![]() Ninety percent of the catch comes from the Pacific Ocean. Recreational fishermen can keep up to two wahoo per day.Ĭommercially, Hawaii supplies the majority of wahoo in the U.S. Landings have ranged between 300,000 and 2 million pounds since 1981. Historically, NOAA says the wahoo fishery in the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico has been recreational. Wahoo is believed to be abundant and can support a high rate of harvest. They generally compete with tuna for the same kind of food, but can feed on larger prey by using their extremely sharp teeth to render prey into bite-size pieces. Wahoo mainly feed on squid and fish, including frigate mackerel, butterfish, porcupine fish, and round herring. They kind of burn out after that," said DeGennaro. Fishermen often talk about their first run as their strongest. Some estimates have them traveling at speeds up to 50 miles per hour, which make them a thrilling fish to have on the end of the line. ![]() Many sport fishermen when motoring to different areas or racing back to the barn at speeds of 20 knots will drop some heavy bullet lures behind the boat for a chance hook up with a wahoo. Massey estimates they are probably the second- or third-fastest fish in the ocean: "They're very quick and they have no problem chasing down a lure at 25 knots." So the species can travel long distances. But a wahoo that was tagged during one study was recaptured 6½ months later more than 1,700 miles away. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration does not have much info collected on their migrating patterns. We trolled around for awhile looking for more but didn't see another," said Roth. That one got away, never getting the hook in its mouth. One of its traveling companions came up and grabbed and shredded a lure that was hanging by the side of the boat. Roth said they were having a slow day trolling for tuna when their bait was chased down by a speeding wahoo. They're frequently found alone or in small, loosely connected groups rather than compact schools. Wahoo grow fast, up to eight feet and 158 pounds, and have a short life span, five or 6 six years in the Atlantic Ocean and nine years in the Pacific Ocean. "That was the biggest one I've ever seen," said Roth. The fish made one jump when it was first hooked, then took a deep dive. "When he first hit he took quite a bit of line, he was really dumping it off the reel," said Roth. Bernie Roth of the Tenacious, which docks in Brick, was in the Hudson Canyon on July 11 when they landed a 90-pound wahoo that hit a white skirted ballyhoo he was trolling at 6½ to 7 knots. The fish have been known to come closer inshore.Ĭapt. In the Atlantic Ocean, they like to hang near Sargassum, a floating brown seaweed, that serves both as coverage and a place to forage. The fish have been darting in and out of the Hudson Canyon following warm Gulf Stream eddies since June. They live in tropical waters year-round but are also found in higher latitudes during the summer. Wahoo are in the family of mackerels, tunas and bonitos. Many fishermen in New Jersey and elsewhere up and down the East coastline call them "hoos," silver bullets or wazillas.Ĭolorwise, they are steel blue above and pale blue below and have a series of 25 to 30 irregular blackish-blue vertical bars on their sides. Other places wahoo inhabit have different names for them like peto or guajo at the Spanish-speaking Caribbean and South American docks. Dave DeGennaro of the Hi Flier, who caught his only wahoo, a 30 pounder, 20 years ago on the Gail Frances out of Point Judith, Rhode Island. Their pale pink meat turns white when cooked. In Hawaii, they're called Ono, which means "good to eat." Wahoo are esteemed by fishermen for their speed, fighting qualities and excellent flavor. The first lure I made caught that fish," he said. "It's funny, we were fishing a week before and I lost an old lure that was probably made in Hawaii. The incident became the inspiration for the name of Laceration Lures, Massey's wholesale lure company located in Raleigh, North Carolina. "It's one of the few fish with a scissor-action jaw, its teeth are razor sharp," said Massey. Massey's flesh required 12 double stitches to mend and he could not walk for a month and a half. In a flash, the fish torqued its body and spun on the gaff and its mouth came right across his ankle, cutting it down to the bone. "We caught the fish, gaffed it, pulled it over the side and then it wedged itself in the corner," he said. Joey Massey remembers fishing off the coast of North Carolina in 2010 when his crew hooked and boated a wahoo. Catching one means a battle and good eats on the table. They're so fast, in a blink of an eye they can fool you in or out of the water.
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