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Bait battles: Live Bait, Dead Bait, Lures

Bait battles: Live Bait, Dead Bait, Lures

Fisherman have been debating which type of bait works best on docks around the world for years. However, when it is all said and done, each type of bait is a different tool for fisherman,  much like a mechanic would have various types and sizes of wrench’s.  The purpose of this article is to compare and contrast the pros and cons of each.

Live Baits – the first thing that comes to mind is the old saying “it is easier to feed them, than it is to fool them”. And while it cannot get more realistic than the actual thing, live baits come with their own set of challenges:

Acquiring live bait is neither easy or cheap. To fill your livewell with ample baits for a day offshore you either need to spend significant time catching your own bait or purchase your bait from the local bait guy. A dozen baits can range from $40 to $120 per dozen depending on type of bait and time of year.

For most fisherman storing live bait is typically not an option. Due to this, the expensive live baits you just purchased from the bait guy are only good for one fishing trip.

Live baits that are stored in a bait pen require daily attention to prevent starvation or being eaten by predators like sharks.

Live baits must be bump trolled or pitched to a free swimming fish.  The amount of ground you can cover compared to trolling dead bait or lures will be much less. However, they are a great option if you are fishing a very condensed area or waiting for fish to come to you.

  Dead Baits – such as rigged ballyhoo or mullet represent the middle ground between live bait and lures.

Fisherman have two options, they can purchase ballyhoo that are pre -rigged or purchase unrigged ballyhoo and rig them on their own. The down side to pre- rigged ballyhoo is they are often rigged using extremely low quality hooks and crimps which are not up to the stress of a long fight with a qualty fish. If rigging your own ballyhoo, you can use higher quality hooks, crimps and leader that can hold up to a large fish. However the downside to rigging ballyhoo is time consuming and very messy. Part of the reason I started a lure business was because I got tired of smelling like a ballyhoo every Friday night during tournament season.

Compared to live baits dead bait is relatively easy to store in any bait freezer if vacuum bagged to prevent freezer burn. You can typically only refreeze a ballyhoo one time before they become mush and loose their consistency.

Ballyhoo are prone to washing out if they are trolled too quickly. To increase the distance you can troll a rigged ballyhoo I recommend using a small lure as a topper to reduce wash out. We frequently use our micro series with the skirts trimmed short for excellent results.

Most fish tend to strike a bait’s tail to disable it and then spin around and finish the whole meal. Because of this, if it very common to retrieve a ballyhoo that is missing it’s tail. I personally find nothing more frustrating than knowing I missed a fish as it hit the bait behind the hook. When ballyhoo are rigged with the hook in the middle, as most are, you dramatically reduce your hook up ratio.

Trolling Lures – lures represent the opposite end of the spectrum when compared to live bait.

Lures typically have a significantly better hook up ratio compared to live or dead bait. This is because anglers are able to rig a lure using the ideal hook placement with a single or double hook set. Most successful tournament anglers agree that small to medium size lures perform best with a single hook set with the hook located in the rear most part of the lure skirt. Larger lures with a greater strike zone perform best with a double hook set. Lastly since most lures come rigged with very high quality hooks, crimps, and terminal tackle they are excellent for extended battles with big fish.

Lures do not need to be frozen or stored in a live bait pen. Because of this they are excellent for extended trips in the islands when bringing large amounts of frozen bait or live bait is simply not possible. In addition, since lures do not need to be procured every morning prior to departing the inlet you can often times be the first boat on the fishing grounds while others search for bait.

While trolling lures are typically not cheap, they are cost effective when you compare the number of fish a lure can catch compared to a rigged ballyhoo or live bait. I use lures heads that have caught upwards of 50 fish with only scratches to show. Try doing that with a ballyhoo or blue runner.

Lastly, they are fish after all so don’t give them too much credit. Fish are programmed by nature to do two things: eat and reproduce. I personally don’t believe that fish are smart enough to realize that lures aren’t food, at best they may notice that it is different. When the lure is trolled by, the fish has already decided it is going to eat the lure from 30+ feet away.

