Let me tell you about dolphinfish. Well, you may know them better as that sweet, mild-flavored and flaky Mahi-mahi served all kinds of ways at your favorite seafood restaurant.
They run around the surface of the deep ocean in large, brightly colored schools. You’ll often see them breeching out of the water chasing flying fish. That is, if you can make it out 40 miles from shore to actually see them.
Ever since we moved to the Coastal Bend and started saltwater fishing, the dolphinfish has been my dream fish. All I’ve wanted was those bright yellow, lime green, and royal blue scales on my wall. And that mahi-mahi on my plate!
On August 17th of 2020, I FINALLY caught it. We braved the waves 40 miles out and caught a 34-inch dolphinfish on the first cast. I’ll never forget what it felt like to see that color-changing beauty on the boat.
Now, dolphinfish are known to grow about 25 inches to 60 inches long, so mine was admittedly on the smaller end. Nevertheless, when my husband asked me if I wanted a replica made for the wall, I was all over it!
A few weeks later, the replica arrived and was lovingly hung with our other trophies on the wall.
I excitedly showed some of my fishing friends, and they wrinkled their nose at it.
“That’s kind of small, isn’t it?”
“You should’ve mounted a bigger one…”
“Oh, you can catch bigger ones than that!”
I’ll admit it; I was a little bit crushed to hear that response. I had waited four years for an opportunity to catch a dolphinfish! For just a moment, my prized mahi-mahi felt a little bit inadequate.
But my husband, a long time fisherman and outdoorsman, reminded me that the trophy is all about what it means to you. The trophy isn’t about the size, score, weight, etc. of an animal; it’s about the experience, and getting to remember that moment of triumph every time you look at it.
The same goes for any moment of success in life. What you feel is a major accomplishment could seem marginal to someone else, and vice versa. At the end of the day, all that matters is your sense of accomplishment, and no one should be able to take that away from you.
So slap that 34-inch dolphinfish up on your wall and be PROUD! And someday, when you have a 50-incher to go with it, you’ll get to be proud of both!
Jess and the Outdoors 