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Anyone ever do a wahoo on a fly?

4K views 11 replies 9 participants last post by  josko 
#1 ·
After a fun time with cuda, houndfish, casting to busting jacks from shore, etc - this local charter boat came in with a couple of serious hardtails.

The ahi on the starboard end of the transom looked like it could be had on a 12wt or 14wt but the 2 wahoo, known for an initial 300 yard run, scared the begeezus out of me standing there with my 9wt in hand.

Anyone ever done it?
 

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#3 ·
I've done the wahoo thing, and it's a thing of beauty. :D

My wife and I vacationed in Saint Martin in June of last year and took a blue water charter out for some bonita, yellowtail, and whatever else might be biting. We set up a chum slick to the north of Saint Bart's, and the smaller tuna started coming in strong. We were catching them on conventional gear, and I had noticed that the captain had a heavy (12wt) flyrod on hand. I asked him what it was for, and he told me I would know it when I saw it. Sure enough, not too long afterwards some fair sized wahoo came up to the source of the chum, and the captain gave me the long rod. I got hit by three separate wahoo over the course of the next hour, but only got the steel into one and eventually landed it. We estimated it to be between 25 and 30 pounds, and at some points it was out of the water more than it was in it. It was hooked within 10 yards of the boat, and the first run showed me the backing in about 4 seconds. I will never, never, never forget that fish, and I need to rely on my memory because we didn't have any cameras with us (they were left on the bed in the resort room).

I see it as potentially a once in a lifetime opportunity and I'm very glad to have experienced it. It can happen if the conditions are right, and we probably wouldn't have seen any of the wahoo without the chum slick.
 
#4 ·
St.Martins?! DoulbleHaul tell me more. What was the name of the charter boat/captain? Can you recomend others? What time of the year where you there? What time of the year has the best fishing?
I might find my self in St. Martins this winter, and would like to flyfish. Thanks.
 
#5 ·
Sounds great, wish I had the chance to try it. My wife and I honeymooned in St.Marten but I was ixne'd from fishing activities. We stayed on the dutch side near Mullet Bay. Maybe we ought to do the second honeymoon thing, but this time the fly rod comes with!
 
#6 ·
Eddie and Juro-

I guess that I'm lucky we got some fishing in during our honeymoon. My wife (God bless her heart) knows how tough it would have been on me to go to such a place and not fish, and she likes to catch a few herself. The charter we had was through the place that we stayed, Oyster Beach Resort on the Dutch/French border. We told the resort what we were looking for, and they contacted a bluewater excursion for us in the middle of the week. The boat was owned by a husband and wife team of Marc and Annie (weird, seeing how my wife and I are Mark and Anne). They had an obvious relationship with the resort, but I don't know the details. I was narrow-mindedly focused on the fishing.

The ironic part of it all is that in the months leading up to our honeymoon (first week of June), I had been trying to get a guide for some tarpon and cuda fishing on the flats and ledges.....nothing to be found. Apparently this is a self-service type of fishing there, and I found out upon our return that there is some pretty reliable tarpon fishing on the flats right behind the Butterfly Farm exhibit. There are others, but it's mostly local knowledge. So for the bluewater, that was a second choice. I'm very glad that it worked out the way it did.

Apparently the time of year isn't too important for wahoo. They are an open water fish that will follow bait, so once bait is found they might not be too far behind. CHUM HELPS. The boat ride from the island was appoximately 90 minutes to the fishing area we were in.

I wasn't able to glean too much info from our captain and wife....they spoke only French, and although I'm fluent in the language, it had been over 6 years since I had had any practical use for it. As for other charters, I began my search by typing "Saint Martin fishing" into a search engine, and refined my search from there. Ask what they have and what they might be willing to do for you. Some are very flexible, especially when they see American money. :)

Good luck if you go. You won't forget it.

By the way, I don't know who was more tired....me after the wahoo, or Anne after one of those stubborn yellowtails. :hehe:
 
#7 ·
The Christmas Island guys nail these within sight of the reef on the North shore pretty regularly - nobody was targetting them on flies though - the guides wanted as many lines trolling as possible - deep water trips are meat trips out there!

When I was there last year the guides came in most evenings with Wahoo in the 60 - 70lb class - defeinite world record fly prospects for anyone with the time and $$$ to soend. Awesome fish and one of the fastest in the ocean!

The yellowfin were pretty impressive too.
 
#8 ·
Wahoo are Kingfish?

How about Tobago? The locals serve what they call "Kings" that I believe are Wahoo as daily fare. I didn't fish for them, but they seemed to be common. The local fishermen went out daily to bring them in. I hear folks are heading down for Tarpon. Has anyone heard of flyfishing for Wahoo there?
 
#10 ·
Chasing Wahoo isn't that expensive if your base is Baja Mexico. I've never done it, because it frankly isn't that appealing to me. When you can cast to Tuna, big dorado, big roosters, and sails, teasing up Marlin and Wahoo loses its luster. Maybe one or two fish on an average day vs. a 20 fish day of barnburners you cast to... Hmmmm...

But if one wanted to, it can be done very reasonably. I'm doing 5 nights 4 days in a super Panga (twin engine 22 to 24 footer) for $1400 (all inclusive but alcohol) in October, and it would only be a grand if I was sharing the boat. Airfare is going to run me $310 from Seattle ROUNDTRIP!

But from the looks of it, this board can probably put together enough folks for a charter out of San Diego Ca. as in the Trey Combs videos. 16 crazies willing to volunteer? Do I detect heart palpitations out there?:devil:
 
#11 ·
Hmmm, Royal Prince from San Diego to Alejos Rocks for World Record Wahoo, Tuna and Marlin. Then continue down to Cabo for World Record margaritas :D

Now that sounds like a plan Philster!
 
#12 ·
Here's a trick for targeting Wahoo on flies. They'll come across a trolling spread and either cut off a couple of lures or get hooked. Immediately after recognizing this, stop the boat and cast into the wake. Let the fly dead-drift. The fish hunts by maiming its' prey and doubling back to eat, so chaces are they'll double back and find the fly.

If the boat's moved past the initial strike zone, or the fly guy is not ready, throw something overboard to mark the spot turn the boat around ASAP, and try to dump the fly as close to the initial strike as possible. One generally has a couple of minutes while the fish are searching for bits of whatewver they just attacked.

I've never tried this locally, since they are so rare around here, but routiunely have a wire-tippet rod ready when fishing the Pacific or Carribean.
 
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