Species 06. Acanthocybium solandri
Wahoo fishing in the Canary Islands
The fastest strike you will feel here. A wahoo hits a lure at speeds that empty a reel before anyone has stood up, and it does it with a mouth full of razors.
Overview
The wahoo is a long, ribbon-bodied member of the mackerel family, built for one thing: acceleration. It is among the fastest fish in the ocean over a short burst.
When we find an active concentration several fish can come at once. On certain days we have had up to seven simultaneous strikes. It does not happen every day: it depends entirely on how the fish are behaving, but when it does, nobody forgets it.
It is also one of the best species to start offshore fishing with: the speed and aggression give intense fights even on mid-sized fish, and the tackle stays light, 20 to 50 lb class.
Its teeth are the reason every wahoo rig carries a wire or heavy fluorocarbon bite section. Lose that detail and you lose the fish and the lure.
In the Canaries it is an autumn and early winter fish, and it holds tight to structure.
Where
Where to look
Structure, and specifically where the current accelerates over it. Wahoo ambush: they sit where the water does the work for them, near banks, ledges and steep edges.
They do not roam like tuna. If you find one, work that piece of water properly before moving.
Best islands for this species
How we fish it
How we fish it
High-speed trolling: considerably faster than for marlin. The speed is not for show: it is what triggers a fish built for acceleration.
We work the lures deeper than most people expect, because wahoo often sit below the surface layer and come up to hit.
Fishing Intelligence
Conditions we look for
Here bathymetry and current matter more than anything on the surface. We look for the places where structure forces water to accelerate, and we work them at speed.
Questions
About wahoo
Why trol so fast?
Because the fish is built for it. A wahoo will chase down a lure moving at fifteen knots: slower presentations get passed over in favour of easier prey.
Is it good eating?
Excellent, and it is a species we keep within sensible limits.
We don't wait for the fish. We follow them.
Book a wahoo day
Send us your dates and the species you are after. We will tell you honestly what the ocean is likely to be doing.