Wahoo question?

[Tuna Man]

I am in the beginning/learning stages of chasing the monster wahoo. Yesterday, I hooked up with a large wahoo while trolling with a large purple Yozuri Bonito around the Mars and Cajun Express oil rigs. This reel screamed for a short while off the stern and then my line went slack and then all the sudden about 90 degrees off my port side this fish began thrashing and splashing as if it was chasing baitfish or it was mad. Is this something that happens sometimes after a hook up and miss with larger wahoo? Maybe this is when it actually lost the hook or just dropped the lure? This was confusing for me at the time because I did not think the fish I had hooked should be right there off my port side.

[mneptune]

Wahoo are some of the fastest fish that swim in the ocean. It is not uncommon at all for a wahoo to swim or charge the boat after being hooked. IF you get a hit that you believe may be a wahoo bite and the line suddenly goes slack, reel like a madman because he may still be hooked up and is just charging the boat.

[WhItEoUt 23]

Originally Posted by Tuna Man

I am in the beginning/learning stages of chasing the monster wahoo. Yesterday, I hooked up with a large wahoo while trolling with a large purple Yozuri Bonito around the Mars and Cajun Express oil rigs. This reel screamed for a short while off the stern and then my line went slack and then all the sudden about 90 degrees off my port side this fish began thrashing and splashing as if it was chasing baitfish or it was mad. Is this something that happens sometimes after a hook up and miss with larger wahoo? Maybe this is when it actually lost the hook or just dropped the lure? This was confusing for me at the time because I did not think the fish I had hooked should be right there off my port side.

Reel like a mad man sounds like when the fish made a u turn and showed up on port side thrashing on top thats when he shook the hooks becuse of the slack in the line.Or it was a different fish

[Harry Klauber]

Sketchy story - can't determine if you think the fish you saw was the one you hooked or another fish.

First rule of wahoo fishing is when they grab a lure, especially those big plugs, they might only have the thing in their jaws and not be hooked so NEVER slow down until the fish has pulled enough line off the reel, against at least 20 pounds of drag on 80# test, to be certain the fish is hooked. Once the fish is ON and solidly hooked NEVER let the line get slack as the moment the line gets slack the head shakes start and especially with those big plugs they have a tendency to throw the hook. Keep the boat in gear at all times and a good bend in the rod. You can always drop the reel into low and crank them in while never allowing them to come racing at you.

On those big plugs single hooks on swivels are the only way to go. You should be fishing with 80# test and trolling at about 7-8 knots with the plugs for the best action on them. Your drags should have at least 20 pounds at strike so when the fish hits you have the best chance of driving the iron home. We troll jet heads with in line lead at 15 knots in the Bahamas and have great success but the same rules apply - heavy line, heavy drag at strike, don't slow down until certain the fish is solidly hooked and doesn't just have your lure in it's jaws, and always keep a good bend in the rod. Your success rate will improve if you try all of the above. Good Luck - you are fishing in a GREAT area. Harry

[Tuna Man]

Sorry, this story was sketchy in my head at the time and I was trying to describe what I was thinking at the time. I do believe now that the fish I saw is the fish that I had hooked and that I was wrong in pulling the throttles back too soon. I will check my drag this evening to see what it will register on the scale and I also think it is less than 20 lbs. That reel is a Penn 70 w/ 80 lb. mono. and it is also completely full of line so I would have had plenty of time to let line peel out while running ahead.

Thanks, there is nothing cooler than going fishing and the next day posting on this forum and being able to find out such helpful information on how to improve my next trip. It makes the anxiety that much greater as to when I can go again to try to use my valuable new information.

[Certifiable]

Bullseye Harry, you are right on target.

[weekley rehab]

bravo that is sound advice harry, thanks for sharing with all of us !

