# Fishing in venice mid January for Wahoo



## recess (Oct 8, 2007)

I hear that the Wahoo blitz goes off in mid jan. or so. Has anyone fished that area for them? Can anyone give any information about it? We are in the planning stages now for the drive over. Any help is welcome . Thanks Gene and Crew


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## Xiphius (Oct 10, 2007)

TCAT and I trailered a 22 GB down to Cypress cove during 1999-2004 and caught some nice hoos at Medusa about 55 miles out of SE Pass, we would watch the weather and when favorable forecasts came we would leave P'cola around 10:00pm slide through New Orleans at around 2:00am no traffic and make it the boat launch at Cypress Cove by 4:00 and ease down the River. Blue Mackerel Rapala magnums and pink diving lures were the ticket. Tarpon007 caught a monster weighing 116 or something back then. Hopefully this year the YF will show up in better numbers last year was the worst year that I can remember.


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## recess (Oct 8, 2007)

I appreciate the reply we have done the whole lump thing and it is a good time but wahoo is going to be our taget this year . With out a doubt [weather pending] we will hit up medusa,i see lots of great catches of wahoo come fom that area. I was wondering if good catches ofwahoo come from the shelf- edge? Ihave noticed that , that the wahoo like the color pink in the winter and blacks and purples in the summer. My pour log book is so messed up in the upper gulf coast nothing reacts the same even if the days are identical. Once again thanks for the response . One more thing are you going to get out to the floaters between wednesday or friday we are hopeing the weather keeps it couse. We will see you out there. TIM


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## TCAT (Oct 9, 2007)

Tim,

If there's a window and our schedule will allow we will be headed to the floaters for some more tuna action. Gas it to cheap to pass up a trip.We'll keep you posted. Let us know if you decide to go or see a window. I like having company. 

Keith


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## macala (Oct 4, 2007)

If the weather holds, I'll be out there as well. I NEED some blood soon!!!

Jeff


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## recess (Oct 8, 2007)

> *macala (12/14/2008)*If the weather holds, I'll be out there as well. I NEED some blood soon!!!
> 
> Jeff


Jeff are you going to pull an all nighter , a two day trip or just a full day trip? Wednesday looks like the day so far we will leave p-cola around 400am and probaly return late wednesday night cause we all have to be back at work the next day. Cross your fingers. 

TIM


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## recess (Oct 8, 2007)

> *TCAT (12/14/2008)*Tim,
> 
> If there's a window and our schedule will allow we will be headed to the floaters for some more tuna action. Gas it to cheap to pass up a trip.We'll keep you posted. Let us know if you decide to go or see a window. I like having company.
> 
> Keith


Keith definalty keep us posted it is always good to have a boat near by, probaly going to make our way out to horn mtn.overall . Im going to hopefully have a full live well full of mullet so if we can get there we should have our chances for a beast. 

TIM


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## SUNDAY-FUNDAY (Apr 17, 2008)

if you're gonna run to medusa andthe nearby wahoo rigs leave out of SW pass its only 33 miles. those 22 miles you save will be worth it esp. since you rarely see a day with less that 2 footers in jan. we normally "make the loop" run to the lump out of sw pass and do the chunk thing till around 10 or so then make our way south then east. hitting medusa, moxie, cognac ect.for hooters.then stop for a quick and easy limit of aj's before coming back up S pass...... allin all its only about 100 mile trip outside the river. usually by hitting all these spots we find either tuna or hooters. it sure beats sitting there achored up with 400 boats at the lump all day.


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## recess (Oct 8, 2007)

Sunday-Funday Thanks so much for the infomation it will be a great help. Since we only have one trip under our belt out of the SW pass. And you are right about the 400 boats that's just not our crew thing to get into the crowd. Gene


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## SUNDAY-FUNDAY (Apr 17, 2008)

dayyuuum. just read the rest of the respones.... hope ya'll do well out there.... at first i thought it too late and too cold for the tuna to still be this far east. but after checking the water temp. it showed 74 at horn mountain. good luck wish i were riding shot gun. look foward to reports!


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## Bryan Bennett (Dec 29, 2007)

The wahoo fishing in Venice during the winter depends mostly on the location of clean water. In my experience, it does not have to be blue, although it surely puts the odds in your favor. Clean green or blue-green is often productive, too. Even muddy water can produce fish if there is clean water underneath. When the water is clean in the area of the lump, the wahoo fishing goes off particularly if the big schools of bonita are around. Wahoo feed heavily on small to medium size bonita, and when they form the big, tight schools the wahoo stack up, too. A couple of my buddies fished the lump for a few days one year with wahoo specifically as the target. They pulled the traditional plugs for a little while, but realized they were dealing with much larger fish. So they rigged with very heavy cable and big, oversized trebles, making a stinger rig, and slow-trolled with live bonita. They caught many giant wahoo, a couple over 100 pounds, with lots in the 60 to 90 pound range. I saw video footage of the trip and they didn't go more than about 20 minutes without a bite. This was all just fishing the bonito schools on the periphery of the lump.

The rigs also produce wahoo. The rig just north of the lump, which I believe is 143, is productive and usually good for a few fish, although it is heavily fished. Other good spots are the 93 block, which has four good rigs in it, unless the hurricanes have changed that. This area is on a chart and east of the lump. There used to be a rig called SP 70, which, I believe, was due south of Southwest Pass, and we used to catch them there. Further east are the Seven-Mile Rigs, Arco, and a couple others that stand on and just north of the 100-fathom curve, and they can get really thick there, too. They'll get on the 12-mile rigs, too, when conditions are right. Almost forgot the so-called canyon rigs which are southwest of the lump as I remember.

I would check current charts for this information, because I have not fished these areas since the hurricanes, so the info could be outdated. But, in general, if you want wahoo, stay relatively shallow, inside the 100-fathom curve, and remember that standing rigs tend to outproduce the floaters. Check the lump frequently, and when you find it in blue water with the bonita churning the surface to a froth, then it's game on. Just don't troll through the chummers, and you'll be alright. Good luck!


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## dpewitt (Oct 26, 2007)

Ditto. Medussa, Moxy, etc are good. Also don't pass up a few trolls through the 93 block as mentioned earlier.


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## jim t (Sep 30, 2007)

I watched TCAT's 30WLRS nearly explode a couple January's ago at the Medusa when a 75# 'hoo took a Hot Pink Stretch 30!!!! It was an AWESOME sound!

I'd follow those guys anywhere!!!

Jim

PS... 26 degrees andsleet in Boston tonight, 12"of snow forecast tommorrow.... It's okay though, tommorrow night we launch to Amsterdam where it 32 degrees and rains for months at a time in the winter.


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