A Big Start for the Wahoo Season
For photos check out the gallery

November 11, 2007, Bimini, Bahamas - During November, most people are still suffering from the late summer fishing doldrums.  The summer dolphin run is over, the sailfish season is still a few months away, and the grouper spawn won’t start until December.  But for anglers lucky enough to target wahoo, November holds a much different meaning.

November marks the official start of the wahoo season with the second annual Bahamas Wahoo Challenge.  The world-class tournament was held this past November 8th through 11th at the beautiful Bimini Bay Resort in Bimini.  Twenty teams from across the U.S. and the Bahamas competed for their share of $80,000 in prize money.  Boats ranged from 36’ to 70’ and everywhere in between.

The tournament started out with a great poolside captain’s party and cocktail reception.  Teams got together and did a lot of trash talking and bragging.  Who would expect anything less?  The teams grabbed their gear, some drinks, and most of them headed in early to get ready for the next day’s fishing.  One of the teams that opted to stay out and have a few extra cocktails was “Liborio.”  This rambunctious crew hijacked the microphone and entertained the crowd with their poor renditions of classics like “You Lost that Lovin’ Feeling” and “New York, New York.”  Thankfully they too headed in relatively early.

Day One of fishing went off without a hitch.  Every team checked out on time and with plenty of time to spare.  The winds were blowing 15 knots out of the north east.  The seas were a bit choppy, but teams still managed to hit their favorite fishing grounds and return safely and on time.  “Zvengali” a 70 Hatteras out of Boca Raton, Florida led the first day with a total of 179.40 pounds (5 wahoo).  97.55 pounds was enough for “Savanna Lynn,” a 36 Yellowfin out of Clermont, Florida, to occupy second place. A 63 Bertram named “Zephyros” from Nassau held third place with 75.20 pounds. 

Friday night has become “Poker Night” at the Wahoo Challenge as a Texas Hold ‘em Tournament is held each Friday of each leg.  Teams take the opportunity to unwind and maybe win some additional cash.  Twenty players sat at the tables for a night of bluffing and even more trash talking.  In the end, it was Rick Redeken from “Svengali” and Bobby Aguero from “Liborio” who split 1st and 2nd place.  Third place was won by the tournament photographer Greg Gawlikowski.

Saturday morning ushered in the second day of the Challenge.  Winds died down to 5 knots with almost slick conditions.  It was a beautiful day and teams were going to push their boats to their limits and the tournament boundaries.  As usual the radio was quite, except for team “Fulunga” who fished right out front.  They reported a few large dolphin, but no wahoo.  Later we were to find out that they were bluffing.  As teams hit the docks, the crowd noticed that the fish were bigger and more plentiful on the second day of the contest.  There was a steady stream of fish hitting the scales and with some impressive sizes.

“Svengali,” day one’s leader, posted zero fish. So they held on to 1st place, but not for long.  “Zephros” put up another good day with 132 pounds.  “Reel Escape” a tournament newcomer from Aventura, Florida on their new 56 Bertram posted an impressive 161.65 pounds.  “Timeless,” a 61 Viking from Fort Lauderdale, had another consistent showing with 168.65 pounds.  “Top Vee” a quad-Verado powered Sea Vee from Miami had an incredible catch totaling 175.60 pounds including a 69-pound slob, which was also the heaviest wahoo for the entire tournament.  The surprise of the day was “Fulunga” from Miami.  They fished their 36 Contender all day right in front of Bimini.  The tournament committee was looking at them from the Bimini Bay pool.  The committee thought they had given up on the wahoo fishing and opted to do some yellow-tailing or dolphin fishing.  But when their fish hit the docks, everyone knew they were sandbagging it.  They weighed in the day’s top catch with 177.25 pounds edging out “Top Vee” by 1½ pounds for the day.

The overall tournament is calculated based on each team’s best five fish of either day’s fishing.  When all was said and done, “Top Vee” was catapulted to the top of the leaderboard with a total of 184.10 pounds.  “Svenglai” slipped to second place with their original 179.40 pounds. And “Fulunga” took third place overall with their impressive one-day catch.  The competition was fierce. Less than 30 pounds separated first from sixth place. It is this type of rivalry that makes this the most exciting and prestigious wahoo series in the world.

The second leg of the Challenge will be hosted at Old Bahama Bay at Ginn Sur Mer.  The resort is located in West End, Grand Bahama and is only 69 miles from the Florida coast. The festivities take place January 17-19, 2008.  Registration is open now and teams registering before December 25th save $300 of the registration fee and 10% off their rooms and slips. For more information call the tournament hotline at 305-461-2700 or check out the tournament site: www.WahooChallenge.com.