The Dorado are here! Not only is the Dorado – which most non-anglers will know as Mahi-Mahi – a tasty and popular item on the seafood menu; it is also a fierce and prized saltwater offshore gamefish, pound for pound one of the toughest to be found.

Costa Rica’s Pacific coast is considered one of the world’s top Dorado destinations, especially between October and December, although they are around all year long. These fish love to congregate in large numbers for feeding under logs and ‘garbage lines’. Flash flooding of the central mountains during the rainy season sends tons of branches into the ocean, and Dorado will find their way under the largest. It is not uncommon to catch 10-15 Dorado between 20 and even 60-70lbs on a full-day charter just 15 miles out.

Dorado are voracious creatures; they will go after bonito, ballyhoo or virtually anything small that moves that they can get into their mouth! This colorful and acrobatic fish puts up a tremendous fight, and rivals Sailfish and Marlin for spectacular leaps.

Dorado can be caught when trolling for billfish, but it is best to target them directly by looking for the garbage lines and trolling around the floating debris. More intrepid anglers will try their luck fishing for Dorado on the fly.

Over the past weeks, boats out of Los Sueños Marina in particular have been seeing and catching Dorado in large numbers, along with Marlin and Sailfish. A couple of days ago Captain Danny Arrieta on the 31ft Dream Raiser caught 14 of them, along with five Sailfish. Captain Daniel Espinoza on the 42ft Spanish Fly got an average of half a dozen a day over a three-day period earlier this week, capped by a five Sailfish, 15 Dorado day.

And up north, in Flamingo, Captain Skeet Warren on the 42ft Bushwacker got six, four and then three Dorado on successive charters, along with Marlin, several Sailfish and a Wahoo.

Of course, nothing is like feasting on your Dorado catch the same day, either as Sashimi right then and there (most of the good sportfishing captains will carry wasabi and soya sauce – the mate’s job is to filet the fish as you prefer) or that evening at a local restaurant. Almost all the better restaurants in Costa Rica’s top fishing destinations will prepare your fresh catch exactly to your liking; Gran Escape in the center of Quepos is one notable example, as is the superb Seasons by Shlomy at the Hotel Arco Iris in Tamarindo.

For those of you who aren’t fishing, but are in range of a seafood market where fresh Dorado is available, here is a mouthwatering Asian-inspired recipe.

Recipe: Grilled Dorado with Julienne Vegetables (serves four)

Four eight ounce Dorado fillets
1 tablespoon fresh minced garlic
1 tablespoon fresh minced ginger
1 tablespoon high-quality oil
Pinch of salt and pepper

For the Julienne vegetables:

1 cup julienne pea pods or snow peas
1 cup julienne carrots
1 cup julienne shiitake mushrooms
½ cup julienne leeks
½ cup julienne yellow squash (optional)
1 tablespoon minced cilantro
1 tablespoon sesame seed oil
½ cup rice vinegar
1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
1 teaspoon minced garlic
Zest and juice from one lime
1 teaspoon honey
Black (if you can get them, if not ordinary) sesame seeds

Season the fish with salt and pepper. Combine the oil with the ginger and garlic and rub evenly over the Dorado. Let stand for 25-30 minutes. Place the fish on a pre-heated cleaned grill. The grill should be very hot to prevent sticking.

For the vegetables, heat a large wok or sauté pan over a medium flame and add the sesame oil. Once it is hot add the ginger and garlic and sauté for 15 seconds. Add all the julienne vegetables and sauté for two minutes, stirring often. Once the vegetables begin to soften, add the juice and zest of the line, the honey, rice vinegar and the fresh cilantro. Stir and remove from heat.

Cook the Dorado on the grill for approximately 2-3 minutes per side. Place on a serving plate and spoon over the julienne vegetables, making sure to include some of the fantastic cooking juices. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.

This exclusive article comes courtesy of Americana Sportfishing which has been arranging sportfishing charters and complete sportfishing vacations in Costa Rica for the past 20 years.