Sometimes wahoo can be dry, so baste the fillets or steaks frequently during cooking.įree hunter safety Internet-completion course offered in Gadsden County The flesh cooks up firm, white, and mild flavored. Steaked, marinated and grilled over charcoal results in a superb meal. Wahoo is one of the finest fish in the sea when it comes to table fare. Some of the better wahoo fishermen will stay in the same place for at least half an hour when they catch one. When you do catch a wahoo, stay in the area. On calm days, freeline or troll them slowly, just below the surface. If it's rough, drop the baitfish down between 10 and 30 feet with either lead weights or on a downrigger. Live bait anglers can fish any sea conditions for wahoo. Where regular surface trolling is about 6-7 knots, high-speed trolling of specially designed lures can be as much as 14 knots. High-speed trolling accounts for many of the wahoo taken during the summer. The more surface commotion there is, the more wahoo hits you'll get. The calmer the seas, the faster you troll. Another important point to remember when it's calm is trolling speed. That's when anglers fishing with a splashing red-and-black bait score best. When the water is calm wahoo tend to move closer to the surface. Spoons, feathers, skirts, high-speed trolling lures, and teasers in those colors seem to catch the most wahoo. Successful wahoo fishermen have found the best lure colors to be combinations of red and black. 7 brown-tone wire leaders at least 6 feet long will do nicely. Wahoo have excellent dental work that can easily slice through even the heaviest monofilament leaders. Makes for a bad day on the water.Īlso make sure you have a wire leader. The last thing you want is the reel spool to warp, bind, get ripped out and take all your rod guides and 6 inches of rod tip with it as it disappears into the sea. Make sure the reel has a solid metal spool and sturdy mounting hardware. Runs of 100 yards are not uncommon with wahoo. The drag (brake) must be smooth and capable of dissipating a lot of heat. Reels should be capable of holding at least 400 yards of 30-pound-test line. With a big wahoo you will need all the leverage you can get. Rods should be very stout and at least 6 feet long. Regardless of the method used, however, when it's rough, the only way to catch wahoo is to get down to them. Your call.įishing with heavy trolling weights is the most inexpensive way to get baits deep, and also the most cumbersome. Monel wire (a copper/nickel alloy) works best (resists kinking), but soft stainless steel wire is much cheaper. Wire also puts an added strain on tackle and should be used only on rods that have roller guides. Wire line works well too, but can be dangerous to anglers when the fish is close to the boat. Don't bother if there is suspended seaweed in the water. When they work right a striking fish will trip a mechanism, causing the planer and hooked fish to rise to the surface.when they work right. It is cheaper, works on hydrodynamic principles, but puts added strain on tackle and hampers fighting a fish. They will rust away after a short time.Īn alternative to the downrigger is a planer. Forget the models made for freshwater trolling in the great lakes. The best ones feature an electric retrieve and the ability to vary the trolling depth automatically (oscillate). Plan on spending between $150 and $500 or more for a good one designed for saltwater use. And when a hook-up is made, the fish can be fought without the added hassle of trolling weights or shock leaders. With a downrigger, virtually any type of lure or bait can be taken down to the fish. Downriggers, planers, wire line and trolling weights are popular methods of fishing deep for wahoo. Anglers must get their bait or lure down to where the fish are. They have, however, been taken in water temperatures as low as 68 degrees and as high as 85 degrees. Their preferred water temperatures is between 72 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit. Wahoo tend to be ambush feeders, so they look for places to hide. The majority of the wahoo taken in this area are caught offshore in blue water along the deep-water side of reef edges, around deep-water wrecks, and near sea mounts. Granted some other fish might be slightly faster for short bursts, but for sustained speed, none can beat the wahoo. The cobalt-blue, vertically-striped, torpedo-shaped speedsters (Acanthocyubium solandri) are recognized as one of the fastest fish in the sea. They look somewhat like a king mackerel, but with a more streamlined, pointed body. He screamed it in a high-pitched shriek (probably because his rod wasn't in a holder when the fish was hooked) and the name stuck. According to legend, the name wahoo came from the reaction of the first angler to hook one on rod and reel.
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