Any thoughts on is it possible to jig Wahoo

[Caveman Sportfishing]

On more than a couple of occasions when working a thick weed line we have gotten Wahoo bite offs on our mono leaders intended for tuna or mahi-mahi. I wondered if it was possible to stop and jig for the Wahoo using reels with a high speed retrieve and a jig. Has any one ever tried this in the past and caught any? I personally have heard of many different species caught on jigs but never a hoo.

[jig42na]

Absolutely they eat jigs. They can be tough to land because of those teeth. But they can be had. I had a jig get sliced through to the thru wire. We've seen them come right to the boat at times chasing jig. I'm pretty conviced that alot of our mistery cut offs that you can barely feel later in the season on the NJ tuna lumps are wahoo.

[swell rider]

We caught plenty of Wahoo on Irons when I worked Long Range out West..Only down side is you'll go through a few jigs with the bite offs.Ken


Swell Rider Sportfishing
www.swellriderfishing.com
Atlantic Beach, NC
910 233-1714
910 200-2502

[gman]

we get them all the time off NC, it takes a lot of luck but it happens. Arlen Ash had like 40-50 pounder on jigs. They bit the jig the same way no need to change techniques

[Sea Draggin]

On more than a couple of occasions when working a thick weed line we have gotten Wahoo bite offs on our mono leaders intended for tuna or mahi-mahi. I wondered if it was possible to stop and jig for the Wahoo using reels with a high speed retrieve and a jig. Has any one ever tried this in the past and caught any? I personally have heard of many different species caught on jigs but never a hoo.

You can do two things.

1. Cast and horizontal jig.

2. Use nothing but Ayasugi's and bring about 30 of them. I have finally figured this out. Hoos like a horizontal presentation. When you drop (or yo-yo jig) an ayasugi, it goes sideways first then tapers off. You could put wire on it and may only get one bite that day. But it will be the one your looking for, if the goal is wahoo on a jig.

This all being said. The Wound Up boys busted a nice one on the bahamas on a jig two weeks ago. Better to be lucky than good anyday.

[argus]

You can do two things.
This all being said. The Wound Up boys busted a nice one in Bermuda on a jig two weeks ago. Better to be lucky than good anyday.

Fixed that for ya

Heading out tomorrow... wish I had the Asasugi's to play with already. Interesting observation about the horizontal presentation. Will give it a try if they get thick. Thanks for the tip

BTW: Persistence trumps luck any day in my book.

[calebw]

Capt. John take a look at this post from Wound Up James in Bermuda
Wahoo and YFT on the jigging rod..

[Caveman Sportfishing]

First what are Ayasugi's jigs. Not familar with them. I used to throw iron to various species many years ago off Catalina Island and various remote locations in Baja and the Mexican mainland when I fished down there quite a bit before family obligations put a end to my bachelor fishing trips. I still have a few Tady's out in the garage along with some other jigs. I think we used the old Penn Squiders with a high speed conversion kit or Jig Masters on orginal Sabre rods I bought at the Fred Hall show in Long Beach, CA 25 or more years ago and that was all horizontal type casting. It would be very difficult on our boat to actually cast jigs when we have 6 person charters at least most of the time. There are very few times we find Wahoo concentrated in any numbers and it is mostly around weed lines that also hold schools of Dorado but when we do I would love to try jigging for the Wahoo. Why would it not work to put a short shot of number 9 wire on a jig and leave off the assist hook and replace it with a 14/0 circle hook? I am seriously thinking about purchasing a couple of Stella's for this up coming season but concerned about the cost in this economy. I have a couple of Saragosa spinners but have been holding back on purchasing the stella's due to cost. I might get a couple of the older STL 2000 FA series ones if I can find the right deal on them instead of the newer more costly SW 2000 series ones. I would use them for traditional jigging for the bigger Bluefin and canyon Yellowfins if they show up this coming season of the Mid-Atlantic coast. I would not buy the stellas just to have on board for Wahoo but they would be a nice addition when we find those 125-150 lb Bluefin inshore and would help getting them to the boat and released quickly as we do 90% of the time these days. I would like more information on the Ayasugi's jigs as they sound like they might be the ticket for Wahoo.

[Sea Draggin]

I would like more information on the Ayasugi's jigs as they sound like they might be the ticket for Wahoo.

They are a soft eel jig the were intended for stripers and tuna, but because of the action, wahoo's have a tendency to take them if they are lurking.

http://shop.easterntackle.com/produc...4&productId=12

[Tunanorth]

We catch lots of wahoo while jigging in central and southern Baja aboard San Diego long range boats.
First off, the "assist" hooks hanging off the front ring are out, go strictly with tail hooks.
We used to call front hooks "trap hooks", but they fell out of favor more than 20 years ago.
California-style jigs like Tady and Salas still draw lots of bites from wahoo, but they are relatively short, causing a LOT of bite-offs since wire spooks them pretty well.
The last couple of years have seen longer and skinnier jigs preferred, I personally love the 5-ounce Williamson Benthos with a tail hook using either a 3/0 Owner ST66 Stinger Treble or 8/0 Owner Jobu single.
Up front I use an Owner split ring and solid ring to tie the mono to.
Cast far, let it sink deep, and retrieve at warp speed in a straight line, no jigging.
Have drag set tight, when you get a bite don't set the hook, keep grinding right through the bite.
Bite-offs still occur, but far fewer due to the length of the jig.
My favorite outfit is a Penn Torque TRQ300 with a 100-yard topshot of 50 mono over 80 braid on a 700H rod.
the extreme speed of the TRQ300 gets more bites, and the great cranking power is a must to allow you to keep grinding when bit.
The last few years of big tuna have de-emphasized wahoo fishing for the fleet, but when they are the target, this rig is hard to beat.
There are still a handful of 50 to 100-fish days on wahoo for the San Diego long-range boats every year.






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