By: Darcie Arahill
Fishing has always been a passion of mine. I focus on offshore fishing, chasing pelagics for the ultimate adrenaline rush. I am an adrenaline junkie, and fishing offshore is a sport I have grown to love more after each fishing adventure.
One of my favorite fish to catch is the elusive wahoo. These fast, aggressive, hard-fighting fish have always captured my attention, and catching one has proven to be laborious and sometimes quite frustrating. We all know catching fish is not guaranteed, and that is part of the thrill and the chase. So, after countless failed attempts of targeting wahoo, without a bite, I was determined to change our luck once and for all.
Two days after a summer full moon, my boyfriend Brian and I came up with a plan and set out to accomplish it. The plan was to high-speed troll and land a wahoo before it was time to go to work. On a warm summer morning, during the work week, I woke up at 5:30 a.m. with the highest hopes of accomplishing this feat. We had lines in the water by 6:15 a.m. and started to work the area directly in front of the inlet between 150 and 250 feet. Not even 15 minutes into fishing, with two lines in the water, the short line goes off and the drag peels out for a few seconds. I thought we had hooked the fish, but the drag went quiet, and it was back to fishing. We circled the area without producing another bite, but I continued to stay positive and we continued on with the plan.
Around 6:45 a.m., the drag screams on the long line and doesn’t stop. The fish is hooked, and the drag sings for a good 150 to 200 yards. I jumped on the rod and started to reel the fish in. I immediately felt the powerful head shakes vibrating up the line. I looked at my boyfriend and exclaimed, “This is OUR wahoo!”
Full of adrenaline, I pumped the reel as fast as I could possibly go so I could at least catch a glimpse of the fish. A few minutes later, the cigar weight came up, and we both knew there was 30 feet of leader left to hand line in. I jumped in the cockpit to speed up the boat as Brian carefully winched the fish in, keeping tension on the line. A couple moments later, Brian pulled the fish through the transom door, and the striped beast hit the deck of the boat with a thunk. Screaming and hollering with joy, the time was only a few minutes after 7 a.m.
We took pictures with the lit-up wahoo and then raced back to our marina. I filleted the fish, we cleaned the boat and headed home to get ready for work. I made it to work on time at 9 a.m., realizing I just accomplished my goal after months of trying! Fishing before work is dedication, and I cannot wait to do it again.
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