All Wahoo, All The Time

By Capt. Marc Pincus

(This article was first published in the January/February 2016 issue of The Journal)

Having fished South Carolina blue water since the mid-1990s I have always known we had a good wahoo fishery. I have caught several weighing more than 50 pounds and many 60s and 70s, and also have noticed some monsters coming in every now and again at the weigh ins for some or our state’s marlin tournaments.

Back then, I was running a 35 Viking express as my charter boat. When I sold that and went to a 35-foot center console, I had to adjust my spread due to the boat size and shape. I had to go with fewer lines in my spread, so I made the commitment to target wahoo, and if we got bit by something else it was a bonus. I went to a three- and four-line spread, fishing ballyhoo on Ilanders and C&H lures with 170-pound hard wire. I have not looked back since.

I believe I am one of the first few captains in South Carolina who made a commitment to a three- and four-line spread and targeted wahoo where they live, on the ledge. We do catch a lot of other species along the way, including mahi and tuna, even with the wire.

In 2005 the Hilton Head Harbor Wahoo Shootout was started, it began as most do by captains talking smack about who can catch them. That fired me up and so the challenge was issued and the tournament was born. Just a side note, I did win it with a 63-pound wahoo that year. The reason I mention this is because I will talk about the technique I used that frustrated competitors for years to come. But as the