  When it is all said and done, no one type of bait is better than the other. Each is a different tool with their own set of pros/cons to be used by fisherman with a wide variety of solutions. When considering which type of bait is best for your application you should evaluate the pros and cons of each.

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  The post Bait battles: Live Bait, Dead Bait, Lures appeared first on Live Wire Tackle.

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How to Find Pelagic Fish Offshore?

One of the most common questions new offshore fisherman ask is “How do I find Fish Offshore?”. To be quite honest there is no one right answer, everyday on the water is different. The open ocean is extremely vast and 99% of the fish occupy 1% of the water. To be successful you need to find the pockets of water were fish are congregating. In the most general terms, we will classify the following into fixed structures and moving indicators.

Moving Indicators

Birds are some of the best fisherman on the planet, and for hundreds of years, fisherman have followed them to find fish. Frigate birds are notoriously good at locating bait fish due to incredible eye sight and their ability to cover 100’s of miles in a single day. Studies have found a bird’s eye can dramatically outperform a human’s while using the world’s best binoculars. Additionally, frigate birds can fly continuously without landing for months in order to cover incredible amounts of ground.  Frigate birds are unable to land in the water because their feathers are not water proof. Due to this, frigate birds rely on game fish such as Tuna, Mahi, and Billfish to drive small baitfish such as flying fish and sardines to the surface where they swoop in.

Because frigate birds rely on game fish to feed, they often will follow schools of game fish until a feeding frenzy begins. Understanding the feeding patterns and lifestyle of a frigate bird is very important as it will allow you to read the birds you find in the open ocean.

The best way to consistently find bird is using an open array radar. I personally use a 6kw Open array radar paired with a Furuno Navnet 3d to find birds. (For more information on radar use, see our article on finding birds with radar.)

When you do find a bird, you will need to read it’s body language to understand what the fish below are doing. When the fish below are stationary it is very common to see the birds circling the exact same location of even diving on bait depending on the frenzy. In this situation, you do not want to drive your boat directly under the bird as this will cause the fish and bait to scatter and ruin your chance at catching anything. It is best to give the bird space as you troll past and turn your boat as you pass the flock dragging your lures directly under the birds without spooking the fish below.

Weed lines act as floating eco systems that attract predators at all levels of the food chain. The floating sargasim weed provides incredible shelter for small baitfish, shrimp and crabs to thrive. The small baits fish that seek shelter in the weed then attract Mahi, Wahoo, triple tail, and occasionally marlin or sailfish. The formation of weed lines is very dependent on prevailing winds and currents. There isn’t much magic involved when it comes to finding weed lines which is a blessing and a curse. Since weed lines are easy to find it is not uncommon to see several boats fishing the patch of weed. It pays to be the first boat on the weed line, as they can quickly get picked over by late morning.

Floating debris like logs, pallets, abandoned boat or other items can be an offshore gold mine. Because floating debris are often much harder to spot compared to weed lines they receive significantly less pressure. Because of this, a piece of debris may go several days or possible weeks without seeing a fisherman. The light fishing pressure provides bait and game fish time to populate. The longer a floater goes without being fished, the more likely it is to contain larger fish like trophy mahi, wahoo or marlin.

If you spot a piece of floating debris do not initially run directly to the object, begin trolling around the perimeter as game fish could be holding as far as several hundred yards off the perimeter then work your way closer with each lap.  Only after you have made several distant laps around an object should you pass directly by the object.

Fixed structures like oil rigs, under water sea mounds, and deep water canyons can produce legendary fishing conditions. Fixed structures tend to be well known by many fisherman and can often receive significant pressure.

