August is here and with it comes the blue moon and huge wahoo! Last year in the August EKFT, the winning fish was a tournament record 71 lb wahoo. That event also produced 59, 46 and 30 lb fish. My personal best in August was a 65 lb wahoo caught straight out front of the Hillsboro lighthouse in 200 feet.
Targeting wahoo in August has produced some awesome catches in depths from 180 to 250 feet of water. I’ve caught some slobs really shallow as well in the 80 to 160 foot range on a full moon with an outgoing tide in the early morning off local piers, which is perfect for offshore kayak anglers. Try slow trolling with a downrigger mid depth for killer results. On your top bait use a live goggle eye with wire and a stinger rig. The stinger is very important as most of my catches were only hooked by the stinger. During the moons in August the wahoo will be in large schools under schools of small blackfin tuna and bonito. If you don’t have live bait try using a large heavy jig once you’re in the school of tuna or bonito around the deep wrecks. I’ve caught many wahoo on the jig that way. My color of choice is purple or pink. Make sure to add a extra hook to the jig.
August has produced some of my biggest kingfish catches to date. Once I caught a 40 lb king in 130ft. Right now the kingfishing has been on fire, with kayak anglers catching consistent 15 -25 lb fish. My tip is to always use the wahoo set up to target the big kings. Use 30 lb mono leader to a short piece of wire with a 3/0 J hook and the always important stinger. Using a short wire will not hurt the success of your catch. Stealthy has always produced more bites.
Wreck fishing is always strong in August around the moon from 180 to 250 feet. Many anglers jigging on the deep wrecks for big AJ’s have gotten lucky with a nice 40 – 50 lb wahoo. The morning bite is key. The sooner you make it out, the better chance of your early bite, especially on an outgoing tide. These same wrecks will produce some gag groupers and even snowy grouper on the deeper ones. Make sure if you’re heading out before first light you have all your kayak safety equipment and having a light is key. For Aj’s I’ve done well with a green or yellow glow in the dark color jigs. If using live bait make sure your leader is over 10ft.
Blackfin tuna are slowing down in the month of August. You can still catch some jumbos from time to time and large schools of the small tuna will still roll through around the full moons. I’ve caught most of my jumbos drifting over the deep wrecks from 200 – 280 feet. The pink jig has always been my go to bait for blackfin.
Be sure to check out the Extreme Kayak Fishing “Summer Slam Series” in Pompano Beach August 25th! For more information on this one of a kind tournament series go to www.extremekayakfishing.com or find us on Instagram @extremekayakfishing
Joe Hector
954-895-4527
Extreme Kayak Fishing Inc.
www.extremekayakfishing.com
joe@extremekayakfishing.com