Tun - a - lert

[Pilar]

My bud tells me that his fishin bud called him up with some news about albacore tuna. Evidently the fish are 33 miles NW of Depoe Bay and coming east about a mile a day. The fishing bud (twice removed) is on a tuna boat fishing commercially and has a cell phone. Monday was a good day with many 15 to 30 lb fish caught. I should get a new report by Friday if anyone cares. The news is third hand at best but its better than nothing. Heading out now to the tackle store to get more Tuna gear that will sit in my tackle locker until used. I can feel the tuna pox coming out of remission, I may need a sick day soon.

Tough to beat fresh albacore tuna filets BBQ'd with mesquite chips! And a little secret, don't eat all of it. Save some to make little filets to wrap on your Kwikfish. Move over sardine? It'll tuna round your fishing success! Don't tell anyone. - RT

[This message has been edited by RT (edited 08-09-2000).]

[Steve]

I have heard that the dark line on the Albacore is poor quality eating, however it makes GREAT crab bait..a little goes a long ways...was this the part of the fillet that you were refering to RT?

[Pilar]

Any of you guys into recycling? Well tuna is the fish that wont quit! Good canned in the mason jar even till next year, you'll forget all about Starkist. Better fresh on the Q with lemon and butter. Next week the frozen back and head are killer in the crab motel. Best crab bait short of scuba diving with a gunny sack and corn tongs. Barnacle bill can't get enough and you'll go home with a feast fit for a king. Oh yeah and then there's all that tuna ball stuff you bank guys talk about, I've gotta try that. Fergus Mcberendsie on 11th st in Astoria has got it for $1.25 a pound, but its blast frozen. I'm droolin on myself..........

[Son of an Okie]

Hey Pilar,

How about some tips for a novice? They'll have to get a little closer in for me, but a mile east per day won't take too long. What kind of rod, how much line, what lures or bait, etc.

[wildwild]

Since I don't have a boat. Anyone care to list a couple of good charters to get me out on the Albacore ?
Coming out of Keizer ( Salem) area.
Thanks,
Dennis

[Fishen Fool]

WildWild; Try the Irish out of South Beach charters in Newport. They use rod and reels whereas a lot of the charters use hand lines.

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tight lines------<*))>>< fishen fool

[Tinman]

Son of an Okie: Here are a couple of things to keep in mind for tuna. First, troll fast....6 to 8 knots. Second, troll the lures about 40 or 50 feet behind the boat. The boat wake and prop wash actually attract the fish. Third, use 12 to 25 pound line on reels with good drags. There's nothing but open water out there, so the light line is great fun. Fourth, troll leadhead jigs designed for Tuna. Zuker makes a good one (try the saltwater catalogs). The so-called "Japanese Feathers" work well too. Both types slide up the leader. Best colors are blue & white, green & yellow, red & white, black & green, or solid black. Try the darker colors under low-light conditions. Look for 59 degree water or warmer. Cobalt-blue water is best, but "clean green" water is ok too. Avoid cloudy green water. Look for diving birds or current breaks. Current breaks are those long, narrow slicks of calm water you sometimes see offshore. Finally, there are numerous magazine articles and books about tuna fishing in San Diego. The same techniques apply up here. Best of luck to you.

Steve, the parts I've used are the choice light meat which work really well (see the tuna ball thread to notice how salmon like tuna & scent). I think I should have long ago tried the darker redder meat because of more fat/oil, even though it looks to have more blood content that I thought may be a negative. Could be just the opposite. Let's give it a try and share the results. Also people, alert the board when the fleets come in with these fresh fish! Thanks. - RT

[wildwild]

Fishen Fool,
Thanks. I'll give it a shot,
Dennis

[Pilar]

Got an update last night on the tuna. Latest is that they are 50 miles out. It was sloppy and the fishing poor. Thanks for all the great info on the gear. Here's a few tricks that I learned in the Keys, they should work here too. Don't stop when you hook up, your fish has company. Most guys use handlines because you don't have to stop the boat. Leave a small fish on a handline and drag him around. For some reason this gets the rest of the fish in the school in the mood. We used to drag a noisemaker to find fish. This is a plastic or wire frame shaped like a christmas tree with plastic squid on it, no hooks. When fish rise up and strike at the squid tree change speed or turn and hook up on a fish or two. Marlin magazine has a lot of great stuff about rigs and techniques. 'Tuna Clone' is what my dad uses with great success. His favorite is an 8" green hardhead with holes for a bubble trail. Barbless twin hooks work best since its near impossible to get a barbed hook free. The strike is savage and your handline will 'pop' like a 22 short when they hit. I've heard these fish can swim 40 mph!! This hookset drives the hook to the bone. We used to clean fish and chum with the blood and waste as we caught them. The slick seems to attract the fish. I don't know if thats legal here but it works! The bend is your friend!

