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Editor's note: ESPNOutdoors.com Fishing editor Ken Schultz also is a commentator for "BassCenter," which air Saturdays on ESPN2; look for his "Reel Speak" segment.

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MAZATLAN, Mexico — Located along the Pacific mainland coast, Mazatlan is a popular tourist destination, but I had not enjoyed much fishing success there in several wintertime trips until I made an out-of-season June visit two years ago.

Bruce Holt of the G. Loomis tackle company was my fishing companion and we had one of the finest days of saltwater action that either of us has ever experienced.

Using light tackle and fishing in the panga of Juan Aragon, we landed five dorado (dolphin) between 40 and 55 pounds and a sailfish, had a brief encounter with a blue marlin, spotted four cruising striped marlin and watched hundreds of cavorting spinner porpoises.

The day culminated with me landing the second of our two 55-pound dorado (truly enormous dolphin) after it entangled my line in a tree.

I remember Holt commenting about how ridiculous it was that my line got stuck in a tree 25 miles out in the ocean. That was when I handed him my three-piece spinning rod — one that his company made and which we were testing at the time — because its line was pinned under a surface-floating tree.

The huge dorado had done exactly what Aragon mentioned earlier when we'd found this giant multi-limbed hunk of wood floating atop 750-foot-deep water west of Mazatlan — go right for it.

He and mate Manuel Moreno were in the back of the 26-foot panga trying to lift the barkless tree. I'd been poking my rod tip in the water as the 20-pound line slid over the slippery wood and the dorado headed toward Hawaii.

When the 28-inch-long tip section caught on the tree, it separated at the ferrule and headed under a limb. I stuck the suddenly shorter rod into Holt's hands and leaned way over to grab the tip.

Rejoining the section with the boat bouncing and the fish peeling away was a struggle, but it happened and the line miraculously cleared the tree. Some 15 minutes later we landed the fish.

That capped off an outstanding day of offshore fishing, which was in addition to two good earlier days of nearshore and inshore action when we'd boated smaller dorado and caught a half-dozen roosterfish in the surf along the beach.

The same three-piece spinning rod that landed the tree-chafing dorado had earlier nearly collided with an estimated 300-pound blue marlin. We'd been using 10-inch-long live bonito, hooked through the mouth, as trolling baits, and I'd put one on the left outrigger with the 8-foot-3 spinning rod, hoping for a dorado.

At one point the line snapped suddenly from the outrigger release and a blue marlin came out of the water about 40 feet away with the bonito in its mouth. I leaped for the rod, but the marlin somehow managed to eat the bait without getting hooked.

That was actually a relief, because if the marlin had been hooked on that puny outfit, we were in for a long day's battle. More likely, all 200 yards of line would have disappeared before we got the boat turned around.

The same day that we caught the five big dorado, two acquaintances from Oklahoma City were having their first offshore fishing experience somewhere near us and landed a 250-pound blue marlin that nearly spooled a 50-pound-class big-game reel. Such a reel easily holds 400 yards of line.

The fish are 'on' in offseason

From that experience I'd suggest that Mazatlan anglers plan a visit in late spring and early summer. Warmer ocean temperatures (80 degrees in early June) equate to many more billfish, dorado and roosterfish than during the winter months; and late spring through early fall is off-peak season, meaning good lodging deals and fewer gringos.

Furthermore, along the ocean, cool breezes keep daytime temperatures pleasant, so it's not as hot there as you might think.

I've been to Mazatlan in the winter months and found the offshore fishing to be poor. But I gained a different view that year in what travel promoters call the "offseason," which clearly refers to tourists and not angling action.

Not only are the sailfish abundant and the marlin not uncommon in the "offseason," but there's good casting and live-bait trolling along the beaches for roosterfish and the possibility of encountering snook after rains dump freshwater into the river mouths.

Most visitors to Mazatlan and other western mainland-Mexico travel destinations go fishing as a side excursion to their vacation and often are saddled with dubious advice (from folks over-hyping the fishing in the poorer months) and with tackle that is meant for the biggest fish in the sea.

If you know a little bit about the saltwater game, and especially if you bring your own tackle, you can enjoy some real adventures at the right time of year. And most captains here speak respectable English.

The one negative worth noting is that there's still too much killing of sport-caught game fish (sails, marlin, dorado and sharks), although that's slowly changing.

Each fishing day starts at daybreak, and it's a terrific feeling to get started here in the dusky hours — with the sun hiding behind the Sierra Madre Mountains and the boat whisking along while you put on sunscreen, ready tackle and brace for the moments ahead.

When the sun rises it usually creates a pink veil in the sky, which soon turns to an orange glow.

And as you wait for the game to begin, deep down you know the day is going to be muy bueno.

