Q: My friend Kydd Pollock was surprised when checking the stomach contents of an ono [wahoo] he caught recently. Kydd found two spiny puffers and one longnose butterflyfish. Bottom-dwelling butterflies frequent walls, ledges and overhangs, feeding on small invertebrates that live in coral and rocks, suggesting wahoo don't mind cruising deeper and sourcing out some bottom-dwelling snacks. Willie Rocha, another Kona angler I know, pulled — alive and still wriggling — a half-banded snake eel from a wahoo's gut. Other friends have variously taken tangs and parrotfish from local wahoo also. We're wondering from all this if wahoo really do graze the bottom for prey at times.

Jim Rizzuto
Kamuela, Hawaii

A: It is not unusual for wahoo to swim at moderate depths (30 to 60 feet), and most coral reefs are home to a variety of reef fishes at those depths that would be vulnerable to predation by wahoo. Alternatively, the puffers and butterflyfish could have been associated with a localized upwelling event that brought them off a deeper bottom to feed on plankton in midwater, leaving them with no cover and at the mercy of the wahoo. Seasnakes also must leave the coral on a regular basis, as they are air breathers. Such cases, while interesting, probably signal no major change in behavior for the wahoo, especially as they normally frequent coral walls and drop-offs where seasnakes and fish such as butterflies would likely be found. But it definitely shows wahoo will eat most everything that swims when they are in the mood! — Ben Diggles