Wahoo
Wahoo (Acanthocybium solandri) is a saltwater species. The first thing to check: twenty-five or more vivid cobalt-blue vertical bars over a slim silver body. The look-alike to rule out is King Mackerel: kings have no bars, a much shorter snout and a lateral line that drops sharply beneath the second dorsal.
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| Scientific name | Acanthocybium solandri |
|---|---|
| Also called | ono, peto |
| Water | Saltwater |
| Group | Mackerel |
| Temperature | Prefers 70 to 86 °F, most reliably found where warm blue water meets structure. |
How to identify a Wahoo
- Twenty-five or more vivid cobalt-blue vertical bars over a slim silver body.
- A long, pointed, beak-like snout with a mouth full of razor-edged triangular teeth.
- A very long, low first dorsal fin and a rigid, torpedo-shaped body.
If you would rather not work through a key on a wet deck, photograph the fish and let the app name it — you get the common and the scientific name back, and the record is filed before you release.
Fish it is mistaken for
| Species | How to tell them apart |
|---|---|
| King Mackerel | Kings have no bars, a much shorter snout and a lateral line that drops sharply beneath the second dorsal. |
| Barracuda | Barracuda have two widely separated dorsal fins, a jutting lower jaw and blotchy rather than barred markings. |
Read the full entry for King Mackerel and Barracuda.
Where it lives
Tropical and subtropical blue water worldwide. Holds on drop-offs, ledges, high spots, current edges and weed lines, usually alone or in small groups.
Temperature
Prefers 70 to 86 °F, most reliably found where warm blue water meets structure.
The conditions that matter
Wahoo hold where current meets structure and where warm blue water pushes over a ledge. Moon phase has a real reputation among wahoo crews for the days around the full moon. Water temperature and current speed logged against catches are the readings that identify which high spots fire and when.
Global Fishing League records 18 weather and water readings against every catch automatically — tide stage, barometric pressure, water temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, chlorophyll, swell, current, moon phase and more, taken at your GPS position at the moment you log the fish. Over a season that turns a hunch about wahoo into a pattern you can read.
See every reading recorded with a catch, or the guides to what each reading means.
Size limits, bag limits and seasons
Size limits, bag limits, slot limits and seasons are set by your state wildlife agency — and for many offshore and migratory species by federal regulators — and on many waters they differ from the statewide rule. They also change between seasons. Check the current regulations for the exact water you are fishing before you keep a fish — we do not republish limits here, because a number that is a season out of date is worse than no number.
What the app does do is make your side of it accurate: every catch carries a length measured from the photograph, a GPS position and a timestamp, exportable if you ever need to show your work for a tournament or a record claim. It is also what a Global Fishing League entry is built from — a record that verifies itself, without publishing where you caught the fish.