[Fishscottyf]

20 lbs. is a lot of heat right of the get go. Especially at those speeds. You may want to try about 12 lbs at strike and then push it up a little more when he slows down. With planners we have to fish so much drag to keep it from slipping out but as soon as you get the bite BACK IT OFF. Let him turn his head and calm down. As they were saying Wahoo are so fast with a lot of drag at first they will tear the hooks out. Always keep the boat moving so when they charge you with their head quivering the hooks wont fall out, also by continuing to troll you will be surprised at how many multiples you will catch.

[Tuna Man]

We made a trip out on Mother's Day and just so happens my wife caught the only keeper fish on the trip. With all the good advice from this site, we were able to get this 50 lb wahoo on the boat and my wife was the lucky one to bring it in on a Yozuri Bonita.

We left out of Grand Isle, LA on Sunday morning with a 2 ft forecast from 20 to 60 nm out and it was quite rougher on the way out than expected. Instead of running about 70 miles as planned, we ended up about 45 miles out fishing in the Mississippi Canyon. The weather began to lay as the day went on so it ended up being a nice trip and we boated the only hook-up we had that day.

[Blackout]

[Barely Legal]

Nice fish and good advise Now you know how to do it. My purple yozuri is almost red from the bite marks and it hasnt put 1 in the boat... that damn thing is cursed. I remember seeing about an 80 pounder jump behind the boat with it in its mouth and it never got hooked ****. Catch em up!!

[Harry Klauber]

Jet heads outfish the big plugs as you miss far less fish BUT you burn ALOT more fuel in having to pull them at much higher speeds. I fish the long range trips out of San Diego regularly and when we troll wahoo the reels hang on straps from the rail and we pull 5
big Yozuris across the stern all rigged with big single hooks on swivels. The center one is about 60 feet back, the next two about 40 feet back and the corners no more than 20 feet back. The mate checks every drag and will NOT allow a reel to be set with less than 20 pounds at strike, or more if you are using 100# test. Your fishing rod is not even in play. Their hook up ratio is excellent ONLY because of the heavy strike drag, no bent rod involved, and the very short distance they are pulled behind the boat thus no line stretch. These guys are pros often catching well over 100 wahoo in a trip. If there was a better way they would do it. They have learned from more experience than any of us could ever get and I was lucky enough to learn from them. The lines are kept so short as they make sharp turns when chasing the fish on the side scan sonar and the wahoo don't seem to care as they strike right behind the boat, and this is a 125 footer. Harry

Barely Legal,
Try pulling that battered Yozuri that has never caught a fish right behind the boat on a heavy strike drag and watch how fast you start hooking them.

[Harry Klauber]

Originally Posted by Fishscottyf

20 lbs. is a lot of heat right of the get go. Especially at those speeds. You may want to try about 12 lbs at strike and then push it up a little more when he slows down. With planners we have to fish so much drag to keep it from slipping out but as soon as you get the bite BACK IT OFF. Let him turn his head and calm down. As they were saying Wahoo are so fast with a lot of drag at first they will tear the hooks out. Always keep the boat moving so when they charge you with their head quivering the hooks wont fall out, also by continuing to troll you will be surprised at how many multiples you will catch.

If you are pulling a lure that could create as much as 5-6 pounds of pull by itself, and your strike drag is only set at 12 pounds, all you are hooking the fish with is the difference between strike and the lure drag - effectively 6 pounds. It's just not enough. When we troll at 15 knots between the weight (up to 2 pounds), and the lure they create about 8-9 pounds of pull so at 20 pounds of drag at strike our effective hook setting drag is only 11-12 pounds. Wahoo have extremely hard mouths and few are ever lost due to pulled hooks. More wahoo are lost when the angler cannot reel fast enough, the boat is not moving continually forward during the fight, and the fish gets to shake it's head and uses the lure to help throws the hook.

When you wahoo troll there are 2 things never to be afraid of
1- We are trolling too fast
2- The strike drag is too heavy if your line can handle it without breaking. I'd rather do the exact opposite of light drag at strike and bump it up later if needed - heavy drag at strike and back it off a bit if you get a really big fish and are afraid of breaking your line. Remember the drag effectively increases on it's own as the spool diameter decreases.
Harry

[mneptune]

Originally Posted by Tuna Man

We made a trip out on Mother's Day and just so happens my wife caught the only keeper fish on the trip. With all the good advice from this site, we were able to get this 50 lb wahoo on the boat and my wife was the lucky one to bring it in on a Yozuri Bonita.

