albacore tuna?

[sturgeon crazy]

Is any one hooking up with albacore recently?
I have signed up for one of anil's albacore trips and am chomping at the bit to go. thought I would see if anybody has been chasing them.
SC

[Stonefish]

Here is a report, photos and videos from a non flyfishing board this past week out of Westport.
http://www.gamefishin.com/gfboard/forum_posts.asp?TID=22390
Brian

[ibn]

I went out last Monday, we went about 40 miles out from the columbia, it was slow, we ended up piclking up only 4 fish. They were showing themselves in the morning, then they went down and we didn't touch another fish the rest of the day. Heading out for an overnight trip next weekend.

[gt]

just looked at some buoy data. all the sea temps look pretty good, low 60s but in range. good luck out there, will look forward to a report when you hit the beach.

[starbo]

Went out of Westport on Sept 8th about 55 miles SE of Westport. Ran into large schools of Albacore. Caught 167 fish avg 20lbs in about seven hours between 10 anglers. Caught one 21.1 lb Albacore on 9WT RS3 Redingtion Fly Rod using a Lefties Deceiver. Multiple tuna boiling on the surface, many took swipes at the fly and one hit the fly and the race was on. Landed the fish 45 minutes later. Will post pictures when I get them. Eat your wheaties cause these fish will kick your fly fishing butt...

[chongfk]

167 fisf!!!! 45 minutes fight!!!! These are all dream fishing situation. Can anyone reccoment some good Tuna fishing services? Thanks.

[ibn]

chongfk,

In order to go tuna fishing you have to go pretty far offshore, thus it's somewhat espensive to charter a boat, usually you need 4 or 5 people to cover the cost. Anil from Puget Sound Fly Co. set up a couple trips last year, and so far this year has run 4 or 5 successful trips and I think he has 1 more coming up this weekend. These are fly fishing only trips for tuna out of Oregon. Give him a call if you have questions about it, or shoot him a PM, his username is "anil". It's a lot of fun, right up there with bonefishing as my favorite fish to target with a fly.

I've caught several tuna on flies and I've not had one take any longer then about 20 minutes. We use 12wt rods though, not sure what kind of gear starbo was using. No doubt pound for pound they are the strongest fish I've ever tangled with on a fly rod.

Couple shots from 2 weekends ago:

http://www.washingtonflyfishing.com/gallery/data/506/medium/albies_ibn.jpg

http://www.washingtonflyfishing.com/gallery/data/506/medium/albies_hutch_and_ib.jpg

http://www.washingtonflyfishing.com/gallery/data/506/medium/albies_ricky_rod_taco.jpg

[chongfk]

That is nice fish . . . . I will defenitely join one of these trip soon. How much do you have to spend usually?

[ibn]

Westport charters usually run around 500$/person (at least the ones I've researched). If you go with Anil it was just under 300$. Last trip out I was talking to the captain and he said they burn through around 100-120 gallons of diesel per trip, at around 3$/gallon that adds up.

[alpinetrout]

Also, most of the boats out of Westport are bigger vessels that usually take out larger groups, which increases the cost significantly for a smaller group of fly anglers. I had one guy quote me $1500/person to do an overnight trip with 4 people out of Westport. You just can't economically run a 50' boat with only 4 or 5 anglers on it and there is a serious lack of smaller vessels in the Westport fleet.

The guys we fish with out of Oregon are the best you're going to find in this region. They run smaller 6-pack boats, so the cost for a small group is much more affordable, plus they're fly-friendly captains who have been extremely willing to learn the in's and out's of fly fishing for tuna.

[Willie Bodger]

So, I've got a 9'6" 9 wt CTS Affinity, would that be far too little rod for these fish?

Willie

[alpinetrout]

So, I've got a 9'6" 9 wt CTS Affinity, would that be far too little rod for these fish?


It depends how much you hate yourself. It would be about the same as going to Alaska to fish for king salmon with a 6 weight. Unless you're going after a light line record and need a rod that will cushion the tippet, you'll have a much more enjoyable time with an 11 or 12 weight. Plus when you break your CTS, the warranty turn around and rewrapping time puts you out of commission for awhile.

[Anil]

Another consideration would be for your boat-mates. Using light tackle takes additional time. If everyone is willing to wait for you, that's fine. But since these fish move quickly the rest of the school will not hang around waiting for you to land their ‘friend’. With fish busting several hundred yards away, waiting 45 minutes to 1 hour everytime you hook-up might get frustrating for the other guys who are using 12 weights and can land them in 10-15 minutes.
Anil

[Willie Bodger]

Well put... I was in the running for a 12 wt T&T on EBay a while ago, but lost out at the last minute... Guess I'll have to start up the hunt again...

[Dan Massaro]

Do you book these trip year round or do they stop in next few months.
Thanx

[chongfk]

ibn,
Thanks for the information!! I now understand that not only I need to pay for the boat, I have to pay for a new 12th wt rod also. I have to start saving now or start looking for a better paying job, lol! However, I do want to do it someday. I guess the first step is to get a 12th wt. It's time to hit ebay and check out my luck.

chongfk

[alpinetrout]

Do you book these trip year round or do they stop in next few months.
Thanx

The albacore are only around from roughly late June through early October.

[sturgeon crazy]

chongfk,
don't forget the reel. If you go out with a reel with adequate drag for steelhead, you'll most likely smoke the reel or expand the spool. this weekend will be my first albacore trip but have some expierience with yellowfin in mexico and tuna are incredibly strong. I would say the reel is much more important than the rod. offshore angler has gold cup IM8 graphite saltwater rods with fuji silicon carbide guides( needed for spectra backing) for $169.99. I have many of these rods and have fished them in mexico and for sturgeon in the columbia, they cast great, seam very strong with plenty of lift and you just cant beat the price. If you do snap a rod after the waranty it wont hurt so bad plus it helps offset the $800-1000 price of an Abel reel and another $250 bucks for backing/shooting head assortment.
I cant wait for this trip, I can hardly sleep.
SC

[chongfk]

Oh ya . . . I did forget the reeel . . . I don't want to go to one of this trip and ask "reel? what reel?" That would be real sad, lol! Well, got to save for the reel too . . .

[starbo]

Here some picts from my trip off westport.
Rod is a 9wt Redington RS3 with matching center disc large arbor reel.
Used 20lb mono for leader and lefties deceiver pattern.
:thumb: