Dolphin bite pops at Crystal Coast

These anglers display some of the dolphins they caught during a May trip aboard the Mattie G II out of Morehead City.

If dolphin — big mahis — trip your saltwater fishing trigger, head now to Morehead City.

Capt. Rick Baldwin (252-269-0809. Mattie G II, http://morehead-city-charter-fishing.com/ or www.mattiegfishing.com) reports “big gaffers and huge fish 40 to 44 miles offshore” from the Crystal Coast south of the Big Rock.

You might even hook a white or blue marlin, along with wahoo, blackfin or yellowfin tuna.

“But I don’t fish for marlin,” he said.

Baldwin has captained the rebuilt Maggie G II the last four years. It’s a 46-foot Carolina Custom sportsfisherman (built in 1961 by Asa Buck Sr. at the direction of Capt. Leroy Gould) that was refitted three years ago.

“It’s like having a new boat,” he said.

It’s about a 2 1/2- to 3-hour run out to the good temperature breaks (78 to 80 degrees) now that are holding dolphin, Baldwin said.

“I don’t fish weed lines,” he said. “I’m just looking for temperature breaks, and when we find ’em, it really doesn’t matter what type of lure we use or what color. They’ve been biting everything.”

Dolphin recently caught by Mattie G II anglers weighed from 25 to 35 pounds, with some high 30s and a few 40-pounders thrown in for good measure, the captain said. Baldwin said the Morehead City/Atlantic Beach fleet also had brought in a couple of 50-pounders.

“You can catch all the small ones you want closer to shore, but we’re going a little deeper to catch bigger ones,” he said. “Some times we catch 25 fish a day and sometimes closer to 40 or 50.”

His standard Carolina coast trolling lures are medium ballyhoo with skirts of no particular color. “One of our biggest dolphins (39 pounds) hit a naked Seven Strand Green Machine (it’s a wave-skipper with a green head, green skirt and red triangle-shaped beads at its center).

“The old standby cedar plugs have worked good, too,” he said. “But we’ve caught ’em on strip baits, even bare hooks.”

The Mattie G II recently participated in the Crystal Coast’s annual Military Appreciation Day in which local captains take veterans fishing.

“Had four Army guys and two Marines onboard, and we had a great time,” Baldwin said. “In all 440 soldiers were taken fishing.”

The Mattie G II docks near the Big Rock Landing at the Morehead City Waterfront.