Family Scombridae
Description: body slender; elongate jaws
form a pointed beak; dark bluish above, with about 30 dark bars; whitish below
first dorsal fin long and low, with 21 to 27 spines; no gill rakes
Size: to 2.1 meters (83 inches) and 83 kilograms (183 pounds)
Where found: offshore Gulfstream; bluewater
Remarks: an important game fish, renowned for its tremendous
runs and shifts of direction; usually not in schools; caught by trolling bait
and artificial lures on flatlines
Where To Find Them:
- Wahoo are found in water from 150 feet to 300 feet deep. They are found most
often directly over ledges.
- Wahoo can be found in water with surface temperatures between 70F and 86F, but
prefer 72F to 77F.
When To Find Them:
- Wahoo can be found in Georgia blue water areas year round.
How To Catch Them:
- Trolling:
- Troll at 7 to 9 knots.
- Pull dead ballyhoo rigged behind skirts or rubber and/or mylar lures, trimmed
short to expose the back half of the bait, or pull rubber and/or mylar lures
alone.
- Long, thin hard lures such as Rapalas can also be productive.
- Lures and baits should run below the surface. Use downriggers or large trolling
weights to get lures and baits down.
- Best lure/shirt colors: red/black, purple/black.
- After the hookup:
- Wahoo are known for making a very fast initial run away from the boat that can
strip 100 yards or more of line, so use tackle that can handle pressure and hold
a lot of line. You may want to set the drag lighter than the usual one-third of
line strength.
- After the initial run, wahoo sometimes turn and run at the boat. Be ready to
reel fast to keep the line tight. Some anglers will put the rod tip in the water
to help keep pressure on the line. If you are driving the boat, be ready to
speed up to keep ahead of the fish.
- When one fish is on, dropping another bait down on a downrigger or weight can
pick up another wahoo that may be hanging with the hooked fish.