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Wahoo
Description
The wahoo is a member of the mackerel family and one of the fastest fish that swims, attaining speeds of over fifty miles per hour. The wahoo is a long, slender, torpedo-shaped fish with a pointed head and wide forked tail. The back of the fish is dark to brilliant blue, with twenty-five to thirty dusky vertical bands that extend down its bright silver sides. The wahoo’s jaw is lined with small, sharp teeth.
A fast, hard-fighting ocean species, wahoo are best pursued with stout offshore tackle similar to what one would use to pursue sailfish—think of a twelve-weight as a minimum for a small to average sized wahoo. Similar to a sailfish, wahoo can be teased to the transom with hookless teasers but many anglers prefer to chum with live baitfish until a wahoo comes into casting distance. Large streamer flies suitable for sailfish and marlin are often used for wahoo, too.
Average Length
3 - 5 feet
Average Weight
10 - 30 pounds
Temperature Range
72 - 77 degrees Fahrenheit
Habitat
Wahoo are pelagic, migratory fish that form small groups of 2-7 fish rather than large, dense schools. They are often found around offshore banks, seamounts or wrecks. Wahoo feed on small fish such as herring, flying fish, pilchards and immature tuna and mackerel.
Range
Wahoo may be found in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans in tropical and sub-tropical waters. Seasonal concentrations can be found off the Pacific coast of Panama, Costa Rica and Baja during the summer, Grand Cayman in the Atlantic during winter and spring and off the western Bahamas during the spring and fall.