If you're going …

By Ken Schultz May and June are good times to fish in Mazatlan, as roosterfish are available in the surf, while dorado, sailfish and marlin are prominent offshore. Yellowfin tuna also may be available, although generally further offshore. Fishing-access options include large charter boats that accommodate four anglers and 26-foot pangas best suited to two anglers. Lodging and dining options are numerous in Mazatlan, and reasonable in this offseason period. For information about saltwater fishing in Mazatlan, contact Anglers Inn at 800-468-2347 or visit www.anglersinn.com. Mazatlan has a major airport with daily flight service. Coming from the east I used AeroMexico, which is Mexico's main carrier and has maintained continuous daily service through good and bad times. Contact AeroMexico at 800-237-6639 or visit www.aeromexico.com.

Game-fish profile

Species: Dolphin, common (Coryphaena hippurus).

Other names: Dolphinfish, common dolphinfish, mahimahi, mahi mahi, dorado.

In general: The common dolphin is the larger of the two very similar species in the family Coryphaenidae, both of which are cosmopolitan in warm seas.

This fish is one of the top offshore game fish among anglers, and is an excellent, hard-fighting species that puts on an acrobatic show once hooked.

It is also one of the most delicious food fishes and highly sought commercially, usually presented in fish markets and restaurants under its Hawaiian name, mahimahi.

The common dolphin often is referred to as "dolphinfish" to distinguish it from the dolphin of the porpoise family, which is an unrelated mammal and not sought by anglers.

Identification: The body is slender and streamlined, tapered sharply from head to tail. Large males, called bulls, have high, vertical foreheads, while the female's forehead is rounded.

The anal fin has 25 to 31 soft rays and is long, stretching over half of the length of the body. The dorsal fin has 55 to 66 soft rays. Its caudal fin is deeply forked. There are no spines in any of the fins, and the mouth has bands of fine teeth.

Coloring is variable and defies an accurate, simple description. Generally, when the fish is alive in the water, the common dolphin is rich iridescent blue or blue-green dorsally; gold, bluish gold or silvery gold on the lower flanks; and silvery white or yellow on the belly.

The sides are sprinkled with a mixture of dark and light spots, ranging from black or blue to golden.

The dorsal fin is rich blue, and the anal fin is golden or silvery. The other fins are generally golden yellow, edged with blue.

Dark vertical bands sometimes appear when the fish is attacking prey.

The color description of dolphin is difficult because they undergo sudden changes in hues, which occur in an instant, often when the fish is excited.

Size/age: The average size is 5 to 15 pounds, although larger catches up to 50 pounds are not uncommon. The all-tackle world record is an 87-pounder caught in Costa Rica in 1976.

Dolphin are fast-growing and short-lived. Few common dolphin live longer than four years and most live just two years.

Males grow larger than females, and are capable of reaching 60 pounds in just two years, although this is exceptional and the result of consistently favorable warm water temperatures and abundant food.

Distribution: The common dolphin is found worldwide in tropical and subtropical waters of the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans, with the greatest concentrations believed to be in the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific.

In the western Atlantic, it occurs in areas influenced by the warm waters of the Gulf Stream, and has been caught as far north as Prince Edward Island and as far south as Rio de Janeiro; in the eastern Pacific it ranges from Peru to Oregon.

Habitat: Common dolphin are a warmwater pelagic fish, occurring in the open ocean and usually found close to the surface, although in waters of great depth. They are sometimes found near coasts and occasionally can be found near piers; but in the open ocean they often are concentrated around floating objects, especially buoys, driftwood and seaweed lines or clusters. The young commonly are found in warm, nearshore waters in sargassum beds or other flotsam.

Life history/behavior: The common dolphin is a prolific spawner and grows rapidly, meaning it must by nature be an eating machine. Spawning season begins primarily in spring or early summer and lasts several months in warmer waters. Dolphin reach sexual maturity in their first year of life, and produce a large volume of eggs.

Dolphin are a schooling fish and often congregate in large numbers, sometimes by the thousands. They almost always fin between the surface and depths of 100 feet. They are encountered by anglers on or just under the surface and are probably the most surface-oriented of all big game fish.

These fish evidently are also migratory. It is believed that dolphin in both hemispheres migrate away from the equator in the spring and summer and toward the equator in fall and winter.

Food: Common dolphin are extremely fast swimmers and feed in pairs, small packs and schools, extensively consuming whatever forage fish are most abundant.

Flyingfish and squid are prominent food in areas where these exist, and small fish and crustaceans that are around floating sargassum weed are commonly part of the diet, especially for smaller dolphin.

Dolphin are very aggressive feeders, and they can move extremely fast to capture a meal.

For more fish species information, see "Ken Schultz's Fishing Encyclopedia," available through www.kenschultz.com.