| Wahoo 101 |
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| Written by Brandon Kreutel | |
| Monday, 15 January 2007 | |
 Wahoo Fishing 101 Ah yes the coveted Wahoo. It seems to be the most important fish to catch for some especially on the fall 10 days. I think the reason might be is that they are not that easy to hook and they are not that easy to land if you don’t follow a few simple rules. I will try to shed some light on the techniques I have learned that hopefully will increase your bite to hook ratio along with your hook to land ratio. Safety First let’s talk about safety. Lots of things can go wrong when fishing for Wahoo. You have lots of people casting heavy jigs and bombs. The Wahoo is a very fast moving fish so you have many anglers running up and down the rail trying to keep their fish in front of them. And let’s not forget that Wahoo have very sharp teeth and like to chase bait out of the water. Closed toe shoes are a must when fishing for Wahoo. Just slipping and barely touching a Wahoo’s mouth with bare feet can result in a laceration that would require many stitches and we don’t want that. “Watch the Wahoo” is a phrase you will hear every time a Wahoo comes over the rail. This doesn’t mean run up a “watch the Wahoo” it means stand clear until the fish is subdued. Casting jigs and bombs. The ocean is a big place and I doubt you are going to miss it so please look behind you and watch your jig until it is clear of the boat. Leave your Jig in the water for a few seconds. Wahoo will chase bait out of the water so when your jig gets to the boat leave it in the water for a few seconds to make sure nothing is following it. Ask the crew about Wahoo jumping in the boat they will have plenty of stories for you. Let the crew remove the hook. This is not because you can’t handle it, I know we are all fishermen. There are just to many variables that can happen, pitching deck, another angler bumps you while trying to pass, another angler could kick the tail of the fish while trying to pass. The fish might want to live a little longer. All these could result in a serious injury. While taking photos of your fish hold the fish by the tail. And if you are going to hold it by the gills (not recommended) then be aware that your hand can easily slide into its mouth.  Tackle Rod/Reel/Mono The thing to remember when picking your tackle for jig fishing is that you need to get the hook to penetrate the Wahoo. And you need to present the bait moving very quickly (99% of the time, more on that later). Rods should be made for at least 40# test and I like at least 7ft in length. Reels should be high speed of at least 5.5:1 ratio. I prefer a narrow reel as it allows for greater ease in putting the line on at high speed and less wobble when trying too grind the Wahoo on the hook. Line should be 50# test mono, your spectra to mono ratio is up to you, I prefer a little more mono to avoid exposed spectra close to the boat during the fight. The 50# mono is not for breaking strength it is for less stretch which will help the hook to penetrate. My setup is a Calstar Graphter 700H with an Accurate 665XN and 50# Izorline. Jigs/Bombs The most common are probably the Raider Jig and the Burns Bomb. Both are very effective. Others include the Hopkins jig, Catchy Strike 33 and another of my favorites in the Salas 6x Jr. The rule of thumb I here from most anglers is anything shinny, with that being said I have done very well on the 6x Jr in Tar Baby color. I recommend you pick a jig you have confidence in and fish it with confidence. If it is your first time ask the crew what worked last trip. If you are going to wire your jigs 90# wire is recommended. More on that later  Trolling Lures Your trolling gear for Wahoo should be your 80# rig with a good tight drag. Trolling lures would be any of the bonito style lures like the Yozuri bonito or the Braid Marauders, Mega Bait has a guppy style bait that works well also. For high speed trolling the Catchy Magnum spinner jets work well. These should all be wired up with 250# wire minimum. 400# wire is recommended.  Bait fishing When bait fishing for the Wahoo the most popular seems to be a Mustad 94150 hook 4/0 – 6/0 and 27# - 40# single strand wire and a small action ring. Got the gear now what? Trolling Troll your Marauders close to the boat. As you will notice they will be the rigs that get bit the most. When in doubt ask the crew. Try to stagger your lures so when the boat maneuvers everything will stay separated. When trolling with big tuna around sometimes running it farther back will get you a tuna strike. Drags must be tight to allow for hook penetration. When someone gets bit (and the boat allows it) try dropping your lure back for a few seconds this will sometimes trigger a strike. If you get bit doing this remember the boat didn’t set the hook for you and you will really need to get the hook in the fish. When fighting a troll fish try to just wind them in, straight turning of the handle, go to low if you need to, do not pump and wind if at all possible. Pump and wind causes the lure to rise and fall and actually helps it work its way out or enlarge the hole which will allow the fish to just fall off if it roles at gaff. If you have to pump and wind be sure to start winding before you let the rod drop and try to keep the pumps short and quick. Remember when the fish comes aboard stay clear and let the crew get your jig out for you. Casting Casting for the Wahoo is probably the most fun. Let’s start with when to go in. On the Royal Polaris we have a rule of when the boat goes in reverse count to 5 then go. The idea behind this is to keep 15+ jigs out of the troll fish and avoid loosing $30.00 trolling lures. We still get plenty of jig fish doing it this way. So someone hells hookup you hear the boat go to neutral then rumble in reverse count to 5 and let it go. Try to cast off the side as the boat is still