Fish Facts: Wahoo

Built for Speed

The wahoo is best known to sportfishermen for its immense speed and quality meat. Wahoo are among the fastest fish in the ocean, reaching speeds of up to 60mph and peeling line off the reel in the fight. Their long and narrow bodies are torpedo-shaped and flanked with brilliant iridescent blue stripes earning them the nickname zebra. They are cousins to the king mackerel and easily distinguished by their stripes, caudal keel and sharply forked tail. Our wahoo fishing season in Turks and Caicos kicks off in November with the best bite December through March.

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About Wahoo

The wahoo is a pelagic species which is found in the open ocean – usually found in depths less than 650ft. These fish are highly migratory and found in waters between 70 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit, but prefer the cooler winter water temperatures in TCI from December through March. The wahoo can reach sizes of up to 180lbs and over 8ft in length. Typical catch sizes for wahoo in Turks and Caicos are from 15lbs to 60lbs, with the occasional 100lb-er.

Wahoo are a more solitary species and tend to occur in loose-knit groups of two or three fish, but we often find them in small schools here in Turks and Caicos. While they are said to be spotted in very large schools of over 100, we haven’t experienced this phenomenon yet. We often hook up 2-3 wahoo at once, something we refer to as a double or triple-header which is an incredibly exciting experience!

Wahoo have large slender mouths with razor sharp teeth used to prey primarily on other smaller fish and squid. They contain the most unusual looking parasitic worms in their stomachs. This trematode parasite is a hirudenilla ventricosa, or giant stomach worm. It doesn’t harm the fish and is not harmful to humans, in fact, it functions in the fish’s stomach to help it digest its meals.

Fishing for wahoo we are typically trolling the wall in 600 to 1200 feet of water. It’s hard to mistake when a wahoo hits your line. The first hit is usually a powerful strike followed by a long run away from the boat as it takes line from your reel.

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