Texas wahoo: the winter run at the Flower Garden Banks

Why the Flower Gardens in winter

East and West Flower Garden are salt-dome coral banks on the outer shelf about 100 nautical miles southeast of Galveston. They rise from 300–500 ft to within 60 ft of the surface, with Stetson Bank 30 miles northwest of them. In winter, fronts chill the inner shelf into the 50s and low 60s while the banks sit in 68–75 °F blue water pushed in by the offshore eddies, so the only comfortable water near hard structure and bait is right there. Wahoo eat what the banks and rigs gather: blue runners, little tunny and other small tunas, dolphin, flying fish and squid. Why they aggregate so tightly in winter is still an open question; sanctuary scientists say they don't know, and an acoustic tagging study started in 2023.

The fishery started in the late 1980s with a handful of boats and grew as big outboard center consoles made the 100-mile run routine. In 2023 the sanctuary counted as many as 15 boats at once, often returning with 20–30 wahoo per boat; a Port Aransas party boat once landed 109 in two February days. Typical fish run 40–80 lb, with 100-pounders every winter. The Texas record is 124 lb (South Padre Island, July 5, 1987); a 142 lb fish from the Gardens out of Freeport has been reported but never certified.

When: month by month

The full-moon lore: many captains fish the January and February full moons hardest. No wahoo study has tested it, so the Navigator treats it as a small nudge, not a rule.

Where: the banks, rocks and rigs

• Runs: Galveston or Freeport to the Gardens about 100 nm (115–120 statute miles); Freeport to Stetson about 80 miles; Port O'Connor about 170 miles; Port Aransas nearly 200.
• On the bank: work the up-current edge first, then S-turns along the contour where the bottom climbs from 400 ft toward 150; mark which side of the rock the bait is stacked on, since current can differ at depth. Stay off the shallow crest or the barracuda will eat your plugs.
• Summer: spars and floaters (Boomvang/Nansen, Hoover-Diana, Perdido), weedlines and rips in blue water, trolled at 7–8 kt for dolphin and billfish with a wahoo plug in the spread.

Reading the water

How the fleet fishes it

• The plug troll (the Texas standard): 6–9 kt with two 10.5-in Rapala Magnums or X-Rap Mag 30s (firetiger, orange/black, blue mackerel) 40–50 yards back on the riggers, two Braid Marauders or Yo-Zuri Bonitas 15–30 yards back on the flat lines, one short in the prop wash. Lipped plugs run 25–30 ft down, where most Gulf wahoo are hooked.
• High speed: tournament boats run 12–18 kt with 50-class outfits, 400 lb cable, 2–4 lb in-line leads and 1–2 lb skirted lures, covering a mile back and forth along the edge. It burns fuel; the Venice fleet says plain plugs at 7–8 kt catch more in the Gulf.
• Dawn: slow-troll ballyhoo under a pink Ilander or a horse ballyhoo in the first light, then speed up. The best bite is the first two hours after sunrise, with a second push late afternoon.
• Live bait at the rigs: Sabiki 12–14 in blue runners at the platform or mooring buoy, bridle them on a 4/0 with a trailing treble, no more than two out; jig a half-ounce jig 20 ft down within 30 ft of the rig.
• Tackle: 50–80 lb class, 3–5 ft of 150–400 lb cable or heavy single-strand wire (they bite at the head), a 25 ft wind-on leader, four gaffs. Keep the boat in gear during the fight and cast a popper or jig behind a hooked fish: there's usually another one.
• Weather: winter windows are the day after a norther dies, sometimes only half a day before the east wind returns. Overnight programs (run out in the evening, bottom fish or swordfish at night, troll at daybreak) need a 24-hour window. Seas of 2–3 ft with leftover chop is a normal fishable day; the sanctuary tells boats to leave the moorings at 5–6 ft.

Rules (check before every trip)

• Bag and size: as of 2025 there is no federal bag or size limit for wahoo in Gulf waters and none in Texas rules; the familiar 2-per-person rule is the Atlantic's. Louisiana set a 5-fish limit in June 2025, citing the Texas Flower Gardens landings, and the Gulf Council has asked the states to consider rules, so watch for change. A Texas license with a saltwater endorsement is required to land fish.
• Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary: no anchoring anywhere; tie to a mooring buoy (vessels up to 100 ft, first come); hook-and-line gear only; no spearguns, nets or bottom gear aboard except in transit; no taking coral or rock; don't attract, touch or harm rays and whale sharks. The sanctuary grew from 3 to 17 banks in 2021. Its advisory council has proposed a 2-fish possession limit inside the sanctuary (not enacted).
• Release: there's no reason to keep 20 wahoo. Keep what you'll eat and let the rest go at the boat with a dehooker; a wahoo is fine to release if it isn't gaffed.