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Wahoo
Species Information
| Scientific Name: | Acanthocybium solandri |
| Common Names: | wahoo |
| Environment: | Offshore |
| Ideal Temp: | 72-80°F (22-27°F) |
About Wahoo
The wahoo is a scombrid fish found worldwide in tropical and subtropical seas. There are indications of seasonal concentrations off the Pacific coasts of Panama, Costa Rica and Baja California in the summer, off Grand Cayman (Atlantic) in the winter and spring, and off the western Bahamas and Bermuda in the spring and fall. It is best known to sports fishermen, as its speed and high-quality flesh make it a prize game fish. In Hawaii, the wahoo is known as ono. Many Hispanic areas of the Caribbean and Central America refer to this fish as peto.
The body is elongated and covered with small, scarcely visible scales; the back is an iridescent blue, while the sides are silvery, with a pattern of irregular vertical blue bars and have razor sharp teeth.These colors fade rapidly at death. The mouth is large, and both the upper and lower jaws have a somewhat sharper appearance than those of king or Spanish mackerel. Specimens have been recorded at up to 2.5 metres (8 ft 2 in) in length. Growth can be rapid. One specimen tagged at 5 kilograms (11 lb) grew to 15 kg (33 lb) in one year. Wahoo can swim up to 60 mph (97 km/h). They are some of the fastest fish in the sea.
The wahoo may be distinguished from the related Atlantic king mackerel and from the Indo-Pacific Narrow-barred Spanish mackerel by a fold of skin which covers the mandible when its mouth is closed. In contrast, the mandible of the king mackerel is always visible as is also the case for the smaller Spanish mackerel and Cero mackerel. The teeth of the wahoo are similar to those of king mackerel, but shorter and more closely set together.
The barracuda is sometimes confused with mackerel and wahoo, but is easy to distinguish from the latter two species. Barracuda have prominent scales, larger, dagger-like teeth, and lack the caudal keels and blade-like tail characteristic of the scombrid (mackerel).
Wahoo tend to be solitary or occur in loose-knit groups of two or three fish, but where conditions are suitable can be found in schools as large as 100 or more. Their diet is made up of other fish and squid.
It is found around wrecks and reefs where smaller fish that it feeds upon are abundant, but it may also be found far out at sea. The first scorching run may peel off several hundred yards of line in seconds. Occasionally this fish jumps on the strike and often shakes its head violently when hooked in an effort to free itself. Fishing methods include trolling with whole, rigged baits as well as with strip baits or artificial lures. Live bait fishing and kite fishing are productive, but the wahoo is a relatively scarce species and is usually taken incidentally while fishing for other oceanic species. The wahoo has commercial importance in some countries. The flesh is finely grained and sweet and is considered excellent eating.
Targeting
Ballyhoo rigged behind Islander type lures trolled near the surface are popular methods. Purple/Black and Red/Black lures are most popular. Run at least 50# mono or braid with shock leader. Run 5 baits/lures in the spread with 2 teasers (squid/daisy chain).
Wahoo Fishing
| World Record: | 83.46 kg (184 lb 0 oz) Cabo San Lucas, Mexico |
| # Fish Caught: | 225274 documented in database. |
| Earliest Record: | 7/2/1832 12:00:00 AM and located at -19.67833, 63.42027. |
| Latest Record: | 4/4/2025 2:06:12 AM and located at -31.82141, 115.73853. |
| Common Techniques: | Trolling |
| Popular Lure Types: | Trolling |
| Fishing Spots: | 5642 Wahoo fishing spots. |
Latest Wahoo Fishing Reports and Spots
Day 2 in Paradise. Started off with a bang getting 2 nice wahoo. Got on the reef for a drift and got muttons strawberry groupers cudas until th (
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GORDO BANKS PANGASNovember 2nd 2025 We are now in the midst of our busy season. Crowds of anglers are arriving to take advantage of great anglin (
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Nice Start - 10/29/2025 8:38:19 AM
We spent the day fishing wahoo and got off to a nice start. It was a little choppy in the morning but laid down nicely in the late afternoon. We (
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More Wahoo - 10/30/2025 8:58:28 AM
We enjoyed another nice day of wahoo fishing in beautiful weather. Everyone now has at least one with the majority having multiple. We will star (
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Good LIVIN - 10/31/2025 8:32:36 AM
We enjoyed a great day of wahoo fishing in beautiful weather. We spent some time tuna fishing in the late afternoon and had good action with a f (
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Variety - 11/1/2025 5:54:00 AM
We put another nice day together and added a little variety to the to the trip. We spent the morning fishing tuna and then spent some time troll (
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96 Recfishwest's State-wide Fishing Report - 24 October 2025 All the best tips and photos on what's biting across WA including forecasts gear u (
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Wahoo! - 10/21/2025 12:13:48 AM
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10/21 - 10/24/2025 6:43:43 PM
Today was a great day of fishing for wahoo! We had steady action picking away for most of the day. The morning was slow but once we located the (
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Pisces Fleet Weekly update from OCTOBER 10 – 16 2025 Overall Catch Success Rate All Species Combined 73.28% Billfish Catch Success Rate Billfis (
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