WAHOO FISHING

Sea Bandit · Jun-21-2009, 10:35 AM

wHAT DO YOU GUYS RECOMEND AS THE BEST WAHOO JIG FOR CASTING AND NOT TROLLING. AS A REEL i HAVE USED A YELLOWTAIL SPECIAL YEARS AGO FOR FISHING WAHOO AND i AM WONDERING IF AN AVET HX 2 WILL GIVE ONE A BETTER CHANCE AT GETTING BIT BECAUSE OF THE HIGER GEAR RATIO. THANKS FOR YOUR ADVICE.

riceman1011 · Jun-21-2009, 10:49 AM

so are you saying only jigs... or bombs too?

yellowklr · Jun-21-2009, 10:53 AM

For hoo fishing In love my Avet L/X 6/3...........This past season it worked great for throwing the bombs and Iron.....I only have one Hoo iron but I love it-Black and red heavy Tady A1.

the junky · Jun-21-2009, 10:57 AM

Yes the HX will work just fine put 50lb on it. I use the Trinada 40n with 50. Fish tight drag and dont ever stop reeling even when their taken out line. If you get 1 out 3 your doing good. Wahoo bombs are great for casting with spinner blades sharpen the hooks more that what they come with. Gold Raider jigs are also great. Also have some wire leaders rigged up you can do that on the way down depends on how big the fish are to match the wire to size of fish. Trolling Mauraders Orange and black or black and purple. When you fine a good swimming one that catches fish dont ever stop using it. Be fast on your feet and follow your fish right away.

riceman1011 · Jun-21-2009, 11:00 AM

try both the bombs and irons to find out what you prefer... its all preference. Irons tend to get bit less but with a better hookup ratio... and bombs get bit more with a smaller hookup ratio... (let me know if it's the other way around, been a while) i dont fish irons... but from what i see the Catchy Tackle 22 work great... Cant go wrong with either the bomb or jig

Sea Bandit · Jun-21-2009, 11:16 AM

JEFF

I HAVENT FISHED WAHOO IN OVER 10 YEARS. I HAVE ALWAYS USED MARAUDERS FOR TROLLING AND SALAS 6X JR FOR CASTING. THERE IS A LOT OF GEAR THAT I AM TOTALLY UNFAMILIAR WITH AND I WANT TO GET CAUGHT UP ON WHAT IS WORKING NOW.

Steve K · Jun-21-2009, 11:22 AM

Jigs that were working well for me were the Catchy Tackle Sea Strike 33. Colors on this trip did not seem to matter whether Chrome or Gold or one of the painted variety.

Regarding wiring your jigs. I have fished a couple of trips with excellent Wahoo fishing. One was in October of '05 and we had 50 in one day on the ridge. For a 10 day in October, that's a damn good day of fishing Wahoo. With many sportboats on their 10 day schedule plus all the private yachts the ridge gets pretty corroded with boats at that time of year and the fish can be very touchy with too much pressure. Seems like the general rule is that the fish in a particular area that gets visited repeatedly, like Alijos Rocks, will be more touchy than open water schools and those on kelps, Of course every day and every situation is different.

Anyway, one of the guys lost a dozen jigs, stright tied with mono, and managed to catch about 5 or 6. I was throwing the bombs and fishing bait and had 4 or 5.

On the last trip, June Heat, the Wahoo fishing was simply WFO. One of our visiting anglers fished his ass off to catch a limit of skinnies and was fishing his jigs stright tied. I have no idea how many jigs he lost, but it was a bunch. I was fishing my jigs wired and managed a total of 11 that I tagged, not to mention the ones we released. I also got a fish or two on bait, as an incidental catch while fishing for tuna, and managed one or two of them on the troll.

That's about everything I know about Wahoo as well as knowing this; they're hard to catch.

BOILER · Jun-21-2009, 11:45 AM

I was talking to a friend of mine the other day about fishing Wahoo while we were going over my tackle. He was telling me that he preffered the Hopkins jigs more then any other and for this reason. He says when the Wahoo bite down on the hard metal without any paint that their mouth tends to slide towards the hook and you get more solid hookups with these then any other. He was also saying that because of the hardness of these jigs that is the reason for the jig sliding through there mouths until the hook itself hits the mouth. Number 2 on his list was bombs wired of course. Hope this helps, seemed to help me some..

fishordie · Jun-21-2009, 12:03 PM

For this fisherman who fishes artificials as much or more than anyone on any trip I am on I have come to realize there is NO one best artificial for all Wahoo applications. Conditions seem to dictate color and size and yes, I do absolutely believe in normal Wahoo applications, color does mater as does size. In a WFO bite, which is rare but Steve K was just in one, most everything gets bit.

That said, I have found conditions were Gold background Raiders were by far the best. Red Mackerel, Pink, Yellow Tapes were the colors to go to. Then, depending on water color and who knows what else I have seen the stones where Chrome and Blue tape Raiders were the best. Depending on current and what depth the fish are holding
I tend to use 125 gram mostly with 150 for a bit more current.

Just when I though Raiders were the only way to go I end up in May with the Crazies on Ralph Mikklesons Excel trip. Wahoo would come and go but some Bombs, with some homemade additions like colored pipe cleaner, additional skirt material, etc. seemed to be working great. The great thing about the bombs is they are already wired so you tend to lose less of those.

Since I almost only fish jigs for Wahoo I cannot go with only one jig. It kills me and others when a jig w do not have is working the best.

If you had asked this question 3 years ago I would have said the 125 gram gold Raider with the Red Mackerel tape or the Purple 125 raider with the silver tape. 2 years ago I would have said Gold 125 or 150 gram Raiders with the pink tape, 1 year ago it would have been the 125 gold raider with the pink but this year I would consider both the 125 gold Raider with pink or yellow tape as well as the bombs with either the purple/red/silver skirt or the mexican flag colors.

For me, I have them all and will try different ones until I find the best for me for the given conditions which by the way can change day to day. That might even include throwing my Jamie 6X jrs with my finish on them, Chrome or Gold Hopkins in the smaller size or Catchy's Seastrike 33's. I feel I have some Idea what to start with depending on water color but that can all change if I see someone else getting bit better than me in which case I will look and see or ask what that person is using. I have no problem changing over to what is working for someone else.

For Riceman, I have to believe the Raiders get bit more often in most but not all cases. However, because the bombs are wired fewer are required. Hook up ratio tends to be more operator specific however NOONE I know gets em all. It seems there are times those dang fish are just Near or Far sighted and end up biting 15 inches away from the jig. They are a tough fish to get hooked. That is what Makes Wahoo my very favorite fish in the sea to catch.

In closing, If you are going to fish an area that might have Wahoo, and you really love to fish jigs, then buying jigs of varying sizes, types and colors is just part of the game. But Maaaaan its a great game.

Have a great jig season

Jamie

Rubberhook2 · Jun-21-2009, 12:34 PM

I prefer the 200 gram model of the Raider jig. Gets bit well and because of its butter knife like shape it comes through the water with little resistance which means no arm fatigue after hours of casting and winding.

Can't go wrong with a large Raider jig...

JSR · Jun-21-2009, 02:35 PM

6x jr tarbaby
blk/purp butterfly jig stinger hook

Rubberhook2 · Jun-21-2009, 03:03 PM

Orange and Black Marauders still work but my all time favorite trolling lure for wahoo is called the Hooker Intruder in Eggplant color (Black and purple). Same size as a large size Marauder. The best wahoo trolling lure I have ever used...