# Full report, monster wahoo on Hall Pass



## Aqua Therapy (Jul 25, 2010)

Had a new crew on Sat consisting of Lee and Todd. left Gulf Breeze at 5:30. The game plan was to catch live bait and fish for tuna and wahoo. Started the first hour of the morning cast netting menhaden. We finally loaded up the well and headed for some natural bottom that has a history of holding baitfish, large jacks, and wahoo. We had a bumpy 40 mile run to our spot from where we caught bait. We then deployed 3 live baits just as i would fishing for sailfish in south florida. We imediatly started getting nockdowns and had a large wahoo or king skyrocket a bait but cut us off. Then the rod next to Todd starts ripping line off and he makes quick work of a 15 lb kingfish. Then Lee puts his first dolphin in the boat. At this point in time I was rerigging rods when the shimano tyrno 12 next to me started ripping line off of it. I picked it up and slammed the hook home and watched as 250 yards of 30lb line just melted off the reel. I knew that this was the one we wanted. Unfortunately he hit the smallest outfit we had that didn't even have a full spool. I quickly realized that we were going to get spooled. Then it got real chaotic with me barking out orders trying to get organized. I then reached over and was trying to start the engine, however it was so chaotic that i couldn't tell if the engine was running. I looked down at the reel and could see bare metal. Probably had 30 yards of line left. I said a quick prayer hoping the engine was running and jammed the throttle forward. Luckly the engine was running and I managed to get 5o yards back. Lee then took over the helm and I focused on fighting the fish. This is when the fish did a 180 turn and ran straight at us. No matter how fast I cranked I couldn't keep up with this fish. I started to think about that hook falling out of his mouth as my line came tight again. Then he went straight down deep and went into a dogfight mode. I started to think about all the things that could go wrong at this point. "Do I have a kink in my wire" "will he bite through the wire" "do i have any knicks or weak spots in my line" I was putting max pressure with 30 lbs and could not get this fish to budge. After about 30 min Todd said "I hope it is not a shark" That got me thinking because even if it was a 50 lb king or wahoo, we would have turned him by now. I felt that the fish hit more like a wahoo or king and maybe it was a foulhooked fish but something was strange. Finally at the 40 min mark the fish finally started to come up and we got a glimpse of him. It was a wahoo and a fatty at that! The wahoo did a big roll around the boat and came up almost dead as Todd stoned him with a perfect gaff shot next to the head. Then we had fun trying to git this monster in the boat. When he finally fell in the boat, the whole crew went nuts. We ended up cutting off the tail to fit in the box as the fish was over 6 ft. We fished for another hour and headed for the house. It was a rough and wet ride in but mmy sailfish 23.6 handled it great. We later stopped at Hot Spot bait shop (those guys are great) and the guys helped us weigh the fish. The head and body was 83 lbs and tail was about 5 lbs. We figured we had at least 3 lbs or more of blood and fluid loss. I want to thank my crew as it was rough and nasty with 15 to 20 mph winds and 3-4 ft seas all day, and they hung in like big dogs. Lee did a awesome job running the boat during the fight and Todd was great on clearing the deck and gaffing the fish. I have fished endless hours looking for that big wahoo and could muster no more than 30 lb fish. Well the jinx is over. This was a fish of a lifetime and will never forget. Also when we cleaned the fish he had a light bent wire bass hook that was attatched to what looked like a hardtail. I hope you enjoy the pics.


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## user6993 (Feb 15, 2009)

A very respectfull size HOO. Great job on boating it.Gene


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## BlueH20Fisher (Mar 20, 2008)

Pretty work guys. Fish of a lifetime.


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## Todd (May 16, 2010)

nice descriptive report, makes me feel like I was there. oh wait, i was...


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## Pinksnappertrapper (Dec 7, 2007)

Good job, Thats a hell of a hoooo. COngrats!!!


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## afishhard (Oct 6, 2007)

*Wahoo*

Great report and what a fish!


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## sail7seas (Oct 2, 2007)

great report guys. that is one hell of a fish.


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## baymotorsports (Feb 28, 2008)

stud


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## Eastern Tackle (Jul 6, 2009)

Wow, that is a great fish and on 30lb tackle that a very respectable sporty fight. Congrats to you guys.


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## Pinksnappertrapper (Dec 7, 2007)

Ps: When you have to cut the tail off to fiit it in the cooler it means "you need a bigger boat"


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## Magic236 (Oct 1, 2007)

Congrats on a Whole lot of 'Hoo, you gotta love Sailfish boats, I think my 236 is a great sea boat too. Thanks for the post.....


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## mbe5003 (Dec 2, 2009)

Nice hoo, good work Adam


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## swhiting (Oct 4, 2007)

Pinksnappercatcher said:


> Ps: When you have to cut the tail off to fiit it in the cooler it means "you need a bigger boat"


:thumbup:


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## jack2 (Mar 19, 2010)

adam,
all i can say is AWESOME. the way the post was written put your readers on board with you. that is one hellofa fish. if i had been there i would have said "shark", too. but i wasn't. and it's my nightmare that i wasn't.
next time, i will call in sick and go with >>>>>>>TEAM HALL PASS<<<<<
CONGRATULATIONS, you guys did an outstanding job.:thumbup:
btw, i tried to call you sat. night. guess y'all were out celebrating the catch?
jack


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## Polebender (Oct 2, 2007)

Dang what a fish! How deep of water was he in??


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## Chris V (Oct 18, 2007)

Nice hoo, I'm sure that was fun on light tackle


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## Pinksnappertrapper (Dec 7, 2007)

Is that a line record? I dont know how all that works but 30lb line with a fish like that?


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## Aqua Therapy (Jul 25, 2010)

We were fishing in 175 to 190 ft of water. I seriously doubt that this would have been a line class record. I am sure bigger wahoo have been caught in south florida where they typically use even lighter line for sailfish like 20 lb line. Yes this was far more exciting on light tackle versus landing him on a 80 wide. I hope everyone lands a fish of a lifetime. I appreciate all the great comments. I will be getting a picture framed and put it next to my 102 lb cobia.


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## Sunshine17 (Dec 11, 2009)

Damn nice hoo. Musta been a helluva fight. and even better eating.


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## HateCheese (Oct 2, 2007)

Awesome post, really felt like being there. Heck of a fish, thats one stud wahoo!


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## Island24 (May 12, 2008)

Glad to see the Hoo. Great report


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## hjorgan (Sep 30, 2007)

*Awesome report!*

Have hooked a few hoos, never put one in the boat. :thumbup:


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## Ozeanjager (Feb 2, 2008)

my god ! .... im getting one :yes:


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## Realtor (Oct 1, 2007)

Outstanding!


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