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• CaptJ Posts: 1,970 Captain

  October 2021 #2

  It's the same for everything isn't it?

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• xenia Posts: 1,197 Officer

  October 2021 #3

  Swords, mahi, yellowtail, blackfins.....  yeah, I guess you're right.

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• abovebored Posts: 1,406 Officer

  October 2021 #4

  Since wahoo have no minimum size limit some people will keep them just because they can. 

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• Jack Hexter Posts: 5,610 Moderator

  October 2021 #5

  I've got a 2 pound wahoo no m wall that I caught about 35 years ago.  It was my first wahoo, and it was the only wahoo caught during the tournament I was in so it won.  Under those circumstances, I'd do it again
  

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• CaptJ Posts: 1,970 Captain

  October 2021 #6

  My neighbor shot a nice one down in Marathon yesterday. Good eats!

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• rivamunstasteve Posts: 696 Officer

  October 2021 #7

  I’m in the Mahi group with over 30,000 members. Ive seen multiple weehoos caught the past month and a half. I am disgusted that people keep so many, so small. They reproduce at 3 ft long. 

  Don’t forget, just about every pelagic fish is not in abundance in the SE. 

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• John McKroid Posts: 4,191 Captain

  October 2021 #8

  xenia said:

  We don't have an abundance or large wahoo here in the SE.  Could it be because so many are caught by mahi fishermen when they are babies?  I just saw a photo from yesterday of 12 wahoo, not one made it to 10 lbs.  Smallest was around 2 lbs.  Is it really healthy to kill them that small?  Why not catch and release the little ones?  Thoughts?

  There should be some shame in taking a fish not big enough to spawn.  There is a two fish limit, why not make a size limit as well?  

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• tankered Posts: 1,664 Captain

  October 2021 #9

  John McKroid said:

  xenia said:

  We don't have an abundance or large wahoo here in the SE.  Could it be because so many are caught by mahi fishermen when they are babies?  I just saw a photo from yesterday of 12 wahoo, not one made it to 10 lbs.  Smallest was around 2 lbs.  Is it really healthy to kill them that small?  Why not catch and release the little ones?  Thoughts?

  There should be some shame in taking a fish not big enough to spawn.  There is a two fish limit, why not make a size limit as well?  

  
  Just to be devil's advocate, some fish are regulated so only harvest of pre-spawning age fish is allowed. So there's that.

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• John McKroid Posts: 4,191 Captain

  October 2021 #10

  tankered said:

  John McKroid said:

  xenia said:

  We don't have an abundance or large wahoo here in the SE.  Could it be because so many are caught by mahi fishermen when they are babies?  I just saw a photo from yesterday of 12 wahoo, not one made it to 10 lbs.  Smallest was around 2 lbs.  Is it really healthy to kill them that small?  Why not catch and release the little ones?  Thoughts?

  There should be some shame in taking a fish not big enough to spawn.  There is a two fish limit, why not make a size limit as well?  

  
  Just to be devil's advocate, some fish are regulated so only harvest of pre-spawning age fish is allowed. So there's that.

  But the majority are regulated so that the poor bastards get to mate at least once before harvest.  So there's that too.....

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• CaptJ Posts: 1,970 Captain

  October 2021 #11

  Hard for a fish to survive getting it's neck broken being caught by HS trolling. 

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• John McKroid Posts: 4,191 Captain

  November 2021 #12

  Jack Hexter said:

  I've got a 2 pound wahoo no m wall that I caught about 35 years ago.  It was my first wahoo, and it was the only wahoo caught during the tournament I was in so it won.  Under those circumstances, I'd do it again
  

  Many tournaments today have a 5lb minimum weight for all submitted catches, so it would be like submitting an undersized fish. 

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• Jack Hexter Posts: 5,610 Moderator

  November 2021 #13

  This was over 30 years ago and there was no minimum size
  

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• The Cat's Eye Posts: 1,721 Captain

  November 2021 edited November 2021 #14

  Even back in the mid 1970’s charter boats at Pier 5 seldom caught large wahoo. I know this for a fact since I use to eat breakfast with most of the Captains when they were not out on a charter. Plus, on my late afternoon coffee breaks I would walk over to the docks and see what they caught.  One boat specialized trolling for wahoo and he would often return with a dozen or more. He seldom cangut any over 20 lb’s and most were smaller then that. He showed me exactly how he fished for them: Salted down ballyhoo (back bone removed) on Japenese Feathers (2 hooks) with a trolling weight.  

  
  

  Giimoozaabi

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• Gotsea Posts: 862 Officer

  November 2021 #15

  I have caught a few hoos throughout the years and all of them were well over 4 foot long, only once I saw one that was about one foot long, I was on someone else's boat (from this forum) it was his first wahoo ever and it was release  

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• p007 Posts: 18 Deckhand

  December 2021 #16

  Just couth  two last weekend in 500' approx. 15-20 lbs on down rigger with skirted ballyhoo.

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• conchydong Posts: 14,352 AG

  December 2021 #17

  Back when I live baited a lot, the biggest Wahoo were caught stacking the downrigger with baits at 50'-100'-150' in +/- 300' of water. Too old and lazy now days to fish that method.

  “Everyone behaves badly--given the chance.”
  ― Ernest Hemingway

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• John McKroid Posts: 4,191 Captain

  December 2021 #18

  conchydong said:

  Back when I live baited a lot, the biggest Wahoo were caught stacking the downrigger with baits at 50'-100'-150' in +/- 300' of water. Too old and lazy now days to fish that method.

  It's hard enough to keep one bait from fouling up, The challenge of stacking 3 baits seems like a potential disaster.

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• conchydong Posts: 14,352 AG

  December 2021 #19

  John McKroid said:

  conchydong said:

  Back when I live baited a lot, the biggest Wahoo were caught stacking the downrigger with baits at 50'-100'-150' in +/- 300' of water. Too old and lazy now days to fish that method.

  It's hard enough to keep one bait from fouling up, The challenge of stacking 3 baits seems like a potential disaster.

  Trust me it can be done.

  “Everyone behaves badly--given the chance.”
  ― Ernest Hemingway

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