Posted by: Editor on Jan 12, 2007 – 11:06 AM
fishing  BIMINI, Bahamas – Kermit Mackey caught his first wahoo ever last month a 60-pounder that strained this 6-foot-plus angler’s back and arms and left him panting with exhaustion.

“If they didn’t swim toward the boat, you’d never get them in,” Mackey said.

He had an extra incentive to land the toothy, black-striped fish: as executive chef at the newly opened Casa Lyon at Bimini Bay Resort, Mackey needed a fresh, tasty seafood entree.

“I’ll serve it in its natural juices,” he said, grinning.

Mackey and captain Andy Silva, the resort’s corporate skipper, caught two more wahoo in a half-day of high-speed trolling along the Bahama Bank, an estimated 30-pounder and another slightly smaller. A superb outing, but Silva said he and a companion caught and released 25 wahoo in one day last winter.

“As soon as the cold fronts come through late October, early November,” Silva said. “I’ve caught them all the way through April and May.”

Silva uses a time-tested technique that he learned from veteran wahoo tournament champion captain Ron Schatman of North Miami Beach and others: zig-zagging along the edge of the bank at speeds of 13 to 16 knots. Churning up a frothy wake behind the boat does not discourage the Olympic-sprinting wahoo.

“You can cover more ground and keep other fish from biting,” Silva said.

Silva, 35, said he is surprised more South Florida anglers don’t target wahoo because the same tactics he uses successfully in the Bahamas also work in their home waters.

“From 100 feet to 500 feet of water, from Haulover to Ocean Reef,” he said. “The hot area I’ve seen is 200 to 300 feet.”

Besides high-speed trolling, Silva said, the major factor in wahoo success is timing the fishing excursion to the tides. He usually starts fishing the last two hours of incoming water all the way through to the last of the outgoing.

“It’s when you have the most water movement,” he explained. “As the tide changes, the different baits move on and off the bank.”

Examining the stomach contents of his unlucky wahoo, Silva has found whole bonefish, flying fish and parrotfish among others.

“What does the wahoo eat?” Silva laughed. “Whatever he wants!”

Churning south along the edge of the Bahama Bank between North Bimini and Ocean Cay, the depth-finder on Silva’s 34-foot SeaVee looks like an EKG brightly colored lines rising and falling steeply as the boat winds east and west between shallow and deep water.

Suddenly, the 80-pound monofilament on one of the four Duel 9/0 two-speed reels being trolled off the transom starts making that zzeeeeee! sound signifying a wahoo attack.

Silva slows the boat, and directs Mackey to “kick his butt.”

Mackey finds this is easier said than done. Leaving the rod in its holder, he tries in vain to wind against the screaming drag. The drag spools out unabated, so he stops and waits for the fleeing fish to slow. Still feeling considerable resistance, he reels backward to engage the lower gear.

But then the fish does something that, to wahoo novices, is unexpected: It turns and charges straight for the boat at what seems like 50 mph.

Now Mackey must switch to the higher gear and crank as fast as he can to keep slack out of the line.

Fortunately, he is successful and the fish is brought close enough for Silva to gaff. The fight has only lasted about five minutes, but it seemed like forever to Mackey.

“Whew!” he sighs, sagging against the gunwales.

Because Silva and Mackey are fishing for the restaurant, they are not fooling around with light tackle. Two of the 4-foot, bent-butt rods are filled with 100-pound monofilament; the other two with wire line. In between the line and 20 feet of galvanized cable is a cigar weight — 28 ounces on the mono rigs; 48 ounces on the wire line.

Lures are large; garish dart styles with double hooks. Silva prefers Schatman’s custom lures, as well as Deep Six and Ilander brands.

Silva said he uses mono and wire line rigs to vary the presentation. The lures on the mono lines swim on the surface while those on the heavier wire swim about a foot down.

All the lines are marked with colored tape to indicate how far they extend behind the boat.

“That way, I can troll four baits and keep them from tangling,” Silva said.

Returning to Bimini Bay with three large wahoo, Silva and Mackey are the toast of the marina staff and seawall construction crew. Seagulls hover expectantly. It seems like everyone is sucking up. Pretty soon, every morsel of the three wahoo is spoken for, including the bellies and massive heads.

Silva sighs. He’ll just have to go out and do it again the next day.

—
By Susan Cocking

The Miami Herald
www.herald.com