"Wahoo" continued her patrol and sighted several airplanes, a patrol boat, and a tender but was unable to close on any possible targets. On 1 October 1942, the submarine extended her patrol to Ulul Island, where she sighted several fishing boats. Within the next few days, "Wahoo" missed two of her best targets of the war. The first was (listed as a seaplane tender, she was in fact a mother ship to midget submarines), sailing without escort; "Wahoo" proved unable to reach a firing position. On 5 October, she sighted an aircraft carrier, believed to be , escorted by two destroyers. (In fact, "Ryūjō" had been sunk six weeks earlier in the Solomon Islands). Due to an approach lacking aggressiveness and skill, the target sailed away untouched. Two days later, "Wahoo" departed the patrol area. On 16 October, she made rendezvous with her escort and proceeded to Pearl Harbor, where she ended her first patrol on 17 October 1942.