Chincoteague Wahoo!

A couple years back we were working a weedline in 40 fathoms. The rod started thumping like I had a little snake king on or a peanut dolphin. I reeled it almost up when all heck broke loose. About 3/4 of a 6/0's line capacity later I saw a massive fin and tail and saw the fish roll. The line came loose and I reeled it up and found the swivel had come open and the lure was missing. We trolled by hours later and found the lure floating just as in the picture.

Nobody knows but the wahoo and the mako what really happened but here is my guess...The wahoo came by in a hurry and missed the stretch but the stretch didn't miss him. He got snagged in the tail.......hence the thumping action on the rod and little fight. When he got near the boat, the mako grabbed him and took him away. When he started his death roll, the bill of the stretch acted as a lever and opened the swivel. You can duplicate this easily with a stretch and a sampo swivel. Now I use a leader on the stretch to avoid this.

Finally in late 2004 we broke the wahoo jinx with this nice fish. It ate a ballyhoo which was rigged with a rear hook on wire dressed with a purple and black Zuker feather. The fish was caught in 30 fathoms southeast of Chincoteague, Virginia. See ballyhoo rigs for tuna and wahoo fishing.

Cleaning your Catch

Seafood Recipes

Wreck Fishing

Fishing Reports

Saltwater Fishing

Fishing Techniques

GPS Coordinates

Submit Comments or Questions to