Near Record Wahoo Caught Oct. 15

Wahoo Bite Hot and Getting Hotter

October 15 was a good day for Billy Brock, Sr. Unlike some folks who were rushing to get their taxes in before the extension expired, he was reaping the dividends of being more timely in dealing with the IRS.

The day started off a little slow, with bait being difficult to find and catch, but at approximately 11:00A.M. Billy Brock, Jr. eased the throttles back on the SIB Fishing Team KenCraft Challenger 235 and set the Mercury OptiMax outboards to slow-trolling speed.  They were at AR 285, just east of Cape Lookout, on a calm ocean with just a few other boats.  Excitedly, they put out a spread of frisky live baits hoping to catch some king mackerel.  Even though the ocean conditions were excellent for the fishermen, the bite was slow and they were methodically working their way around the popular reef.

“Just after noon, something grabbed the long line and headed offshore in a hurry,” said Brock, Jr.  “It was a double-pogy rig, on a Shimano Trinidad 20 outfit and we figured it was another of the big kings that have been holding in this area for the past few weeks.”

An hour later, when they got their first clear look at the big fish, they realized it was a wahoo and a big one at that.

“When we got that first look, he was over a little and down in the water a bit, but he was lit up and his stripes were shining,” Brock said.  “We knew then it was a big wahoo, but I guessed short and thought it was only around 85 pounds.

Another 2 hours and 45 minutes later, Brock, Sr. finally led the tired fish close enough to gaff.  With a better view, they knew it was huge, but still didn’t quite have the size right.

After gaffing the big hoo and dragging it into the boat, then getting it in the fishbox and iced down, Brock, Jr. went back to the console and looked at the GPS to head back to AR 285.  That’s when he realized they were 5.5 miles offshore from where they had first hooked the big fish.  They had been on a bit of a Cape Lookout sleigh ride for the past nearly 4 hours.

Back at the Portside Marina, the big hoo finally settled the scales out at 114 pounds.  It was only a pound shy of tying the record for 20 pound line.  The wahoo was 72 inches long and 33 inches in girth.  That’s a lot of wahoo steaks.  The word is that Brock’s friends and neighbors ate well that evening.

The wahoo bite has been very good for several weeks now and this is the largest verified report.  Offshore fishermen have been catching them around the 90 Foot Drop, the Big Rock and Swansboro Hole.  The king mackerel fishermen have been catching a few incidentally east of Cape Lookout, much like Billy Brock.