[dpizza]

My experience with Albacore off of San Diego last year was that Purple and Black, Green and Black "Jet Heads" in the morning and evening while Blue and White and Green and Yellow seemed to work best in the day. We generally had best luck with small (4") jigs. We generally trolled at between 6 and 10 knots until we found fish. Once you have one on keep the boat moving and start throwing bait !!!! All lines remaining in the water should get hit....if your lucky !!!At this point in time we would start live-lining a fat sardine out and have fun with one on the light tackle. Sixty pound two speeds is what we used. Temp breaks are the key.

I actually have pictures to back my story !!!!

Tight lines.

[Pilar]

Latest report ... The fleet at Depoe Bay found fish 32 miles out on Monday. Again off to the NW. Fishing was much better and all went home with sore arms and wore out. We are ready to go if the weather allows. The key seems to be warm water 60 to 65 degrees. The bend is your friend!

[happybrew]

I think the tuna have been there a while. I bought two fresh off of a boat when I was in Newport last month with the kids. We filleted it and BBQ'd it. Yum! Froze the rest, and used the carcasses for crab bait the next day. The crabs were quite pleased with it. I don't know where they were fishing, but I don't think it could have been too far away because these tuna were as fresh as they get.

happybrew

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Patriot, Brewer, Fisherman

[Hookset]

A month ago tuna were 80 miles out, commercials usually go out that far if there is a market. So your right Happybrew, they were off the coast, just not close. I really hope the warm water moves closer than 30 miles. It'd be nice to chase tuna in my noat for a change.

Thanks for the update Pillar,

hook

[MPT]

Another good recipe for bbq'd albacore- Cut loins up in 2" chunks. Soak in Bernsteins Italian dressing for about a half hour, throw on the Q' and turn a few times so most sides are seared and meat half way done (your call on how you like it done, I like slightly rare). Than a few minutes before you remove from the Q, you splash on a lot of Kikkoman's teryaki sauce and do it generously! Cook a minute more than your done! (I got this recipe from the people at the Dockside cannery in Ilwaco)

[Richter]

I fished in LaPaz, Mexico in 1998 & 1999. We trolled Rapala's for Wahoo, Mostly in sizes CD14Mag (5 1/2") and the CD18Mag (7"). We caught quite a few Yellowfin Tuna when we were trying for Wahoo. You can cover alot of water in a hurry.Has anyone tried Rapala's for Albacore?

[Pilar]

Belated report. The fleet is fishing tomorrow from Depoe Bay. "Puffin", my buddies boat, and at least two charters. I should hear from "Puffin" when he hits the dock Friday afternoon. The wind will be up on Saturday so maybe tomorrow is the day. Can't go tomorrow must work,
..........Arrrgh. The bend is your friend!

[dpizza]

The problem with trolling Rapalas at a speed that Albacore like is that they tend to NOT run true. The only solution we found is to remove the front treble hook and you can (in theory) troll it as fast as you want. We would run one Rapala on a flat line in the back. However if it didn't run true it went in the box or trash. I should have bought stock in Rapala back in those days !!!!! You should see what one bad Rapala can do to the other five lines !!!!!!

[Richter]

dpizza,
We trolled pretty fast, 8-10 knots. Never really had to much problem with the Rapala's. There was one now and then you would have to tune. Did you have much luck with Rapala's? If so what size and colors worked best for Albacore?
Thanks,Richter

[dpizza]

Richter,

We used the 5.5" (CD 14's ???)ones in silver and black....But we caught most of the Albies on feathers and jet heads trolled between 6 and 10 knots. Once you get a school located break out the old 10 wt fly rod for some REAL fun !!!! I was only "lucky" like this once and my friend (the captain) was pretty upset that I couldn't get the fish in for forty-five minutes !!!.....I had fun though.

[Pilar]

~ Here we go! 2nd hand report this time. "Puffin" had a fair bag with 9 fish weighing a total of 150 lbs. This took an all day effort of 7 hours draggin gear.

4 small boats and two charters found fish from 30 to 32 miles on a heading of 280 degrees from Depoe Bay. Lock in Lat. N45 Lon. W125 and go. Throw in the lines at 28 miles out and color change by 30 and fish on at 32.

