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Wahoo! Young Man

They said Feb 20 was President's Day, when in fact, it was Blake's Day! Blake Loring and his Dad Keith Loring, Eduardo Benitez, and Capt Robbie Smith ( Dock Master of the Bimini Big Game Fishing Club) went out to hunt for the cheetah of the sea. Blake's dad promised him a monster wahoo and it turned out that his word was indeed his bond.

To fish for wahoo you need to be out from the drop off in a depth of 150 ft to 400 ft of water, fast trolling at speeds of 13 -15 mph with $ 100 high speed lure set ups which consists of a high speed lure, two stainless 10/0 or 11/0 hooks, a 24-32once lead cigar weight, and a 400 lb shock leader about 15ft long which are available at (Capt Harry's Fishing Supply and most good tackle stores. You need to be fishing on the drop off one hour before the tide change that's when these wahoo really like to hit , till one hour after the tide change. This day we left the dock 2 hours before the tide change on Eddie's 36 foot contender named the Three Chiquita's and headed south toward Cat Cay. When we were parallel to the concrete ship wreck the starboard wire Penn 80 reel started to sing and peel out line. Eddie said I got and proceed to start his battle with the fish. When you Wahoo fish and the fish hits, you don't slow the boat down following the strike, but rather give it a count of 5 one thousand, to allow for the double, triple, or the ultimate grand slam if you are fishing four lines. On the count of 4 one thousand the short mono middle line started to strip away line, it was the lucky pink, white, and black Rum Cay 38 lure which as been so good this year. Our little 8 year old guy, The Blakester, bellowed out, I GOT IT! I GOT IT! His dad instructed to let him run. It was a double header! Capt Robbie now slowed the boat down but never taking it out of gear so no slack is on the line and started out to deeper water to avoid our trophies from becoming victims of the ever present barracudas found in the shallower waters. After 5 minutes Eddie had is 46 lb, wahoo at the back of the boat and yelled get the gaff, but Keith said we wouldn't be needing it, Eddie said are you crazy your going to lose the fish, and Keith replied just watch my friend, Keith was going to employ a trick that he had learned from his friend Capt Matty Tambor, of the TV Show " THE BITE ", it seems Capt Matty also has a contender and has a very low set tuna door that opens almost flush with the platform. He demonstrated to Keith that with some really big fish it was possible to just grab the leader close to the fish, lift a little and just walk the fish right into to floor cooler in the boat with no blood, or damage to the fish. It worked like a charm Eddie and Capt Roby where quite impressed. By this time the almost exhausted from the battle and awed at the sight of such a great fish, the little guy called for help, but everybody said it's all yours, you can do it. So with shakey knees and quivering arms the Blakester battled on with the monster while the rod was bent like a U in the rod holder.

When you fish for these bad boys, the rod never leaves the rod holder for the most part until the end of the fight. Although using a 2 speed 80 reel, with a fish of that size and strength and the boat in gear, it is quite a task for anyone, even an adult to bring one of the fastest fish in the ocean.

At 45lbs and 4 ½ feet tall with a fish almost twice his weight Blake was on his own until we saw the leader. Dad screamed it is a monster, I opened the tuna door and straight he came as if the door was greased with vasoline, but this fish needed some special attention like the base ball bat, it was huge, at 5 foot 9 inches and 74 lbs the monster wahoo laid silent and defeated at the feet of our little hero. After much hollering and high fives, Blake was in shock, and the crew could hardly believe what they witnessed . Later that day we headed south to Cat Cay and caught one more about 25lbs.

We where out for only about 3 hours, but they were electrifying hours and a great day of fishing and father and son bonding. When we arrived back at the Big Game Fishing Club the fish was the center of attraction and was weighed on the Club scale. It was a fishing legacy write out of Ernest Hemmingway's The Old Man and The Sea and it was passed on too the Young Boy and The Sea. Jean Wright the owner of the Big Game Club witnessed the event and said it was one of the biggest wahoo's caught all season off of Bimini, he grabbed his camera and could not stop taking pictures which will be all over the club. Your dad and crew say great job Blake.

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