Oil Rigs dot the landscape in the Northern Gulf of Mexico along the Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas coast. Every oil rig acts as huge ecosystems for anything that swims in the ocean. These incredible structures served as a sanctuary for small crabs and bait fish that large pelagic gamefish feed on. The oil rigs are often times 100’s of feet in diameter and penetrate the ocean thousands of feet. Because of the sheer size of the structures, oil rigs can produce incredible quantities of baitfish that attract pelagic fish daily. See our list of popular oil rigs to fish ADD Link

Under water sea mounts (AKA humps) such as the Marathon Humps, Islamorada Humps, 409 humps are natural under water mountains that rise up 100’s of feet from the bottom of the ocean floor. For example, the marathon hump which is approximately 30 nautical miles off Marathon in the Florida Keys rises to 475 ft from the surface and drops like a cliff to 1200 feet in a matter of feet. Because the humps are so large they disturbed subsurface currents and create upwelling’s that drives nutrient rich water from the deep up to the surface of the ocean as the water is forced up and over the hump. The conveyor belt of nutrients is famous for congregating black fin tuna, wahoo, and Mahi. At times the current from the upwelling’s is so strong it can produce sections of extremely rough water on a day when the surrounding waters are glassy calm.

The down side of fishing the humps, is they are well known by many local fisherman and tend to receive lots of pressure.  Due to this, it pays to be the first boat on the lump in the morning, which often means leaving the inlet prior to sunrise.  For the best results focus on trolling small lures like a hit man or trouble maker micro first thing in the morning around the perimeter and across the top of the hump.

Drop offs and ledges – the first thing that comes to mind when I think of fishing drop offs or ledges, is the Bahamas. The ledges that skirts the perimeter of the little Bahama bank and great Bahama bank is extremely pronounced. There, the topography plunges from 10 feet of water on the Bank to over 600 ft over the course of several hundred yards. This dramatic bottom contour creates incredible fishing grounds. These areas are famous for producing huge wahoo during November to March and Big Mahi, Tuna, or Marlin in April through June. For more info, check out our other articles about high speed trolling for Wahoo in the Bahamas. WAHOO IN THE BAHAMAS

Lastly when looking for fish, it helps to think like a fish.  In general, fish are relatively simple animals and care about two major things:

Food source – In my opinion, bait is the main and most important factor when determining where fish will congregate. For example, a Mahi will eat between 10%-20% of their body weight daily. If you find the bait, you will often find the fish.

Living Conditions – pelagic fish are very particular when it comes to where they will and will not travel. Just like a human will always pick a seat in the shade on a hot day. Pelagic fish tend to prefer specific temperatures, salinity levels, and clarity. Ideal conditions will vary by specific species, but in general you will have the best luck in clear blue water between that is between 75 and 85 degrees.

Pelagic fish are constantly moving in search of food and favorable living conditions. Game fish are able to cover incredible amounts of ground in a single day. Because of this, every day on the water is a new day. Just because you wacked them in one area yesterday doesn’t mean you will again next weekend. Sometimes you just have to put some miles down and find where the fish are holding on any given day.

The post How to Find Pelagic Fish Offshore? appeared first on Live Wire Tackle.

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How to Catch Wahoo in Florida

Wahoo can be caught year round along the Atlantic coast of Florida from Key West to Jacksonville. However, the most productive time to target wahoo in south Florida is during the July and August full moons along the east coast of Florida.  The three most important things to consider when targeting wahoo is structure, water movement, and the season.  When the stars align and all three of these conditions happen favorably you will be sure to load your fish box.

The reason anglers are most successful during the July and August full moon is 100% due to water movement. During July and August, the moon is the closest it will be to south Florida.  Due to this, the full moon will produce the two largest tide swings along the east coast of Florida during the entire year.  Large tide swings produce very favorable currents, which will congregate wahoo.

When the high tide falls, bait and other nutrients will be flushed out of the intercostal waters and shallow coast areas into the deep ocean water. The dropping tide acts as a conveyor belt, funneling food to pelagic fish in deeper water. This feeding trough will cause wahoo to stack up in 100-400 feet of water just a few miles off the cost of south Florida. While you can catch wahoo during any tide condition, you will have the best luck during the out going tide.

