Nearshore catches of big wahoo in April are exceptional. Some wahoo are reported in May and June, but usually by fishermen who rush the billfish season and pull lures 50 to 75 miles offshore. Signs are good. Few Florida anglers target wahoo specifically. On the west coast and in the Panhandle, wahoo usually are caught by anglers trolling for king mackerel or billfish.
Wahoo are muscle fish built for speed.
Comparing a wahoo to one of the mackerels is like comparing a jet fighter to a passenger plane. Phil Fessenden of Panama City Beach once resolved to find out just how fast he could troll a lure and still entice a wahoo. A 15-pound wahoo hammered a lure trolled at 24 knots and was snatched from the water, head over tail. A scientist on board, Daniel Solander, recorded the catch. The common name, wahoo, originated with whalers and missionary settlers in the Hawaiian islands.