Salt Armor Blog

How to Fish: Wahoo

In this edition of How to Fish, we cover How to Fish: Wahoo. Wahoo, or Ono, as some may know them, are one of the fastest swimming species of fish in the sea, and one of the hardest fighting as well. The name ‘Ono’ comes from the Hawaiian term for “good to eat,” or “tasty.” Almost all fishing for Wahoo is done by trolling although drifting is also popular. As always, we will begin explaining fishing for Wahoo by describing their diets, then geographic locations, and finally how to catch them.

With Wahoo, similarly to other predatory pelagic fish, their diets are largely influenced by the size and age of the fish. Younger Wahoo typically feed on bait fish such as small bonito, jacks, ballyhoo, houndfish, as well as flying fish. As they mature and grow in size, their diets shift towards larger size bonito and tuna. You might ask yourself, what bait to use for fishing Wahoo. As long as you stick to bait fish and find an adequate spot, you should be able to come across some Wahoo.

Wahoo can be found in tropical and subtropical waters but also migrate into temperate waters depending on the time of year and weather conditions. The Southeast coast of Florida has some of the best Wahoo fishing around. Coordinating your fishing with changes in weather such as hurricanes, and substantial changes in temperature. In South Florida, the preferred depth range is between eighty (80) and one-hundred fifty (150) feet. Wahoo also like to hunt in and around drop offs as well as reefs. Watching the weather, as previously mentioned, can help you predict the movement of their prey and help you find the fish. Drastic changes in temperature as well as long duration storms move the fish they prey on to deeper waters, in which case going deeper than usual would most likely bring great results. If you plan on drifting for Wahoo, sticking to these depths while looking for weedlines or floating debris will bring the best results.

Once you have reached the depth range necessary, and preferably near a drop off you can begin fishing. When trolling for Wahoo, speed is key. Some fishermen troll at speeds up to twelve (12) knots, although some avid Wahoo fishermen believe trolling at high speeds (ranging between 15 to 18 knots!) is more effective. If you plan on giving high-speed trolling a shot, keep in mind that your rigging must be changed accordingly. Using live bait is effective for both trolling and drifting, although artificial lures can produce great results when trolling.

When drifting for Wahoo, location is equally as important as well as chumming. An important thing to remember that often goes unnoticed is to make sure you drop your baited lines in the water before you begin chumming. By doing so you almost eliminate the chances of giving the fish a free meal and never seeing them. This is not only important for Wahoo fishing, but fishing in general. Drifting for Wahoo is similar to drifting for Dolphin. Keep your baited lines within the range previously mentioned but maintain them at different levels to assure you cover a wide range in depth.

Follow these basic guidelines and you will soon understand how the fish earned its name!

And remember, you can submit pictures of your catch by emailing a short story and your best shot to info@saltarmor.com

Happy fishing,

Salt Armor Team

For further info on Wahoo fishing, check out these links:

Wahoo Fishing Secrets

Wahoo Fast Facts