The Best Wahoo Fishing Lure Colors
Are you planning to visit the Florida Keys to go wahoo fishing?
Disclaimer: So I am not an expert by any means on what the hell a wahoo actually sees. Some of the stuff you are about the read is 100% based on my inner fish conspiracy theorist mind and my favorite classic 80's movie of all the time, Predator.
Match the Hatch of Local Bait Fish
When it comes to selecting wahoo lure colors, many anglers get overwhelmed. There are so many different colors to choose from, and it can be tough to know which one is the right one for the situation. So the very first thing I recommend you learn is how to effectively "match the hatch."
If you're looking to catch some wahoo on your next Islamorada fishing trip, you'll need to know what baitfish wahoo are feeding on so you can effectively match the hatch. You will want to use lure colors that match their natural prey. Below is a list of primary baitfish species that wahoo in the Florida Keys feed on:
- Flying Fish
- Bonitos
- Blackfin Tuna
- Ballyhoo
- Goggle eyes
- Rainbow Runners
- Speedos Mackerel
- Cigar Minnows
- Blue Runners
- Pilchards
- Herring
- Sardines
- Squid
Wahoos are known to be voracious eaters and will take advantage of any opportunity to feed and will eat their own young. When I cut open the stomach contents of large wahoo a few years ago, it had smaller wahoo in its stomach. So it is always best to have a few smaller trolling plugs with "tiger stripe" profiles in your arsenal.
Select Lures with Color Contrast and Iridescensent Flash
There's something about a lure with good contrast that just seems to stand out against a background. If it has a good distinction, it will be more in tune with nature. There's some amount of contrast on virtually every prey species, often between the head, body, and tail. That's why I always like to use lures with high contrast when fishing for wahoo. It makes them easier to see against the background, and it also seems to make them more responsive to the bait.
Iridescence is found naturally in the fish and squid cells. For example, if you look at a baitfish, their scales might change color depending on the angle you're looking at them from. Some fish and squid use iridescence for communication purposes, while others use it for directional movement or to avoid predators. Interestingly enough, baitfish use iridescence as a means of camouflage.
When a wahoo is hunting from below, that same iridescence coloration baitfish use to hide from predators makes them an easy target! So along with the contrasting colors, all my wahoo lures have some sort of iridescent reflection or pearlescent color hue built into them, either as mylar or an underskirt or reflective iridescent mylar wings.
The wahoo is attracted to silver and pearl iridescent reflective material. This is because they have evolved to look for this type of prey since it typically indicates healthy fish. So if you want to catch wahoo, you need a lure with some silver or pearl reflective material on it. Think like a spear diver and throw out that flasher.
We all know wahoo has excellent vision because the spear diving community has shown that wahoo will come out of know where to investigate those iridescent flashers they are tossing out.
On a recent charter, a client of mine caught a 75-pound wahoo using live bait. If you want to learn how to catch wahoo using live bait make sure you check out this podcast.
At the cleaning table, I removed its stomach contents and found a pearl color lure rigged over ballyhoo within the stomach contents of the fish. Below is the image, so if you are looking catch wahoo in the Florida Keys, below is a lure you source out on your own.
How Fish See Color So before I dig into the technical stuff about selecting lure colors for wahoo fishing, just remember for the most part a wahoo is color blind and when it comes to selecting a lure color for wahoo fishing, we should be thinking more about how the fish will see it in the water against the background more so than the color. A few scientific studies have been done to support that wahoo can see blue pigmentation along with shades of yellow and green. This study How Wahoo See Color actual mentions that a wahoo can see blue pigmentation. I found it interesting that the study also talks about how the fish brain patterns and retinal systems are structured for hunting silhouette patterns against the background.
Did you know that different colors fade away at different rates? This is because water absorbs specific colors of light more than others. So, for example, red and orange lures will disappear the quickest, while, blue and green ones will remain visible for longer. Honestly, I could care less because I am not a fish and really we have no idea what they see. For those that target wahoo, the study I talked about above is the one you be focusing on not the one below. 90% of all the sport fishing articles quote this study by the University of Wisconsin. So if you have the time to go down the rabbit hole, check out this study.
How Fish See Color-Vision Depth Study
Here is another dive study, that you may like to watch. Note the ultra UV pink canister. Dive Study
What amazes me is why most of these charts and articles do not talk much about white colors. White is highly visible in all sorts of condtions. Not sure about you but every fish I have seen for the most part that a wahoo eats has a white belly with silver or pearl iridescence (produced naturally fish scales of fish and skin). Got ya thinking, right?