If I had to pick a single depth to troll in a straight line, it would be 175 ft. However, there are many days where you will find them deeper some when you find the fish shallower. But for the best and most consistent results you should focus your efforts on covering lots of ground until you find where the fish are holding. To cover ground I troll in a zig-zag pattern between 150 and 400 feet of water.

While wahoo can be caught trolling at any speed, they are one of the fastest fish in the ocean. Wahoo do not have a problem destroying baits that are pulled upwards of 20 mph. I prefer to high speed troll between 15-20 MPH(speed over water) depending on seas and current. When trolling with the current, your GPS speed will likely be at the top of the range or possibly even above. When trolling against the current, your GPS speed will be at the lower end of the range. With all that being said, your boat will have the final say on your trolling speed. Every hull is different, and each will have a sweet spot.

Most wahoo are caught during low light conditions when the sun is rising or setting. When the sun is directly over head, the wahoo tend to push deeper into darker water, and do not feed at or near the surface.  When the fish push deeper they are significantly less likely to bite. Additionally, there are so many fisherman in South Florida, the shear number of people fishing puts significant pressure on the fishery. Because of the fishing pressure, it typically pays to be one of the first boats on the water. As the saying goes, “the early bird gets the worm”.

If fishing in the morning you should plan to have lines in the water 45 min prior to sunrise as published by any weather app. The morning bite will typically last for 2 hours after the sun has risen. Once the sun has been up for more than two hours the fish will push deep and be extremely hard to catch.

South Florida Wahoo Spread – generally speaking, small to medium size lures are more productive when fishing off of south Florida. Due to the high fishing pressure, and the smaller numbers of fish in the area we find down sizing lures to be the most productive.

Shortest Line(150 Ft behind boat) – I always run my heaviest trolling weights closest to the boat, The additional weight helps to keep the baits down below the prop wash. I run a 48oz trolling lead on my shortest line. From the trolling weight I run a 25ft shock chord made from 300lbs mono. I always prefer to run my largest bait on the shortest line. This will make it appear as the strongest and healthiest fish is the leader of the pack.  My go to lure for my short line is a Hollow Point Medium or Money Fish Medium rigged with a double hook set.

Second Line(200ft behind boat) – I run a 48oz or 32 oz tolling weight on my second line. If the conditions are very calm, I will run a 32 oz as you do not need as much weight in calm seas.  If it is rough, I will run a 48oz trolling weight to hold the lure deeper in the seas.  My go to lure for my second line is a Medium Hollow Point or a Medium Money Fish rigged with a double hook set.

Third Line(250ft behind boat) – I run a 16oz trolling weight on  on my third line. Large weights are not required on longer lines as the additional distance from the boat allows the lure to run deeper compared to your shortest lines. My go to long line lure is a Mini Hollow Point rigged with a single hook set.

The post How to Catch Wahoo in Florida appeared first on Live Wire Tackle.

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Catching Wahoo: High Speed Trolling Tips & Tricks

Landing fish while high speed trolling – When you do get a strike, there are several extremely important things to do.

  Mark the exact location you get a hit in your GPS – Wahoo are pack feeders. If there is one, there are likely more. It is extremely common to catch several additional Wahoo within several hundred yards of the initial bite. After you reel in your first fish, you must circle back through the exact same spot at least two more times.

Drop Back – Crew members in the cockpit should be ready to act fast. When one of the lines gets a bite, your crew should release the drag on a lure that was not hit and release approximately 50ft of line out, dropping the lure back often times can trigger a second strike. When releasing drag pressure, be careful not to birds nest the spool.

DO NOT STOP THE BOAT – it is a natural reaction for captains to automatically pull the throttles back to neutral as soon as the reel starts to scream. You must resist this urge. You should continue at speed for approximately 10 seconds. Continuing at speed will dramatically increase your chances of getting a double or triple header. After ten seconds, begin to slowly decelerate until you are only going 7 mph, you should never go slower than 7mph or you will risk losing the fish.

Turn offshore – as you begin to slow down you must turn offshore, this will drag the wahoo into deeper water as you reel. This will dramatically reduce the likelihood of getting sharked as sharks tend to congregate shallower water.