We left out of Grand Isle, LA on Sunday morning with a 2 ft forecast from 20 to 60 nm out and it was quite rougher on the way out than expected. Instead of running about 70 miles as planned, we ended up about 45 miles out fishing in the Mississippi Canyon. The weather began to lay as the day went on so it ended up being a nice trip and we boated the only hook-up we had that day.

Congrats Tuna Man, nice wahoo and some very fine eating. They are amazing fish to catch that's for sure.

[Capt. JJ]

Harry,
I think your logic is a bit off regarding effective strike drags and the pull of the gear in the water. You have to remember inertia. A 48 or 64 oz trolling lead moving away from the fish at strike (which is typically what happens) has its own moment of inertia. That lead helps slam the hooks home. From the reel, it feels as if there is less drag on the fish, but in reality, all that gear in the water is moving too, creating tremendous force against whatever fish hits it. Just my two cents.

Not saying I don't fish heavy drags, simply your justification for doing so is incorrect.

[Harry Klauber]

JJ,
Back to college physics. It's been awhile!! If I remember correctly

Momentum = Mass x Velocity

Sinker moving at a certain speed (being trolled) has momentum. Striking fish must exert enough force to overcome this momentum in one direction, as well as the added force required to overcome the strike drag, before it can start motion in the other direction as it swims pulling line off the reel. Giving you high marks for being correct in your explanation does not mean my "logic" is flawed. Its just that my belief is adding your "inertia" factor, which by the way is stored enegy but I get your point, from experience I believe you need the heavier drag settings to increase your chances of a better hook set at strike. Just my opinion and we should all fish the way we feel we have the greatest success, and I know you are succesful. Harry

[Capt. JJ]

Not trying to stir the pot. Already PM'd you back. Don't hit me with a trolling lead doing 15kts. It'll leave some inertia on my forehead.

[Harry Klauber]

JJ,
No problem! Sending you a PM on how to snag and drag 200+ YFT from a 1000 foot long ship. Harry

[weekley rehab]

well since we are talking about it when using planner we must increase the drag to keep planner from pulling off line, the fish hitting it does not have enough to pull drag but will pop planner, were is the happy medium

[Harry Klauber]

Patrick,
Once a planer is tripped it effectively creates no drag. I'm the wrong guy to ask as if I am trolling for big fish, or even drifting for swords, I fish with heavy drags at strike. You can't catch them if you don't hook them first. I'm of the feeling that you can always back off on the drag if a fish really makes a long run on you and the drag just starts to tighten due to decreasing spool diameter, and alot of line in the water, but make the fish work to get all that line off your reel. Alot of guys say start loose and you can always bump it up - if it isn't already too late. Just my opinion. Harry

[WhItEoUt 23]

Originally Posted by weekley rehab

well since we are talking about it when using planner we must increase the drag to keep planner from pulling off line, the fish hitting it does not have enough to pull drag but will pop planner, were is the happy medium

bigger fish.Once that fish pops that planner if its a small fish he's goona start skipping on top dont even slow down reel up to the planner hand line your shock cord in and reset.Never stop the boat

[Capt. JJ]

With planers, the only effective cushion is the mono after the planer, as I fish braid. When there are plenty of wahoo around, I'll back the drag off a bit on the first run, and a little more once the planer is at the rod tip. This enables me to dump the leader if necessary and not have the hooks pull out once the 80ft leader comes tight. It sure is fun, and takes some practice.

[Barely Legal]

I will only fish planners on wireline or oldschool handline. Use big gear and you wont have any problems. Like Harry and JJ said, dont worry about having too much drag on poles because handlines only have the mono strech for a drag system and wirelines dont have much either. Ive seen some big hoos get dragged in doing this. Theres my 2 cents