Albacore Roll Call 2021

[Clarkman]

Clarkman boats 30 miles out into the Pacific Ocean, surrounded by nothing but clear blue water, and trolls up a log! Outstanding!

The funny part was that I'm just like, "I got one!!!!"...my reel was singing! Capt. cut the engine and of course the singing stopped. That's when I caught a glimpse of a large log 3-4 VERY large swells back.

 

[Nick Clayton]

We get some pretty savage kelp strikes out there! Always exciting on a slow day.

12-14' is pretty gnarly. Biggest problem with water like that is that its just about unfishable. When customers can't even stand up it makes things difficult.

 

[SilverFly]

This makes me feel a little better about my ADD musky fly tying....hahaha!

Hey, just because you buy bucktail by the cubic yard, doesn't mean you have a "problem".

 

[Clarkman]

Hey, just because you buy bucktail by the cubic yard, doesn't mean you have a "problem".

Speaking of which, look what just came earlier today. I found some Primo Tail from Brad Bohen....

Only I would be super stoked to get a shipment of bucktail....damn, I'm stoked!

apologies for thread drift...

 

[SilverFly]

Speaking of which, look what just came earlier today. I found some Primo Tail from Brad Bohen....

Only I would be super stoked to get a shipment of bucktail....damn, I'm stoked!

apologies for thread drift...

Well if you feel bad about the hijack, use that stuff to tie up some, dare I say, hookless (gasp!) game-changer troll teasers to run on gear rods (per the earlier discussion). Not joking, the wiggly action might drawn them in like yellow jackets to an August picnic.

 

[GOTY]

@Clarkman has more bucktails that we have hooks.

 

[Clarkman]

Well if you feel bad about the hijack, use that stuff to tie up some, dare I say, hookless (gasp!) game-changer troll teasers to run on gear rods (per the earlier discussion). Not joking, the wiggly action might drawn them in like yellow jackets to an August picnic.

how big? what color? I wish I were joking....

I can always add a split ring later to add a hook if necessary.

 

[Clarkman]

@Clarkman has more bucktails that we have hooks.

that's a very distinct possibility.

 

[Black Dogg]

Welcome Gordy! Great to see another tuna charter open to fly fishing!

Allied makes one nice friggen boat for sure. Ive been on Bo's boat a few times and its probably the nicest aluminum Ive ever been on. If I was in the market for an aluminum ocean boat I think Allied would be at the top of my list.

Whats the live bait situation in Hammond? Is there somewhere to purchase or do you have to get your own?

Hey Nick! Yeah, they do build nice boats. Ordering a boat in the year 2020 is not recommended but I finally had her delivered on August 21st (a couple months late)! Made several trips before the end of the season. Made last trip on October 3rd. We painted the deck red a number of times!!! Here's a picture with new decals...

In Hammond, we have Stergon Paul's World Headquarters! No live bait but good quality fresh chovies and herring. For tuna runs I go over to Illwaco for live.

Yeah, tuna on fly rods is going to be fun. Especially late season!!! Gordy

 

[Black Dogg]

I know electric reels are expensive and a general PITA, but having even two of the teaser lines on electrics could massively speed up line clearing. Flip 2 switches, and crank in the others.

This is some good stuff guys!!! So, I just purchased a couple electric reels. Mainly for halibut but also for trolling clones. Being able to clear rods quickly is the key after hook up. Having a couple electrics to do the work while busy with other stuff is going on might work good. Using them as teasers would be perfect! The worst thing in the world is taking to long to get rods cleared and being late getting live bait rods on the water. Especially early season. Late season not as important.

I went upto the Fly Fishing Shop in Welches the other day and picked up a bunch of tying materials. I tied up a few different tuna patterns. All turned out good but I feel like they need to be heavier so I'm adding a bunch of lead now. These should work though... I like the idea of fishing deep. So many days you can see the tuna on the sonar but they don't bite up top.

 

[Black Dogg]

One downside to a Hammond a charter is the 12 hour trip timer is already ticking when you're puttering into Ilwaco at 5 knots... to get in line at the bait dock, then putter out again at 5kts. The upside is fishing over the Astoria Canyon with a load of live anchovies on board.

This is true. It's about 30 minutes more travel time in the day. However, we are so dependent on the tides for the crossing that the fleet typically gets the same "fish time" during the day no matter which port.

 

[cabezon]

This is some good stuff guys!!! So, I just purchased a couple electric reels. Mainly for halibut but also for trolling clones. Being able to clear rods quickly is the key after hook up. Having a couple electrics to do the work while busy with other stuff is going on might work good. Using them as teasers would be perfect! The worst thing in the world is taking to long to get rods cleared and being late getting live bait rods on the water. Especially early season. Late season not as important.

I went upto the Fly Fishing Shop in Welches the other day and picked up a bunch of tying materials. I tied up a few different tuna patterns. All turned out good but I feel like they need to be heavier so I'm adding a bunch of lead now. These should work though... I like the idea of fishing deep. So many days you can see the tuna on the sonar but they don't bite up top.

While you can add weight to the flies, the other option is to fish the fly on a fast-sinking line, like a depth-charger. Generally, one isn't making long casts, just long enough to clear the fly and line from the boat. Then, feed more line as the fly and line sinks. Then, vertically jig.
Steve

 

[Black Dogg]

I've always wanted to take a day and just get out there and start a big chum slick and see what shows up. I think that would be super fun. Not necessarily charter material, but a fun way to spend a day with some like minded buds.

Its odd, last year I saw by FAR the least amount of blue sharks offshore that I ever have. Most years they are a serious nuisance most of the time, and make it down right impossible to fish anchovies on many days. This year we seldom had a problem with them. One or two swimming around was the norm, but seldom too many more than that save for a few days here and there.

The flip side of that is I saw WAY more of them inshore than I ever have. When salmon fishing I had to stop fishing hoochies with a herring strip because we were hooking too many of them on the troll. Even hooked a few on flounder while lingcod fishing which I've never done before.

Last year wasn't bad for sharks out of the CR either. Then again, overall, it wasn't a great tuna year either. Chumin' for sharks does sound like a good time!!! Is it July yet?

 

[Black Dogg]

Folks who’ve fished Albacore before:

I realize I forgot a dark back, but am I on the right track here with this tube fly? Any feedback and criticism is welcome.

View attachment 269030

Money! I've been tying them similar with pink too. Light colors for sunny days. Dark colors for dark days!

 

[SilverFly]

I went upto the Fly Fishing Shop in Welches the other day and picked up a bunch of tying materials. I tied up a few different tuna patterns. All turned out good but I feel like they need to be heavier so I'm adding a bunch of lead now. These should work though... I like the idea of fishing deep. So many days you can see the tuna on the sonar but they don't bite up top.

Looking good. Ditto on what Cabezon said about using a weighted line to get deep vs relying on a heavily weighted fly. Some of these lines sink like rocks, so a heavy fly (besides being a bitch to cast) really isn't needed. Although some weight doesnt hurt.

Ideally you want the fly to sink at a similar rate as the line. Too light, and the fly and leader trail above the line on the drop. Possibly even tangling with the fly line. Albies will grab on the drop so keeping some contact with the fly is preferable. I also suspect an overly heavy fly might not fish as well once it's being retrieved at depth - due to being oriented vertically relative to the fly line. Just a hunch though since I can't see what's actually going on at 60'.