Leave the rod in the rod holder at all times – most people want to pick up the rod and fight the fish in a stand up position. You should leave the rod in the holder and begin reeling to prevent letting your line go slack. While this may not feel as sportsman like, it is by far the most productive method.

The rigging– high speed trolling will put all of your terminal tackle to the test, if there is a week link in your setup you will find it while high-speed trolling. All rigs should use the highest quality snap swivels, Crip, cable, and hooks.

We use only clear heat shrink on all rigs made at LiveWire so customers are able to monitor tackle for corrosion prior to a failure. Most of our competitors rig with black or red heat shrink which is not transparent.

When fishing large or XL baits I prefer to utilize a 0 degree offset double hook set. When fishing small and mini baits I prefer a single hook set.

Don’t make your shock chords too long, the ideal shock cord length is 25 ft. Almost all fish are lost within 50 feet of the boat while that last few yards are pulled in by hand. If you use long shock chords longer than 25 you increase the likely hood of loosing a fish. Extra long shock cords are much more likely to tangle and are more difficult to deploy and retrieve. We use 300 lbs mono on all shock chords because it has a large diameter which is easier on the hands.

We use a 7691 southern tuna bend hook on all of our rigs, the inward bend of the hook is harder for fish to throw during violent head shakes.

I strongly recommend using a Bimini to offshore swivel knot for your main line to snap swivel connection. The main line is typically the weakest link in a high speed trolling set up, and poorly tied knots can reduce the break strength by 50%. A Bimini to offshore swivel will retain 100% of the line strength.

   Why do I need to troll so fast – High-speed trolling has gained a ton of popularity over the past 15 years among anglers specifically targeting wahoo in the Bahamas and South Florida. The reason for the growing popularity is:

Covering More Ground – High Speed trolling allows anglers to cover a larger area of ground. Wahoo have a tendency to group up in a specific location. Due to this, you typically need to put some miles down to find where the fish are holding. However, once the fish are located it is very common to catch several in one area.

Bi-catch Reduction – Barracuda are extremely prevalent at many of the productive wahoo spots throughout Florida and the Bahamas. However, barracuda are no where near as athletic or as aggressive as a wahoo. Due to this, you can dramatically decrease the number of barracuda you catch by increasing your speed. Bottom line, barracuda do not want to chase a bait moving that quickly.

   Rods and Reels – While just about any reel from 30’s to 130’s will work, my personal preference is two-speed 50w’s spooled with 80lbs mono. I think 2 speed reels are a great plus as you have excellent low end torque to fight a fish and speed to retrieve baits. I prefer mono to braid for high-speed trolling, mono provides additional stretch and acts as a shock absorber. Additionally, I find the braid makes the lines very difficult to handle when deploying and retrieving heavy trolling weights and lures.  It is good practice to mark your lines at 150, 200, 250, and 300 to take all guess work out of setting my lines. This will make it almost impossible to tangle your lines while zig-zag trolling along the edge.

How to Cook Wahoo – Now that you have caught a wahoo you are in for a treat, as it is my favorite fish to eat without question. The Hawaiian’s refer to Wahoo as ONO, the literal translation of ONO is Delicious. The trick to preparing wahoo is not to over cook it. Fresh wahoo is best served raw, or lightly seared. Most in the know, will agree that wahoo produces much better sushi or sashimi than yellow fin tuna.

Sashimi Style – when eating wahoo raw, the fish can either be sliced or cubed. Which you decide is personal preference. But I personally prefer cubes that are half inch wide. It is best served with a side of soy sauce and spice mayo. Spicy mayo can be made my mixing Japanese mayo with Sirach.

Seared Wahoo – If you do decide to sear your wahoo, slice the loin into steaks that are 1.5”-2” thick and sear each side for 45 second.  This will leave the inside of the fish rare. Be careful not to over cook the fish, as this will remove most of the delicious flavor and texture.

