Florida’s state record wahoo, caught near Marathon, weighed 139 pounds, while the world record captured near Cabo San Lucas, Mexico weighed in at 184 pounds. However, these tenacious game fish are capable of growing much larger and regularly push 100 pounds throughout their range. In Florida’s surrounding offshore waters, just about any wahoo caught that eclipses the 40-pound mark is considered a trophy. These fish also have 24-30 wavy, vertical bars on their sides. Wahoo are among the most recognizable pelagic offshore game fish around the world, sporting a unique appearance that features dark blue, purple or even greenish coloration on their backs with silvery lower sides and bellies. 18 per vessel per day, included in 18 migratory fish aggregate

None (state, federal and Bahamian waters).Ģ per person, per day (state and federal waters). While all scombrids have comparable biological features, in terms of behavior and where it hunts and lives, wahoo are more similar to billfish and tuna than coastal cruising king mackerel. Members of the Scombridae family, which includes the most prized species of mackerel and tuna, wahoo bear a customary fish silhouette featuring two dorsal fins, a slender caudal peduncle and deeply forked tail. While the distant waters of the Bahamian Out Islands and Costa Rica produce quality catches every winter, the biggest wahoo in the world undeniably exist off Fiji and the French Polynesia. Here, distant oil rigs are known to have monster ‘hoo lurking nearby, while areas above abrupt changes in bottom contour also attract these delicious game fish. Wahoo are also present in the Gulf of Mexico, albeit much farther offshore. Just outside the reef edge in roughly 100 to 300 feet of water, winter wahoo take advantage of the abundance of baitfish in the region. Along the state’s southeast coast and particularly in the Florida Keys, wahoo can be caught much closer to shore with a variety of tactics. Off Florida’s First Coast, anglers who fight the cold weather and rough seas common to the winter months find fast action 50 or more miles offshore near temperature breaks and changes in bottom contour. Wahoo can be caught virtually any day of the year around the state’s expansive coastline and throughout The Bahamas, though certain areas are more likely to produce these fish than others. Unfortunately, tagging studies indicate that a wahoo’s migration pattern isn’t as simple as one would think. These impressive predators, like many pelagic game fish, spend much of their lives in search of ideal bands of water temperature with concentrations of forage. Wahoo are highly migratory and maintain a presence in tropical and subtropical waters worldwide, roaming the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans, including the Caribbean and Mediterranean seas. When floating debris or sargassum mats are encountered miles offshore, anglers also entice wahoo by dropping jigs deep beneath the shadows. Sailfish anglers often lose entire kite spreads when wahoo key in on lively surface baits like goggle eye and threadfin herring, which can also be deployed on downriggers when targeting ‘hoo. Planers are also effective in getting offerings below the surface where wahoo bites are more likely.

Burning fuel can be fun, but after finding the pack it’s a good idea to pull back the throttles and circle back to the same general area dragging horse ballyhoo or handcrafted strip baits. High-speed trolling at 15+ knots is a popular tactic in Florida and The Bahamas because it allows anglers to cover more water, but where there is one wahoo there are often others nearby. In any scenario, wahoo are rarely caught on monofilament or fluorocarbon leader material, so wire or cable leaders are recommended. However, along the Eastern Seaboard and in The Bahamas their migrations are somewhat predictable and there are several methods by which these fish can be captured with relative consistency. Wahoo can be difficult to pattern across much of their global range, with many encounters occurring at random.

Wahoo fish