Wahoo have many names and are located all over the globe. But the Gulf of Mexico is one of the best places for hooking up with this bullet of a fish. The fish is found from Key West, Florida, all the way to Cancun, Mexico.
Wahoo are one of the fastest fish in the sea, with speeds of 60+ mph. They are built like a missile and use this to reach these incredible speeds. It is this speed that makes it one of the most desirable fish. Wahoo have a streamlined azure blue body with iridescent grey-blue stripes running vertically along their body. They have very sharp teeth, are voracious eaters, and have been known to take a bite out of a fisherman or two. Wahoo can get to be giant. They can top 8 feet in length and over 175 pounds. And Wahoo is a delicious fish with firm, sweet meat. All of this makes the Wahoo one of the world’s most sought-after fish, especially in the Gulf.
Wahoos are solitary most of the time, but they can run in small schools. You can find upwards of 100 in a school during the spawning season, but this usually only happens during that time.
Seasons For Wahoo Fishing
Key West, FL
A premier fishing destination for all anglers, Key West is probably the best place in Florida to fish for Wahoo. You can catch them year-round in the Gulf, and they are not only in great numbers but also large.
Key West is one of the spawning grounds for the Wahoo, and at times hundreds are swimming in the waters off the coast. You can find them as close as several miles away at the reefs to 50+ miles offshore in the deep blue.
Destin, FL
Destin is another great town for Wahoo in Florida. There is “The Edge,” where the bottom of the ocean floor drops from 130 feet to 600+ feet in a manner of minutes. The beauty of Destin is that this drop is only about 25 miles from the docks so getting out there is a quick ride leaving you more time to go fishing. While this is one of the prime spots for large pelagic fish like Wahoo, they can be found occasionally in man-made structures just before the edge,
Orange Beach, AL
In Orange Beach, an extensive reef system extends 50 miles out to the ledge, where the water starts to get deep. In the deeper parts of the reefs, you can find Wahoo roaming the reefs for smaller baitfish. While the reefs like “Soldier Key” and “The Great Florida Reef” do have Wahoo it is sometimes difficult to target them. To go after monster Wahoo, you have to go 100+ miles to the deep blue water.
Venice, LA
Venice, Louisiana is known as “Tuna Town” because of its number of Tuna and availability year-round. It is also very well known by anglers everywhere as a great place to land huge Wahoo.
The fishing grounds are not very far from the docks, so you are fishing quickly. Venice has many structures, oil rigs, and “The Lumps, ” which are prime areas. And the beauty of Venice is that while fishing for Wahoo, you are bound to run into a large Yellowtail or two.
Galveston, TX
100+ miles off Galveston’s coast is the northernmost reef system in America, “The Flower Garden.” This system’s East and West ends are excellent areas to target large Wahoo. The water drops to depths of 220 feet and rises to 60 feet, trapping baitfish in the currents and making them easy pickings for Wahoo and other pelagic fish. Along with “The Flower Garden,” there is Stetson Bank, a small bank that drops to the same depths as “The Gardens”.
Port Aransas, TX
Relatively new to the list of great places for Wahoo, Port Aransas has plenty of structures, with the Baker and Southern oil rigs just 35-45 miles from the coast. They can also be found at “The Dump” and the “Falcon” rigs about 50 miles out.
Fishing Season
Cancun, MX
The fishing is year-round in Cancun and has a few areas with the best chance for some large-sized Wahoo. Isla Mujeres is an island about an hour’s drive from the docks and is a great place for all fish, including pelagic fish like Wahoo. You need to go about 20-30 miles off the coast to the Yucatan Channel, where the big boys are. Also off the coast of Cancun is the Mesoamerican Reef which stretches from the Cancun coastline to the Island of Mujeres and is home to all kinds of fish, including Wahoo.