    The post Catching Wahoo: High Speed Trolling Tips & Tricks appeared first on Live Wire Tackle.

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How To Catch Wahoo In The Bahamas

Rich of LiveWireTackle catching an impressive Wahoo in Bahamian waters

High Speed Wahoo Fishing in West End, Bahamas – Wahoo migrate through the Bahamas in impressive numbers between November and March every year. While wahoo fishing is typically excellent in all parts of the Bahamas this article will focus on fishing near West End and Bimini. Due to the proximity to Florida, West end and Bimini tend to be the most popular wahoo grounds for Florida based fisherman. During the winter months it is not uncommon to see boats with 10 or more Wahoo over 50lbs while you walk the docks at popular marinas such as Blue Marlin Cove or Bimini Big Game Club. The primary obstacle when trying to plan a Bahama Wahoo trip is timing the weather so the seas are crossable. During the winter months, the prevailing winds are typically between 15-20 knots from the north. Due to this, the gulf stream can be very rough making it extremely difficult and dangerous for small boats to cross. Because it is so difficult to cross to the Bahamas during the winter months, the waters off of West End and Bimini receive very little pressure 95% of the time. Anglers with flexible schedules are by far the most successful wahoo fisherman. You must be ready to roll, with only a day or two notice when a favorable weather window is available. Unfortunately, favorable weather windows are typically between 1 and 2 days long so most trips are typically short.

  West End Wahoo Fishing – Now that you have crossed, refueled, and cleared Bahamian customs the fun can begin.  The most productive wahoo grounds are along the western edge of the little Bahama bank to the north of Old Bahama Bay at West End. When viewing the map, one can see the bottom topography transitions from the very flat and shallow sandy bottom of the little Bahama bank  to very deep ocean in approximately ¼ mile. This drop off or edge creates incredible structure to congregate lots of big wahoo. This edge runs from Old Bahama Bay all the way up to Matinella shoal or more commonly refereed to as the corner, approximate 50 miles due north of Old Bahama Bay.

Hover Over the image to see the locations we talk about below.

This 50 miles stretch of drop off is a large area to fish. The three most popular sections of the edge/drop off to fish are commonly referred to as Sandy, Memory Rock, and White Sands. The reason these sections are the most popular is because the ledge is very dramatic in these areas and there are landmarks for fisherman to reference.

Sandy Cay Area – only 8 miles north of West end, this section of the edge is closest to west end. This area is called sandy as it is in 150-500 feet of water due west of the small island called Sandy Cay which serves as a land mark for fisherman. While this is not my favorite location to fish, this is the only place I have ever caught 6 Wahoo in under 20 minutes(Quad on the first pass, and double on the second).

Memory Rock Area – at 20 miles north of west end, this section is the second closest to West End and usually one of my go to areas. This area is in 150-500 ft of water due west of Memory Rock which serves as a landmark for fisherman. One of best reasons to fish Memory rock is there is also excellent deep drop spear fishing near there. Which can be a productive way to kill an hour or two during a tide change.

White Sands – at 35 miles north of west end, this section is the furthest from the west and and one of my favorite areas to fish in all of the Bahamas. In my opinion, the edge is the steepest near white sand. Due to this, this area is known as a consistently good area to target wahoo. While there is not a island to use as a land mark, most modern chart plotters will highlight this area on the map.

 South of Old Bahama Bay – I typically do not fish the drop off that parallels the coast from old Bahama Bay and south. The primary reason: there is not as much water flow compared to the area north that lines the grand Bahama bank. Because the grand Bahama bank is relatively unobstructed by land masses the water is able to flow freely creating additional current. When fishing to the south you are fishing parallel to grand Bahama. The large land mass of grand Bahamas acts as a damn and reduces water flow.