UV and Florescent Colors UV light fasincates me when it comes to fishing as I have had some great success using UV coated lures and mylars over the past 5 years. Materials used as pigments in paint or dye that exhibit such fluorescence appear brighter under sunlight because they absorb invisible UV light and re-emit it at visible wavelengths. For this reason they are commonly used for signs, safety vests and other applications in which high visibility is important and now they are being used in the fishing industry as lure paints.
Ok, so all marine animals adapt genetically overtime to survive. I strongly believe that the UV light index is at its all-time, especially on the cloudy days during the fall and winter months, even when it is a bit cooler outside. So I can't help but think, are wahoo utilizing more UV light to recognize colors, fish patterns, and fish profiles more today than they were 10 years ago? Hell, it is 2022, so why not, right? Take what I just said with a grain of salt, thats my inner fish conspiracy mind talking.
After getting hundreds of wahoo bites during the nautical light hours of the early morning over the past 10 years, I had unknowlingly convinced myself that a wahoo utilizes UV light without knowing I did. Wahoos are voracious predators, and in my opinion, they indeed can use UV light to gain a feeding advantage, especially in low-light situations.
It's a dreary day out, the sky is a dismal gray, and the surface water is dirty. But for the experienced wahoo fisherman, this is actually a good thing. That's because UV light becomes dominant on these gray days, and that's when fluorescent colors come into play. UV light "activates" fluorescents, and even though we may not be able to see much of a difference, the fish can. That often makes fluorescents a prime choice for anglers looking to catch fish.
I have caught a lot of wahoo on darker cloudy days, so even though it is not scientifically proven, I feel a wahoo has those special UV-sensitive cells in its eyes that allow it to see fluorescent colors (again inner fish consiparcy mind talking) These colors become very dominant in low-light conditions and green water. Hence, I prefer using solid fluorescent colors, UV coated lures, iridescence pearls and silvers built into them, and light glow material.
There are different fluorescent colors available on the market today, but one of the most popular choices and one of my favorite is UV pink.
My personal favorite near-surface wahoo bait that I run 5-10 ft below the surface is a UV blue/UV pink hair sea witch tied with pearl mylar and UV mylar and glow mylar. When you mix pink and blue, you get violet purple, so is the fish seeing more violet purple than he is pink and blue? Unless we are getting our advice from a Captain Aquaman then really we have no idea.
Another wahoo fishing lure you may want to try is fluorescent pink and florescent yellow rigged with pearl mylar. This wahoo lure color is killer. I used to call this one "Banana Split", but now I call it "Georgia Peach" because you get a soft peach color when you mix yellow and pink paints together.
I have sets of baits for dark days/green water made with fluorescent UV colors. These are my go-to bait on low-light days and fishing in the dark early morning hours or into the evening. It is all about trigging a reactionary bite on these types of days, and fluorescent lure colors with built-in glow, as well as iridescent silver and pearl color, get me the edges on these more challenging condition days.
These highly reflective fluorescent UV lures are kept separate from lures I use when we have 100 feet or more visiblity, brigtht sun and blue skyes. There is such as thing as "to much is not a good thing" and that goes for using lures packed with "bling" as well.
Murky Green Water Lure Color Selections Depending on the water clarity and the nature of suspended solids, different depths might appear in a different colors. For example, a murky green water layer might have a pretty shade of nice blue/purple water below, depending on how deep it is. The wahoo will hunt just below this green slime layer; it is only a guess how deep this layer of suspending green water extends.
It's hard to tell what is going on down there, especially in the early morning hours. So when I see green surface water in the morning, I turn to my sonar and start looking for visual cues of clean water such as a thermalcline and the presence of baitfish in the water column. I am also looking for visual cues like birds, baitband my favorite indicator that clean water is below that slime later of green water is a sea turtle. So when I start seeing the sea turtles, I feel pretty confident that clean water is present below the dirty water.
When fishing green water, I put out a florescent moss green colored bait; the moss green color hue matches the watercolor. I always have one lure in the water that matches the color of the surface water. Over the years, I have found that fluorescent moss green is near perfect green watercolor match and it has close as your going to get with matching the exact color of the back of a goggle eye or speedo.
After the moss green, next in line are florescent colored lures and UV-colored/coated baits. My favorites are blue/white, blue/pink, blue/black, pink/white, white/yellow, blue/yellow, black/red, and iridescent pearls and silvers. These colors tend to stand out the most against the green water background and often result in strikes.
