DECRIPTION TEXT

Dolphin physical description

The dolphin has average size is range from a pound to 15, occasionally 20. Larger fish are loners or paired up as a bull (male) and cow (female). The biggest bulls commonly reach 50 pounds and rarely exceed 70. Largest cows reach 40 pounds. State record is 77 pounds, 12 ounces.

The dolphin is the wood duck of pelagic fishes, so spectacularly colorful that it seems impossible it could have evolved by accident. The back and head are iridescent, glowing neon blue and chartreuse
green. The sides and belly are gold, sprinkled with bright blue spots. In fact, biologists say the fish's
color is the result not only of pigment, but of microscopic structures in the skin, which the fish can manipulate to change its color.
Dolphin are found in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans, anywhere that the water remains at 70 degrees or warmer throughout the winter.

Dolphin reportedly can reach speeds up to 50 mph, and sometimes run down flyingfish in the air, though more commonly they race along just under the surface, watching a flyer and eating it the second it touches down. They also eat lots of squid, small bonito and other pelagic bait.

There's a second species of dolphin in Florida waters known as the pompano dolphin, Coryphaena equisetis. It's less elongated than the larger cousin, and never reaches sizes much over two feet long and weights of 5 pounds. The
Dolphin grow very fast, reaching 10 pounds in three years. The Florida record is 76 pounds, 8 ounces for a fish taken out of Lake Worth Inlet, while the all-tackle mark is 87 pounds even, from the Exumasin the Bahamas.

Little is known about dolphin mating or juvenile life, but they apparently spawn April to August. The larval fish live in the sargassum that provides the only cover in the open sea until they're big enough to run down prey in open water. The body shape is similar to adults, but the colors are gold/orange with black stripes, probably giving them a better chance of escaping predators as they hide in the sargassum. They're attracted to partyboat lights at night; if you want a miniature, take along a long-handled dipnet.