  Bimini Wahoo Fishing – Bimini is surrounded by excellent wahoo fishing, and while you walk the docks you will often hear many captains debating weather the north of south will hold better fish on any given day. I Personally always let the winds dictate which area I fish,

Fishing North of Bimini – when I fish north of Bimini I focus on the edge that runs west to east near great Isaacs light. I tend to fish this area if seas are moderately choppy and winds are are out of the north or south. This is because you will always be trolling with the seas on your beam, which is much easier and more pleasant than high speed trolling in a head or following sea. This edge starts just west of Isaacs and continues all the way to the ginger breads.

Fishing South of Bimini –  When fishing south of Bimini the ledge runs from north to south. I tend to focus on this area if the wind and seas are out of the east or west as this will prevent high speed trolling in a head or following sea. In the southern direction the ledge goes for many many miles al the way to the southern tip of the Great Bahama Bank.

  Time Depth and Tides:

The Wahoo bite in the Bahamas is best during low light conditions with a strong outgoing tide. However, the fish are not nearly as picky as their brothers who live off the coast of FL.  I have caught many fish during incoming tides in the middle of the day.  When fishing the Bahamas I don’t worry about the moon phase as much, as good crossing conditions.

If I had to pick a single depth to troll in a straight line, it would be 175 ft. However, there are many days where you will find them deeper, and some when you find the fish shallower. But for the best and most consistent results you should focus your efforts on covering lots of ground until you find where the fish are holding. To cover ground I troll in a zig-zag pattern between 150 and 450 feet of water. In many of the very good fishing spots in the Bahamas the ledge is so steep that it feels like you are maybe only zigging and zagging 100 feet, but do your best to stay in that depth and you will be rewarded.

The Bahamas, may have one of the worlds healthiest barracuda fisheries in the world. If you have any doubt about this troll you lures in less than 150ft of water and you will soon agree. I specifically try to avoid going too shallow to prevent barracuda by catch.

While wahoo can be caught tolling at any speed, they are one of the fastest fish in the ocean. Wahoo do not have a problem destroying baits that are pulled upwards of 20 mph. I prefer to high speed troll between 15-20 MPH(speed over water) depending on seas and current. When trolling with the current, your GPS speed will likely be at the top of the range or possibly even above. When trolling against the current, your GPS speed will be at the lower end of the range. With all that being said, your boat will have the final say on your trolling speed. Every hull is different, and each will have a sweet spot.

Huge Wahoo in the Bahamas

Bahamas Wahoo Trolling Spread – generally speaking, large lures are more productive when fishing in the Bahamas. Due to the light fishing pressure, and the sheer number of large aggressive fish in the area.

Shortest Line(150 Ft behind boat) – I always run my heaviest trolling weights closest to the boat, The additional weight helps to keep the baits down below the prop wash. I run a 48oz trolling lead on my shortest line. From the trolling weight I run a 25ft shock chord made from 300lbs mono. I always prefer to run my largest bait on the shortest line. This will make it appear as the strongest and healthiest fish is the leader of the pack.  My go to lure for my short line is a Hollow Point XL or Money Fish XL.

Second Line(200ft behind boat) – I run a 48oz or 32 oz tolling wieght on my second line. If the conditions are very calm, I will run a 32 oz as you do not need as much weight in calm seas.  If it is rough, I will run a 48oz trolling weight to hold the lure deeper in the seas.  My go to lure for my second line is a Medium Hollow Point or a Medium Money Fish.

Third Line(250ft behind boat) – I run a 16oz trolling weight on  on my third line. Large weights are not required on longer lines as the additional distance from the boat allows the lure to run deeper compared to your shortest lines. My go to long line lure is a Mini or Medium Hollow Point.

Fourth Line(300ft behind boat) – Running a fourth line is 100% optional, many tournaments have been won using a three rod spread.  I personally only run four lines if my crew is very experienced, as the complication associated with more lines can often cost you a fish. I run a 16oz trolling weight on my longest line. My go to long line lure is a Mini or Medium Hollow Point.

You should not run any lures more than 300ft behind the boat. If you run lines further back then 300ft it will take too long to reel a wahoo in, and the chances of getting sharked increase.

The post How To Catch Wahoo In The Bahamas appeared first on Live Wire Tackle.

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Test

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