Charter captains out of Venice say that great numbers of wahoo are out in the Gulf, just waiting for deer and duck seasons to end and send sportsmen to their boats.
“They’re out there, in high numbers, and we’re catching some good ones,” said Kevin Beach, who runs the Pale Horse for Mexican Gulf Fishing (504-812-1155) out of Venice. “Hopefully, that will hold until February.”
Beach said the winter action has been excellent, much better than the past several years when conditions “weren’t good for wahoo.”
“We haven’t had the right condition for a few years. What we have now is absolutely how it should be.”
Beach said boats had been finding wahoo around any offshore rigs in 200 feet of water and other pieces of structure. He mentioned the 93 Block, East Lump and Midnight Lump.
When located, wahoo are usually ganged up.
“We are getting a lot of doubles and triples,” he said. “When the big wahoo are out there and they’re doing it, it’s some of the best fishing there is.”
What to use
Beach said wahoo are hitting trolled ballyhoo and a variety of lures, including Rapala X-Raps.
“We are going through some terminal tackle; I know we’ve had a couple of 90-pound fish caught this year,” he said.
Beach said charter fishing will pick up in February, after deer and duck seasons end.
“We kind of go hard at it all year, but we’re all big-time deer and duck hunters, so we finish that up at the right time to get there,” he said. “Usually, the bite will last through February and March, almost into April.
“The longer the season goes, the more pressure (the wahoo) will have on them. They’ll be everywhere, but you might have to look around a bunch of rigs, but they’ll still do it.”
