The Bermuda Wahoo Tournament came and went, the day was so perfect, variable to 5, sun shining, but by the end of the day we were hiding from that sun! We set off from Spanish Point Boat Club at a reasonable hour of 6.00 AM in search of the beautiful Wahoo.
Lines in at 7.00 Am and ours we in, 30 to 45 minutes into the morning the down rigger went off and because it was my co-workers first time Wahoo fishing I let him have first go. He runs over picks up the rod and the fight begins, gently and slowly he fights the fish, after all we are fishing light line.
As he begins to fish his fish I start to reel in the other out rigger to get it out of his way fighting his fish…All of a sudden zing…something has my line and is running…fast…so now my fight begins also. Mark finally gets his Wahoo in, a nice one, it qualifies for the tournament!
My fight is still on, slow and easy, 30 minutes later I finally got that bad girl in the boat…58.7 on 20lb test, personal best and yes, after that even at 8.00 AM, I drank a beer!
Next up Howard, as the rod sang with excitement we were all hoping for another qualifying Wahoo, what we got was dinner…Howard pulled in a nice tuna…that was going to see the grill tonight!
And another qualifying Wahoo for Mark, the day was looking good, now my turn again, yep, it qualifies. The day was looking up, now Howard is up, what a barracuda…We tried to tell how we are in a Wahoo Tournament, but he did catch dinner, so we were not that hard on him.
As the day wore on the bites eased up, we were lucky to have 3 more strikes, Mark fought a fish which got off – lucky Wahoo – so being that I was having a nice snooze on the bridge I gave him my turn, which proved to be good.
The down rigger goes off and the line sings again, and the fish runs and boy does she run, so we knew this fish was going to be nice size, Mark fights the fish and gets it to the boat, then the line screams again, the fish is running, this happened twice, but my ever so patient husband, who is a commercial / charter fisherman guided Mark to victory…53lb on 20lb test.
Howard just could not grasp the concept that we were in a Wahoo Tournament and the next fish he caught was another barracuda. He tried and after all is was a great day to beon the water.
After a couple hours of nothing we decided to go ahead and head in, you had to be at the weight station before 6.00, we weighted in about 4.30, which was fine with us.
As we pulled the fish out of the cooler the crowd at the weight station cheered us on, once we pulled the big girl out they really lit up. When told a “girl” (or goddess) caught the fish they cheered even louder.
The Lone Star Team weighted in their fish and got our pictures taken and back on the boat, home bound to clean up. It would be days until we found out the outcome of catch.
Days later my husband received the call…Mark got the largest Wahoo on a 20lb test line and with my 58.7lb I was the overall winner of the tournament…really me!? I have fished this tournament for years in hopes of a win, one time even on 15/18 seas, thatwas not a pleasant day...But WOW, I am the 3rd female angler to win the tournament! So in light of the WAHOO Tournament (and the Tuna, Howard caught) why not throw some Wahoo and Tuna recipes out there.
Grilled Wahoo
6 Wahoo Steaks about ½ inch thick
Good Olive Oil
S & P
Drizzle Olive Oil all over the Wahoo steak; sprinkle on some good kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper…both sides!
Pre-heat grill to med-high and place the steaks on the grill 5 to 6 minutes each side, it is a quick cooking fish and you do not want to overcook the Wahoo. Over cooked Wahoo is nasty! It should be tender and juicy. We have found that by only using olive oil, salt and pepper the flavor of the fish is not masked and the natural flavors are enhanced.
However...Gourmet It UP…
1tbsp of soy sauce
1 tbsp of sesame oil
1 tsp of fresh graded ginger
1 clove of pressed garlic
Mix well and pour over Wahoo, marinate for 30 minutes, grill and garnish with chopped green onions
Wahoo Ceviche
1 lb Wahoo, diced
1 red pepper, diced
1 yellow pepper, diced
1 red onion, thinly sliced
1 jalapeno, diced (remove seeds and ribs)
¼ C Cilantro Chopped
Juice of 2 limes
Juice of 2 lemons
1 shot of simple syrup
Salt and pepper to taste
Combine all ingredients and let “cook” for at least 4 to 6 hours
Add some class with glass…Serve in Margarita or Martini Glasses and garnish with a lime or lemon wedge on the side of the glass
Seared Wasabi Local Tuna
2) 2 inch Tuna steaks, either from your local fisherman or grocery store.
Dust all over with wasabi power (found in nearly every grocery store)
Heat skillet med high and drizzle with Olive Oil, allow pan to get smokin’ hot, add tuna steak, turn after 1 to 2 minutes and allow other side to sear for 1 to 2 minutes, remove from heat to allow to cool, the tuna should still be pink inside. Once cooled slice the steaks against the grain and place on platter, serve with soy sauce and wasabi paste, garnish with toasted sesame seeds.
This is MY Tuna “Salad”
1lb fresh Tuna, finely diced
2 tbsp Soy Sauce
1 small clove garlic, pressed
1 tsp grated ginger
1 tsp Mirin
1 tsp sesame oil
2 stalks of scallions – finely chopped
1 serrano chili, finely sliced
1 package of wonton wrapper
Preheat oven to 350, take a small muffin tin and line with the wonton wrapper, give a brush with egg wash and bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Remove and let cool. While wrappers are baking prepare other ingredients and fold everything together, place in refrigerator until wrappers have cooled place tuna “salad” in the cups and serve immediately. Or if you do not feel like baking the cups, take the wonton wrappers and fry them in oil heated to 350-365 and serve a tbsp of the "salad" on the fried wonton
*This is also really good on top of a cold noodles
