12-22-2017, 08:20 AM
East Cape - Keep 'em honest [/url]
After a very calm stretch of weather the north wind picked up a few days ago. It laid down today but fishing was slow. Jen Wren scored one dorado and had another come unbuttoned. The few other boats out there didn't have much to report. Now, small craft advisories are called for tomorrow with heavy winds through Christmas. Temperatures are cooling as well. Tonight will be our first night to stoke the fire.
On a typical morning after loading our anglers I will come off the bridge to introduce myself and talk about our game plan for the day. Sometimes our guests know what they want to target but more times than not they ask what has been happening and for advice as to what would be the best chance for success. Some have caught marlin before and would rather not try for them again, others don't want the long boat ride it might take to find tuna. The one fish I find lights everyone up is wahoo.
Until the last few years I considered wahoo an incidental catch and very hard to target. In recent years that has changed and on most any given day if anglers are willing to put in time we can catch or at least get them to bite. I say get them to bite because wahoo is one of the hardest fish in our ocean to hook. It is not uncommon to have 50 or 75 yards of line ripped off a reel after a vicious attack of one of our trolled Halco lures and then see the line go slack. These fish are like a magician and can find as many ways to get away as Houdini. Speaking of magic I must add, Accurate reels and Halco lures have been a magic combination for us.
Slow trolling live bait with a stinger hook. How in the world can a wahoo do this and not get hooked? Amazing!
2017 provided excellent wahoo fishing most of the season and many days we had as many as 6, 8 or even 10 bites. Other days were tougher and we had to work hard. There were times I felt the fish were there and couldn't decide if we should stick it out or move. There is an old adage "don't leave fish to find fish", but what does a guy do when they don't want to bite? My good friend Jack Nilsen taught me another adage that has helped me. "Keep 'em honest". What is meant is don't give up too easy. If you feel the fish are there work over the spot until convinced that they are not. On serveral occasions when anglers have gotten impatient I have asked for a few more minutes to keep 'em honest. The smiles tell the tale when we get the bite.
Many anglers bagged that bucket list wahoo this year. Posted are a few of my favorites.
After a very calm stretch of weather the north wind picked up a few days ago. It laid down today but fishing was slow. Jen Wren scored one dorado and had another come unbuttoned. The few other boats out there didn't have much to report. Now, small craft advisories are called for tomorrow with heavy winds through Christmas. Temperatures are cooling as well. Tonight will be our first night to stoke the fire.
On a typical morning after loading our anglers I will come off the bridge to introduce myself and talk about our game plan for the day. Sometimes our guests know what they want to target but more times than not they ask what has been happening and for advice as to what would be the best chance for success. Some have caught marlin before and would rather not try for them again, others don't want the long boat ride it might take to find tuna. The one fish I find lights everyone up is wahoo.
Until the last few years I considered wahoo an incidental catch and very hard to target. In recent years that has changed and on most any given day if anglers are willing to put in time we can catch or at least get them to bite. I say get them to bite because wahoo is one of the hardest fish in our ocean to hook. It is not uncommon to have 50 or 75 yards of line ripped off a reel after a vicious attack of one of our trolled Halco lures and then see the line go slack. These fish are like a magician and can find as many ways to get away as Houdini. Speaking of magic I must add, Accurate reels and Halco lures have been a magic combination for us.
[url=https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SO9UXi-Ms3s/WjwZ7hTpF7I/AAAAAAAAGNs/wRN4r_vP3PswGpZkiviHyUdhBQQ4tlG7gCLcBGAs/s1600/1221171.jpg]
Slow trolling live bait with a stinger hook. How in the world can a wahoo do this and not get hooked? Amazing!
2017 provided excellent wahoo fishing most of the season and many days we had as many as 6, 8 or even 10 bites. Other days were tougher and we had to work hard. There were times I felt the fish were there and couldn't decide if we should stick it out or move. There is an old adage "don't leave fish to find fish", but what does a guy do when they don't want to bite? My good friend Jack Nilsen taught me another adage that has helped me. "Keep 'em honest". What is meant is don't give up too easy. If you feel the fish are there work over the spot until convinced that they are not. On serveral occasions when anglers have gotten impatient I have asked for a few more minutes to keep 'em honest. The smiles tell the tale when we get the bite.
Many anglers bagged that bucket list wahoo this year. Posted are a few of my favorites.
Mark Rayor
US cell 310 308 5841