Kayak fish of the week Dec 6th-12th 2021

[JohnMckroidJr]

Sunday, December 12th five Kayakers headed out of Boca Raton in search of the elusive Wahoo. Four of us came back empty-handed. Congratulations to Mauricio on his first Wahoo ever!

[BenCantrell]

That's a happy camper! Congrats on the wahoo!

[SoCalEDC]

Rad. How is the fight on these guys?

[JohnMckroidJr]

Originally Posted by SoCalEDC

Rad. How is the fight on these guys?

It starts out with a hard ripping long first run. A King Mackerel has a very similar fight, and sometimes a big Little Tunny will be a spoiler as well. The giveaway of the Little Tunny is that they will stay on the surface while Wahoo usually go deep after the first run. The bigger ones will sometimes feel like a snag on the bottom after the initial run. Smaller ones are brought up pretty quickly. A 70lb Wahoo has a heart the size of a 35lb Blackfin Tuna. The initial fight is great, but they lack the stamina and the bigger ones sometimes roll over at the end for an easy gaff. IMHO they are the coolest fish we catch off the kayak in SE Florida. Sailfishes are rad also, but sometimes annoyingly common. There are kayak anglers that have been trying 5-10 years -- still waiting to catch their first Wahoo and others that are coached through the fight and get one their first time out!

The unofficial largest Wahoo off a kayak in Florida was reported to weigh 90lbs and taken by a first-time kayaker angler.

[AlwaysFishing]

It's amazing to be able to catch such a beast off of a kayak.

[MITCHELL]

I don't see any harpoon holes .....did you where it down to nothing and just gaff it ?

[JohnMckroidJr]

Originally Posted by AlwaysFishing

It's amazing to be able to catch such a beast off of a kayak.

Yes! but pretty rare for a big Wahoo. However, Tarpons and big Sharks are pretty common for anyone that wants to get a kayak fish sleigh ride.

[JohnMckroidJr]

Originally Posted by MITCHELL

I don't see any harpoon holes .....did you where it down to nothing and just gaff it ?

The big Wahoo above was taken several years back by Ryan, an intern chiropractor apprentice from Iowa who wanted to see what kayak fishing was all about. He had never been fishing in the Atlantic Ocean before and had never even been in a kayak before. The fish dragged him from 110ft of water out to 320ft before his hands became numb and he handed the rod over to the angler who had baited his hook and been coaching him through the fight. Eventually, the fish was gaffed dead tired. Pretty amazing fish for anyone, let alone your first fish in the Atlantic and first time in a kayak.