sliding. I let my jig sink until about a 45 degree angle or 140ft or so all the while staying in contact with my line and following it aft. No bite on the sink so we put it in gear and get comfortable and start winding back very fast. Remember to watch for your lure at all times. You don’t have to wind all the way back you can just let it sink back out again. No bites so we stop winding just prior to the boat, look for chasing Wahoo, see none so we lift the lure out and cast again. Remember casting for Wahoo you can use the entire boat, including both sides these jigs are heavy and sink fast so even the downwind side of the boat is fishable. If you are prone to backlash then I recommend the upwind side, this will be harder to cast into the wind but when you get a backlash the boat will be drifting away from your line and you will not cause tangled and lost fish on the other side of the boat when you are picking your overrun out. Letting the jig sink will allow you to cover a larger range of the water column. Once again watching what the guys getting bit are doing can really tune you in to what they want. Ok we are back out and have let it sink and we start our fast retrieve. All of the sudden the jig stops, this is the greatest feeling in Wahoo fishing, just keep winding, even though you can’t turn the handle just keep winding. Wind Wind Wind  Do not set the hook, the jig is in the fishes mouth and he is trying to cut it in half and now realizes he can’t as soon has he opens his mouth the jig will fall out as the hook is not in him yet. When you keep winding you have constant pressure on the jig and the hook point on the out side of his mouth and when he tries to drop it that constant pressure starts to pull the hook in, finally he will make a run and once he starts pulling line of your reel you can settle into the fight. As you will notice in the following picture that the fish is hooked from the out side which is very common  I try not to pump and wind Wahoo when fishing the jig either because the jigs/bombs are very heavy and you can run into the same problem we discussed with trolling. Remember just straight wind or use very short strokes. Just keep winding  And as always remember to follow your fish. Did I mention follow your fish. These fish are very fast and can catch you off guard, if your line starts heading for the bow the fish is already up there. If you are on the anchor and your fish heads for the bow make sure a crew member knows. A simple “Wahoo headed to the bow” will have the crew with you in a second. The reason for this is that if the fish makes a run across the anchor line it will cut the rope clean off and they will lose the entire set of gear. And yes mono will cut the anchor rope. I should say moving mono will cut the anchor rope. Be careful. Now your fish is at color and the same applies stand clear and let the crew retrieve you jig. Even if it is hot and heavy and the crew is busy just cut you line well away from the fish and tie on a new jig and keep fishing they will get your jig back to you. What if my jig stops sinking? Put it in gear and wind like crazy! Getting bit on the sink happens more than people realize and these fish are hard to hook. The best way to catch these subtle bites is to stay in touch with your line and be aware of what is going on around you as in, has someone cast over you. If your line is straight in front of you and no one has cast over you and you feel even the slightest tick on your line while it is sinking you are bit. Think about it what else could it be? Fish don’t have hands so it must be in their mouth. Speed of retrieve, we all know that Wahoo like it fast, well if you are not getting bit be sure to switch it up a little bit or even better watch the guy that is getting them. I was on a trip where the Wahoo fishing was scratchy on the iron but one guy had 2 already so I watch and didn’t really notice anything until it dawned on me that he was fishing with an old Yellowtail Special that is only 4.5:1. So I slow down my retrieve and nailed 2 in the next 3 casts. Got the word out and a few more were landed. Too wire? Or not too wire? I am going to leave that up to you, I don’t wire my jigs. After I lose one I will fire back out with a bomb that is wired, if no bites for a few casts or until the stop is over I will tie on a new jig and try again. Without wire do I get more bites? Maybe. Do I catch more Wahoo without wire? Maybe. Do I lose more Jigs without wire? Definitely. I suggest having both and use which ever method the situation dictates i.e. fresh batch of Wahoo no pressure try the wire, batch of fish that has been hit hard by a few boats I would go without and if it goes wide open throw the bomb. Live Bait Fishing Live Bait rig As I mentioned before the 27# single strand wire has really produced some fish in a finicky bite. The most important thing here is to remember wire breaks at it’s rated test so fishing 27# wire on your 40# rig is no good. You can get away with it if you set your drags as if you are fishing the lighter mono. I fish the 27# on my 30# rig with a very light drag. The times to try bait fishing for the Wahoo are when someone says “Look at the Wahoo in the chunk line” or you see them just swimming around the boat slow and easy. Also don’t forget to try a little chunk or cut a piece of bait in half as this is what they are looking for after they just cut the guys next to you bait in half. In closing we have only scratched the surface on all the different techniques for rigging and fishing for Wahoo. What I have covered here will get you started and hopefully make you more prepared for you next Long Range Adventure. Brandon Kreutel Photo Credits Brandon Hayward - Western Outdoor News Brandon Kreutel Brad Baron |
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| Last Updated ( Monday, 02 April 2007 ) |
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