, here's a full breakdown of the gear, bait, and techniques worth having on board this season.
Where to Find Them
Mahi depth is unpredictable and shifts with wind, weed lines, bait, and water temperature. Some days they're sitting in 200 feet of water; other days you might have to run out past 1,000 feet to find them. There's no single magic depth, the key is covering water and paying attention to weed lines, floating debris, and bait activity.
Trolling Setups
Trolling is the easiest way to get out, have fun, and put fish in the boat. The most important thing to look for in a mahi trolling rod is a soft action tip, you don't need a broomstick and a huge reel to land schoolie mahi up to 30 inches.
Budget-friendly option: The Shimano TLD30 paired with a CHAOS 6ft ECL 15-30 trolling rod is a tried-and-true combo that's been a shop staple for 15–20 years. It's a one-piece rod with a metal reel seat and slick butt, soft enough to fish small skirts, ballyhoo, plugs, chains, and teasers. Rod and reel together run about $610.
High-end option: For something built to last decades, step up to a Shimano Talica 16 on a 7ft CHAOS KC 20–40 live bait rod. The Winthrop Epic Butt (size 1) makes this rod noticeably lighter than a stock foam-grip model, so it won't dig into your hand sitting in the rod holder. The Talica 16 is smooth, durable, and light enough for kids or less experienced anglers to fight fish on while still packing nearly 40 pounds of drag. Bonus: this rod doubles as a live bait, kite fishing, or light bottom fishing setup, making it a true multi-purpose investment. Rod and reel together: about $1,600.
Pitch Rods: Capitalizing on the School
When a trolling rod goes off and a mahi is jumping behind the boat, speed matters. Mahi travel in schools, and once that first fish is out of the water, the school can scatter fast if you're not already hooked up on a second one. That's where pitch rods come in; rigged and ready to fire a bait or lure at the school the moment you see it.
- Everyday option: Shimano Spheros SW8000 paired with the CHAOS Classic Series SPC 15-30 rod, a versatile "Swiss Army knife" setup with a soft tip for feeling bites and enough backbone for mahi, blackfin tuna, or sailfish. It also works as a light trolling outfit in a pinch. About $440 for the combo.
- Tournament option: Shimano Twin Power 10000 on the same SPC 15-30 platform but in our Tournament Series, upgraded with SiC guides to handle braided line without excessive wear. About $1,100 for the combo.
Casting Along the Weed Line
Instead of just waiting for a rod to go off, you can get up on the bow and actively cast into a weed line as you troll along it, bringing the school to you rather than waiting for it to find your spread. For this, a lighter, more finesse-oriented setup shines: the CHAOS Inshore Medium (7-foot) rod paired with a Shimano Saragosa 5000, spooled with 30 lb braid. It casts easily, fights fish longer for more sport, and doubles as a great inshore or yellowtail rod. About $685 for the combo.
Bait and Lures for the Spread
None of the gear matters without the right bait in the water. Here's what to load into the spread:
- Rigged skirts (Black Bart, Williamson, and similar brands) in bullet-head, flathead, and bubbler styles. Easy to run in spreads of two, four, or six.
- Pre-rigged lures like the Islamorada Flyer, which comes with its own leader and mylar "wings" that mimic a flying fish from below, the same angle a feeding mahi sees it from. Available in multiple sizes depending on water depth and the size of flying fish in the area.
- Chain baits, which combine several small skirts up front with one hooked bait trailing slightly behind, mimicking the "weakest link" a mahi will key in on.
- Deep divers for getting bait below the surface, since mahi aren't always feeding up top. A Rapala X-Rap 15 runs about 15 feet down, while a Nomad Madmacs (lipless) runs about 10 feet. Both are light enough to pull on spinning or light trolling gear.
- Frozen rigged baits, including double-hook mono ballyhoo (add a pine skirt for extra profile) and rigged squid; a proven producer when mahi are keyed in on squid schools offshore.
