How to Fish for Wahoo

Surely, they’ll devour live baits drifted or trolled slowly, along with a variety of lures and baits pulled between 6 and 10 knots. In fact, I caught my two largest wahoo—143.3 and 113.2 pounds—on lures towed around 10 knots.

However, for running up numbers, wahoo will react far more aggressively to lures pulled between 10 and 15 knots, where their competitiveness often supersedes hunger. They’re also partial to subsurface over skipping baits.

Curved Butts and Big Reels

Bent-butt trolling rods keep fishing lines more parallel with the ocean surface versus traditional upright ones. The dramatic reduction in the fishing line’s angle of entry enables lures to track more efficiently and maintain depth, particularly at faster speeds. Furthermore, line wear is minimized around the lead rod guide, a big consideration with heavy weights, lures and aggressive trolling speeds.