The ocean was as flat as a pancake and the offshore bite was very slow after several hours of trolling in deep water with no action the decision was made to move inside the ledge and try to pick up a wahoo. As we were crossing the ledge there was a blue flash far behind the boat, the way-back rod bounced and the reel began to scream. Fifteen minutes later after several screaming runs we boated a nice 40lb wahoo.
The term “daymaker” has become very popular with people reporting their catches on out website and I see that term associated with big wahoo more than any other fish. While our 40# fish was not that big as far as wahoo go it provided some great excitement on an otherwise boring day. If you have ever been lucky enough to be on a boat that caught a big wahoo you have been able to see the impressive display of power and speed. It is believed that wahoo can swim up to speeds of 60mph and one quick look at their long streamlined body will tell you they are built for speed. The pointed face and the long body tapering down into a large powerful tail fin allow these fish to make a reel scream and on occasion prove to much for the tackle of unsuspecting anglers.
Anglers in the Charleston area are lucky. We can catch wahoo here almost every month of the year. The biggest obstacle to catching these fish in the winter months is finding weather that allows us to make it out to them. There are many theories on how to catch wahoo from different spreads to where to fish, but most anglers seem to agree that you need to cover the water column with your baits. Just when you think you need to have all of your baits deep and trolling fast a big wahoo will come up and hit one of your flatlines on the surface, right behind your boat. Covering the water column involves setting a few lines deep, a few on the surface and one line way back of course.
The other great thing about wahoo is that they can be found in water as shallow as 90’, which is roughly 30 miles out of Charleston and these are not only smal