One broken outrigger pole due to a non releasing clip and several feathered jigs lost due to big fish. The fish weighed from 10 to 30 lbs. "Puffin" reported a large pod of Killer Whales, Dolphins and other Cetaceans herding and killing Tuna. Cool!

If the weather allows, tomorrow's post will be a first hand report. This fishin' dude is heading to Gleneden beach right now. I'll be at the launch at Depoe Bay at first light. The bend is your friend!

[Pilar]

----Access Denied!----

The unfriendly Ocean 1, Pilar 0. It started out ok but we gave up about 5 miles out. Forecast was bad 25 kts wind, 3 ft sea, 6 ft swell, and the reality was bad too. Shifted to secondary target species and bagged a few rockfish and a huge Cabezon. We will be back!

Learned a little more about the albacore and the fishing. There is a ribbon of water about 2 miles wide with the correct water temperature. This varies in location from 30 to 40 miles out of Newport or Depoe on a heading of 282 degrees. The good water is 66 to 67 degrees. There is a large pod of cetaceans hunting the Tuna.

Ever catch a salmon near sea lions offshore? Well you won't catch any Tuna near this group of whales and dolphins either!

The favorite color patterns are red-white, black-purple, and the Mexican flag, red-white-green. These are the inexpensive feathered and skirted squid jigs sold by Fishermans Marine.

Fast is good, "Puffin" got several large fish after speeding up to 10 mph from 7 on standup gear. Hopefully the next nice ocean day coincides with a day off. The charters may go tomorrow if the weather improves.

The bend is your friend!

[Richter]

dpizza,
Thanks for the info. I'll stick to feathers and jetheads. I'll leave the big rapalas in the box until I go back to Mexico.
Thanks again.
Richter

[Mr. Fisherman]

Was hot and ready to rip some tuna lips, but the weather had other plans and the charter was cancelled!

Rescheduled for next Sunday!

I'll give a detailed report then!

Tight lines!

By the way, a good charter for Tuna is Joan-e charters. http://www.joan-e-charters.com/

Give them a try...



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Live to Fish
Fish to Live

[dpizza]

Let's see if this works........school size caught on a purple and black.
http://albums.photopoint.com/j/Album...4930&a=8409117

[Mr. Fisherman]

dp,

Used the link above but the web page says you don't have any pictures posted

Maybe they got away

What were you trying to show us?



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Live to Fish
Fish to Live

[Pilar]

Latest report as of 9/7/00 18:00, courtesy of Tradewinds charters in Depoe Bay. Fish were found 45 miles out near N45 W125 Thursday. They were big uns 30 to 40 lbs. Many fish were caught.The band of 67 degree water has moved 10 miles further out.

My previous contact on the commercial boat has opted out. Tradewinds Charters in Depoe Bay were very helpful with this information as compared with the charter services operated out of Newport. They refused to give any information. Bear this in mind the next time you charter.

The weather is doggy this weekend, so I'll refrain from chasing my favorite fish at least for now. Maybe T bay is the ticket. Good luck fellow fishers and report if you get lucky on the tuna.

The bend is your friend!

[Pilar]

Tuna Report for Wednesday Sept. 13 2000. The fish are back at 32 miles on a heading of 280 degrees from Newport. Tradewinds charters bagged 38 fish on Wednesday weighing between 20 and 30 lbs.

The weather is improving with a small swell and the wind is dropping. We might lose some tackle yet!

Maybe it's time for a whack em and stack em adventure! ( I love that name ).

The bend is your friend!

[Pilar]

Ok! were heading out to Newport tonight. The weather is iffy, NW wind 15kt, 5 ft swell, 2 ft seas, but I'm at least going to give it a try. If you care to join us we'll be at the S. Beach Marina at about 0530. Bring lots of gas. Look for the white on blue bayliner 'Pilar' and the custom aluminum Ed Wing boat 'Puffin'. We answer VHF 16 and 68.

Our float plan is to head for N45 W125 and go about 30 to 35 miles until we hit the warm water. Plan B is bottom fishing the usual places S. of the #3 buoy off Newport or maybe the Rockpile.

The bend is your friend!

[This message has been edited by Pilar (edited 09-18-2000).]

[RKB]

Well pilar since your up at 2:45 AM how was tuna fishing.And yes I'm up too but at work.
Please let me wake up from this night mare and go fishing.Well till friday good luck.
RKB

[This message has been edited by RKB (edited 09-17-2000).]