LOCATIONS

BODIES OF WATER

• Wahoo can be found in the North East of the US waters of the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico. They are typically found in offshore waters and are known to migrate long distances.

• Not extremely abundant in the Northeast as they prefer the warmer southern waters.

STRUCTURE/HABITAT

• Wahoo are pelagic fish that can be found in both the warm surface waters and the cold deep waters.

• They are often found around natural structures such as underwater canyons, seamounts, and temperature breaks. They are also known to congregate around man-made structures such as oil rigs, buoys, and floating debris.

PATTERNS

SPRING

• During the spring, Wahoo can be found in the Gulf of Mexico as they migrate northwards from their wintering grounds in the south. Not often found

SUMMER

• Mainly found in the late summer/early fall in the North East.

FALL

• Wahoo can still be caught in the North East of the US waters as they migrate southwards.

WINTER

• Wahoo are typically not as abundant in the North East of the US, but they can still be caught in the warmer waters of the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic

Bait

• Popular choices include high-speed trolling lures such as plugs, skirts, and diving baits. It is also common to use rigged ballyhoo, strip baits, or artificial squid baits

Techniques

Trolling

• How: Troll a variety of baits and lures behind a boat at a speed of 8-12 knots

• Gear: Rods: 6-8ft medium-heavy action. Reels: Conventional reels with a high gear ratio. Line: 50-80 lb test monofilament or braided line. Leaders: 80-130 lb test fluorocarbon or wire. Hooks: 4/0-8/0 VMC circle hooks. Tackle/Lures: Wahoo lures, skirted ballyhoo, or live baits such as mackerel or squid.

Bait Fishing:

• How: Wahoo can be caught using live bait, dead bait. . Wahoo often hit their prey with incredible speed, so be ready for a sudden strike.

• Gear: Rods: Heavy trolling rods. Reels: Large conventional reels with a high gear ratio. Line: 80-100lb test monofilament or braided line. Leaders: 6-10ft of 80-100lb test monofilament or fluorocarbon leader. Hooks: 7/0-10/0 hooks for dead bait and 5/0-7/0 hooks for live bait.

Casting

• How: Casting for Wahoo involves casting jigs or poppers from the boat to entice the fish to bite.

• Gear: Rods: 7-8ft heavy action. Reels: Conventional/Spinning reels with a high gear ratio. Line: 30-80 lb test monofilament or braided line. Leaders: 30-80 lb test fluorocarbon or wire. Hooks: 5/0-9/0 circle hooks. Tackle/Lures: Wahoo lures, jigs, plugs, or live baits such as ballyhoo or bonito.