I used to find that picking the best wahoo fishing lures colors for dirty water condtions as challenging but present day I am very confident in my spread now. When fishing dirty green water, I always try to have a diving plug in my spread, just for the silhouette of a baitfish. Even it doesn't catch any fish, it still makes him feel better knowing that he has one out there. It always seems to catch fish on days when the water quality is not excellent.
So what's an angler to do when the forecast is unpredictable? The best solution is to have a variety of lures in different colors, hues rigged, and ready for the conditions you may encounter.
Wahoo in the Florida Keys loves eating ballyhoo, cigar minnows, speedo, herring, blue runners, mackerels, goggle eyes, rainbow runners, squid, and krill. So if you are not getting bit but you are marking lots of bait more profound in the water column, try lure color hues like
- Blue/green
- Green/black
- Blue/Fluorescent Yellow-Rainbow Runner
- Green/gold/white
- Chartreuse/pink/white
- Pink/white
- Pink/crystal
- Moss Green-Speedo and Goggle Eye Color
Weather and Water Quality Forecast for the Region When it comes to wahoo fishing, it's essential to have the right lure color hues in the water to catch the wahoo you are targeting. But what about when the weather isn't ideal? Sunny days and clear water call for light-colored lures, while cloudy days or murky water call for darker lures. Right?
Actually, things are a bit more complicated than that when it comes to picking the best wahoo fishing lure colors.
So what's an angler to do when the forecast is unpredictable? The best solution is to have a variety of lures in different colors, hues rigged, and ready for the conditions you may encounter.
On sunny days when the water is clear, light-colored lures are the way to go. This is because they mimic natural patterns and help draw in fish from a distance. I prefer contrasting color hues for a more realistic presentation. My personal favorites on these types of days are the following:
- Carolina Blue/Crystal Hair
- Blue/Crystal Hair
- Pearl/Silver
- Crystal
Conversely, on overcast days or in murky waters, darker lures are more likely to catch fish's attention as silhouettes or shadows. Remember that in the Florida Keys, our UV index is extremely high, especially during a cloudy day so selecting a few florescent color hues is a good idea if you encounter cloudy water/murky day conditions.
Below are just a few of my personal favorite color hues to fish on cloudy days are the following
- Blue/Crystal-Remember crystal is more of a violet /purple color.
- Cyrstal-Violet/Purple
- Pearl/Silver
- Blue/black
- pink/crystal
- Blue/Florescent UV Colors like pink and yellow
- Moss Green-Matches the color of the green water in the Florida Keys
- Neon Green/Yellow Florescent
- Blue/Pink(Bubble Gum)
- Black/Gold
- Black/Red
- Black/Fluorescent UV Colors
- Black/Pearl
- Purple/Black
Match the Lure Color the Surface of Water
Last but not least, the standard. Match the lure color with the surface of the water.
I like to take photos of all my wahoo for my logbook. Like with all days they evetually repeat themselves, I call the photo "Wahoo Sunrise" I don't think I have ever not got a wahoo bite when the sun reflects orange/red on the water while trolling towards land with the current on a morning just before a high tide when the sun reflects off the water like this photo. On these mornings black, reds or oranges go out. Florencent orange lure heads excel on mornings when ocean looks exactly like this photo.
On sunny days when the water is clear, light-colored lures are the way to go. This is because they mimic natural patterns and help draw in fish from a distance. However, I prefer contrasting color hues for a more realistic presentation. When I fishing blue water with an over head sky like the one in the photo and silver white mirror surface I make sure I have a couple of blue and white lures in the water. One will be rigged over a ballyhoo and one will be rigged over a Baitstrip as well as pearl irridesencent lure in my spread as well.
Throughout the day a good Captain is always in tune with the changing enviroment around him and changing lures througout the day to keep up with the enviromental changes happening around him so he can keep the rod bent.
Wahoo Fishing Tip: Take time lapse photos of your surrondings throughout your day and make short video clips of your prop wash every time you go fishing. What lures you start with in the moring will change over the course of the day as the condtions change.
Everyone needs a wild card lure color in their life to keep things interesting. My wild card lure always has shade of pink mixed with with an iridesencent pearl or silver of some sort.
Final Thoughts
So I have basically given you the formuala for selcting the best wahoo fishing lure colors. One thing to keep in mind is that wahoo can be very fickle when it comes to what they'll eat on any given day. So if you don't have any luck using one particular color lure, don't be afraid to switch things up and try something else.
So until Elon Must decides to create a wahoo cyborg that will tell him exactly what the wahoo sees under the water we will just have to keep on guessing.
