The lever can easily be returned to the strike position after a fish is on. Once at speed (12 to 14 knots) push the lever drags as far forward as needed, even past strike if needed to prevent the line from creeping out while trolling. Whatever style of rod you use, lever drags reels are key. If you don’t have bent butts, no worries I started out with straight butts as well, however, the straight butts do have a ton more pressure on them due to the angle of pull vs. Reel wise, we use 50 class reels coupled with bent butt 50 class rods. Twelve knots create a lot of pressure on a gunnel mounted rod holder. As a caution, you may need to reinforce those rod holders under the gunnels with a backing plate. Rods are fished out of the left and right stern corner rod holders and one down the middle. So here is how we do it – we run a three-rod spread for wahoo, any more than that and it could get ugly with tangles and rod clearing. I have spent the last 7 years perfecting my high-speed trolling techniques for the Northeast and have been successful more than not. My personal best is 90 pounds, so bigger varieties are around. While back at home in New Jersey where I spend a lot of my time hunting ‘hoos, the state record is a whopping 123 pounds, 12 ounces. While most of the wahoo we catch in this region are 40 to 70 pounds, the world record is 187 pounds. Most anglers including myself keep a Billy club handy, a few hits to the head really “calms” the fish down and makes things safer for all. Care should be taken whenever handling a wahoo on deck. The teeth are razor sharp on all sides, and the way that the top and bottom jaw are arranged, they are like a pair of surgically sharp scissors. The jaws and teeth of a wahoo are a force to respect.
Besides speed, the ‘hoo has a second weapon, its jaws. No matter where you catch the wahoo, all anglers agree it is a delicacy! Its white steaks are great grilled, or as fish tacos.
The wahoo is never misidentified the long torpedo shape, electric blue back, chrome belly, and not to mention those unmistakable black bars along its flanks! Its torpedo shape and forked tail makes the wahoo one of the fastest sprinters in the ocean, being clocked at speeds up to 60 miles per hour! No wonder 12 knots is not too fast! While we call it wahoo in this region, in Hawaii it is known as Ono and in Central America it’s called Peto. Wahoo ( Acanthocybium Solandri) is found worldwide in tropical and subtropical seas. Look for the author contributing regularly there on social media. There is a Facebook group called Jersey ‘Hoo Hunters where you can jump onboard and share your wahoo stories and pics with the other wahoo afflicted anglers throughout the region.
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