by Captain John Fritsch
As a result, we have made some minor modifications to our standard trolling spread to increase our catch of wahoo. This article is in no way an attempt to discredit high-speed trolling, but only offer an alternative to increase your catch of wahoo. Having spent many years running 12 to 16 and more knots, I know firsthand how effective this method can be; however, with a few modifications to your 6 to 7 knot spread, you too can be in the 'hoo. Don't discount the quality either, my 10 largest wahoo have all come while slow-trolling dead bait and lure combinations.
LOCATION
Perhaps the most important aspect of fishing is to fish where the fish are. Wahoo are notorious for hanging around sea mounts where you have colliding bodies of water. However, a lot of areas without prominent structure have wahoo frequent their waters. Fishing out of Port Canavera,l Florida, gives me a good perspective of various areas where you will likely encounter wahoo. Out deep we have an area known as the cones, which are sea mounts rising from the ocean floor as high as 60 feet, with most rising 20 to 30 feet from the ocean floor. Quite often the edge of the Gulf Stream will be running right over the cones. With a water depth of 240 to 270 feet throughout the range of the cones, this area creates a fair amount of upwellings. Inside of the cones we have a pretty mild bottom with only a couple of ledges, one on the 210 line with this ledge only being a couple of feet. The 27 fathom line creates another small ledge. In 70 to 80 feet of water we have a live bottom known as 8-A reef. On the south side we have an area known as Pelican Flats. The south end of this has a nice drop off. We are also fortunate enough to have a weather buoy in 140 feet of water. All of these areas produce, with the cones being the novices favorite area. There are days when you will find wahoo all the way from 8-A Reef to the cones, but most days you will only find them in a couple of areas. So where do you start looking?. This is an especially important question as it's a good 12-plus nautical mile run from the shallow water to the cones out of Canaveral. Not high-speeding definitely handicaps you a little here. So again, where do you start?
The first thing I look for is water temp. My best luck has been in water between 73 to 78 degrees Fahrenheit. My next objective is to find good clean water that is either blue or blue with just a hint of green to it. Obviously, we are looking for bait in these areas. Current edges and rips are my favorite places to find wahoo in our area. In the early spring, I will typically stop when I hit 73 to 74 degree water that has bait in it. I will usually find the wahoo there and continue to work that area for a couple of hours before heading deeper. In the early spring there will usually be a nice temp jump to 76-plus degree water. At this point I notice I will start catching more dolphin and billfish. This is a benefit of using normal trolling speeds, we are catching a lot more sailfish and marlin. While trolling fast, I have actually caught more dolphin than wahoo, and very few billfish. Another important aspect in this scenario is getting out at first light. Wahoo bite best at first light and at dusk.
After working our first good temperature break, we will typically work deeper in the early spring looking for rips, weedlines, shrimp boats, wrecks, and eventually hitting the cones. By April and May, the east coast of central Florida is in full swing as far as the annual spring migration of pelagic fish. Dolphin and wahoo being our most prominent species, along with a fair number of sailfish and the occasional marlin to really make your day. When the fish are making their annual northerly migration, I find them more consistently in the deeper, warmer water. It's also at this time of year that we start seeing more large fish. .
LOCATION
Perhaps the most important aspect of fishing is to fish where the fish are. Wahoo are notorious for hanging around sea mounts where you have colliding bodies of water. However, a lot of areas without prominent structure have wahoo frequent their waters. Fishing out of Port Canavera,l Florida, gives me a good perspective of various areas where you will likely encounter wahoo. Out deep we have an area known as the cones, which are sea mounts rising from the ocean floor as high as 60 feet, with most rising 20 to 30 feet from the ocean floor. Quite often the edge of the Gulf Stream will be running right over the cones. With a water depth of 240 to 270 feet throughout the range of the cones, this area creates a fair amount of upwellings. Inside of the cones we have a pretty mild bottom with only a couple of ledges, one on the 210 line with this ledge only being a couple of feet. The 27 fathom line creates another small ledge. In 70 to 80 feet of water we have a live bottom known as 8-A reef. On the south side we have an area known as Pelican Flats. The south end of this has a nice drop off. We are also fortunate enough to have a weather buoy in 140 feet of water. All of these areas produce, with the cones being the novices favorite area. There are days when you will find wahoo all the way from 8-A Reef to the cones, but most days you will only find them in a couple of areas. So where do you start looking?. This is an especially important question as it's a good 12-plus nautical mile run from the shallow water to the cones out of Canaveral. Not high-speeding definitely handicaps you a little here. So again, where do you start?
The first thing I look for is water temp. My best luck has been in water between 73 to 78 degrees Fahrenheit. My next objective is to find good clean water that is either blue or blue with just a hint of green to it. Obviously, we are looking for bait in these areas. Current edges and rips are my favorite places to find wahoo in our area. In the early spring, I will typically stop when I hit 73 to 74 degree water that has bait in it. I will usually find the wahoo there and continue to work that area for a couple of hours before heading deeper. In the early spring there will usually be a nice temp jump to 76-plus degree water. At this point I notice I will start catching more dolphin and billfish. This is a benefit of using normal trolling speeds, we are catching a lot more sailfish and marlin. While trolling fast, I have actually caught more dolphin than wahoo, and very few billfish. Another important aspect in this scenario is getting out at first light. Wahoo bite best at first light and at dusk.
After working our first good temperature break, we will typically work deeper in the early spring looking for rips, weedlines, shrimp boats, wrecks, and eventually hitting the cones. By April and May, the east coast of central Florida is in full swing as far as the annual spring migration of pelagic fish. Dolphin and wahoo being our most prominent species, along with a fair number of sailfish and the occasional marlin to really make your day. When the fish are making their annual northerly migration, I find them more consistently in the deeper, warmer water. It's also at this time of year that we start seeing more large fish. .