Casting Gear: Leaders, Hooks, and Lures
Once you're in a school and pitching baits, dial in your terminal tackle:
- Leader: 20–30 lb fluorocarbon, 6–10 feet long, for schoolie-sized fish. For bigger fish or bulkier baits, step up to 50 lb fluorocarbon.
- Hooks: Circle hooks in size 6–7 for chunk or dead bait (Mustad, VMC, BKK, and Owner are all solid choices).
- Bait priority: Live bait (pilchards, goggle-eyes, ballyhoo) is nearly a guaranteed bite. When live bait isn't available, chunked or frozen sardines, squid, and ballyhoo work well too.
- Artificial options: Bucktails in white, black/white, blue/white, red/white, or chartreuse are a simple, effective go-to. Stick baits like the Rapala X-Rap (size 12, olive green) offer a natural profile and let you work a stop-and-twitch retrieve. Swimbaits like the JYG Swim in a pilchard pattern are a set-it-and-reel-it option with thick, dependable hooks.
Line Choices
- Trolling rods: 20–30 lb high-vis mono (orange or yellow, whichever is your personal preference) for easy visibility across a multi-line spread.
- Spinning/pitch rods: 20–30 lb mono is beginner-friendly and requires less leader-tying know-how. Braid works too, paired with a longer leader or top shot for stealth and stretch.
- Casting rods: 30 lb braid offers the casting distance and line capacity to close the gap on moving schools while still holding up to a hard-running fish.
Planer Fishing: The Deep-Water Advantage
For anglers looking to level up, especially for wahoo, kingfish, or bigger mahi and blackfin, planer fishing is one of the most effective techniques offshore. It calls for heavier gear than standard mahi trolling, generally in the 30- to 50-class range.
Getting started: A Shimano TLD50 LRSA two-speed lever drag reel paired with a CHAOS ECL 50-100 Tournament Series rod (SiC guides are a must here since braid and metal swivels are constantly running through them) comes in around $900 and handles planers from a number 3 up to an occasional number 8.
Buy-once-cry-once option: The Shimano Tiagra conventional reel (30 wide for most planer work, 50 wide if you're regularly pulling number 8 planers) is built to last decades, commercial captains still run 20-year-old Tiagras. Paired with a 6-foot CHAOS SW Planer Rod featuring a Winthrop roller tip and Winthrop Epic Butt (size 2) for better clearance and easier gunnel-side fighting, this setup runs about $1,300.
Line: 65–80 lb braid is standard for planer fishing; mono has no place here. PowerPro Depth Hunter Offshore is a favorite because it changes color every 100 feet (with additional 10-foot markers), making it easy to set a precise, evenly staggered spread.
Planer sizes: Numbers 3, 4, 6, and 8 are the most common locally. As a rule of thumb, multiply the planer number by 10 to estimate the running depth in feet under typical conditions. A common spread is a number 6 or 8 planer closer to the boat (deeper) with a number 3 or 4 staggered back and shallower.
Bridle systems: Modern planer rigs use a bridle, two swiveled ends connecting your mainline to a 100-foot, 50–80 lb mono planer leader which allows the planer to release cleanly from the line when a fish strikes. This eliminates hand-lining line back to the boat and lets you fight the fish directly off the rod and reel.
Rigs: A sea witch, pine skirt, and tinsel insert make up a classic planer rig. Single-hook wire rigs work well for trolling a bonita strip, while double-hook rigs (Mustad 34091, sizes 7/8) are preferred for species like kingfish that have soft mouths.
The Bottom Line
As the summer mahi run hits its peak, the setup doesn't need to be complicated:
- Trolling: 15–30 lb, six- or seven-foot rods
- Pitch/casting: 20 lb spinning rods
- Planers: 50–100 class rods with 30–50 wide reels spooled with 65–80 lb braid
Get the right combo rigged and ready, keep a variety of bait and lures on hand, and don't miss the window!