Number of rigs, all skirts, all plugs, or mix

[Wake er up]

Afternoon. I'm new to the wahoo hunt and could use a little advice just short of purchasing a wahoo charter and seeing how they do it.
I fished out of Haulover inlet in North Miami this weekend with 4 different colored wobble plugs in 16 to 18 mph speed. After about 30 min heading north in 250 ft, I ended up with 5 gallons of tangled mess. If it's going to happen, it'll happen to me. Do you think I used too many plugs at the same time. I didn't send any deep, I just used torpedo lead. 32's out back and 24's up front. I don't have out riggers, I just use the gunnels. Anyone know if I'm wasting my time for wahoo out of haulover? Would I be better off using skirts and plugs or all skirts. Bringing one of these to the deck all lit up is my goal this year along with losing my sword cherry.

[wahooking]

Wake,

You are not wasting your time....You just have to fine tune some things....If your going to fish plugs, only fish two....If you want more lines in the water, fish straight running high speed lures...Your rig should consist of a trolling sinker rig + 15' of shock leader + 3' of cable leader to lure....Mark your lines in incriments of 50' and start with the shortest at 100' back..Second goes to 150', third to 200' etc...Set your marks at your rod tip and you will never get tangled.

No need for outriggers....fish everything off the tip...your drags should be set just to the point were your line isn't creeping off the reel.

Once you have the proper gear and tackle, the other half is locating the fish...

http://www.swordfishingcentral.com/w...h-fishing.html

Just south of Port Everglades and between Pompano and Jupiter has defined ledges...This is the area you want to target...You want to zig-zag the ledges on the outgoing tides...Your best outgoing tide to target is on or around the new/full moon...It's always the first tide in the morning in our part of the World.

High Speed Wahoo trolling requires trial and error....Stick with it and you will see results.

Anthony
Ace Fishing Lures
www.wahooking.com

[Wake er up]

Thanks a lot for the advice. I'll put it to good use. I'm sure I'll be posting pix soon. D

[Uncle Ji]

Here in the islands (Hawaii) we rig the flatlines (non-outrigger) for Wahoo (Ono) usually chrome jetheads with darker skirts the most popular color being purple & black. We usually troll at 8 knots but for high speed trolling we'll rig the jetheads with lead egg sinker under the skirt between the head and hook the weight and amount depending on lure and speed trolled though 2 to 3 one once eggs is a good start. We reserve the outriggers for resin head skippers for Marlin and Mahmahi. For some reason the Marauder sytle plugs have never caught on here.

[Renegade]

WAKE,
WAHOOKING IS DEAD ON THE MONEY, IF YOU TAKE HIS ADVISE AND KEEP AT IT, IT WILL PAY OFF. THE ONLY ADVISE I COULD OFFER, IF YOU ARE REALY SET ON LANDING SOME WAHOO IS FISH THE BAHAMAS. STARTING IN NOVEMBER THE BITE WILL TURN ON RED HOT AND IT WILL LAST WELL INTO MARCH. IF YOU PULL OUT A CHART AND LOOK FOR THE DROP OFFS ( 200 - 600 FT. ) YOU CAN'T MISS. FISH THE DROP OFF IN AN S PATTERN FROM SHALLOW TO DEEP THEN BACK SHALLOW. DO THIS ON AN OUT GOING TIDE, AND YOU WILL CATCH FISH. I STARTED HIGH SPEED TROLLING THE WHITE SANDS RIDGE AREA IN 1997 AND HAVE BEEN FISHING IT SINCE. I FISHED IT LAST WEEK WHILE TROLLING TO A DEEP DROP SPOT AND CAUGHT A HOO 25-30 LBS. WAHOO ARE THERE YEAR ROUND BUT IN THE WINTER MONTHS YOU CAN HAVE DOUBLE DIGIT DAYS. I HAVE LANDED FISH THERE IN THE 80 TO 100+ RANGE BUT THE AVERAGE IS 25 - 35 LBS. AND IF YOU HOOK ONE IN THE WINTER MONTHS IN THE BAHAMAS HIT THE MOB ON YOUR GPS. AND GO BACK THROUGH THE AREA YOU SHOULD HOOK UP AGAIN, AS THIS IS THE TIME WHEN THEY ARE SCHOOLING. ALSO IF YOU HOOK UP KEEP THE BOAT MOVING WITH OUT SLOWING DOWN FOR 15 - 20 SEC. THIS WILL GIVE YOU A SHOT AT A DOUBLE OR TRIPLE. BEST OF LUCK TO YOU.

[Wake er up]

Thanks for the advice. I've heard the wahoo bight is hot in the Bahamas in November. I can hardly wait. I've got all the rigs I need. Now I just need to go! D

[flcapt]

I know that many people report that you need to go 15kts+ but that really lends itself to many problems, such as very high fuel costs by the end of a long day of trolling, very limited in the number of rigs that you can pull under those conditions, esp if it is rough out. The other thing I dislike the most about those speeds is the need for heavier tackle and not being able to fish more lines.

I have done very very well trolling between 9 and 11 kts, this lets me use tackle such as 30w and 50w and to put out a spread of 7 to 9 rods.

The more rods in the water the more fish you will catch! I have had many double digit days with this spread and it is a much more enjoyable day for all with the lighter tackle and little or no extra trolling weights on the leaders.

Actually I seldom add the large trolling weights to my rigs, I prefer to add extra weight to my lures so they stay deeper in the water. I am also able to use my riggers at these speeds to give me a greater spread and easier turning without tangles.

I would suggest that you keep most of your lures darker, black and orange or dk blue and pink. Anything along those lines will do you very well. I am not saying that those are the only colors that work but theyare by far the most realiable. I will put out a bright pink in the mix just to get their attention.

Many people think that wahoo lures need to be a mile back, not so, the main reason people fish so far back is again the high speeds most people fish at. I always have my center rigger way back but the rest of the spread is just as would set it up for yellowfins, including 2 flat lines (30' back).

Well thats my 2 cents I hope it helps, if you have more questions feel free to contact me.

Capt Frank

[Relentless33]

I couldn't help but notice the Barnegat Light, NJ on the boat.

I'm up there a few times a year and atleast once or twice every summer. Next time I am up in LBI I'll look for the boat.



That's an incredible day of wahoo up there. Do you go after the yellowfins much?

Thanks,
Jr.

[mozambik]

nice fish

thats a fat ass one