My son, Eric, and I made our first trip for albacore back in the summer of 1973. We were trolling about 25 miles offshore with some Japanese feathers made by George Champlin, a famous charter captain out of New London. We really didn't know anything. We were trolling too fast and had not caught a fish. Fortunately, we happened upon Dickie Meek, and we matched hiss trolling speed.
About a half hour later all three of our rods snapped down. It took about two minutes for the bluefish outfits to get dumped, but we still had one on the 9/0 Penn Senator. We fought this fish for about 10 minutes from the companion chair behind the console of the Mako23. It seemed like an eternity. We managed to gaff it and put it in the box, but we didn't have the slightest idea what it was. With those long pectoral fins it looked like a 747 coming up through the water. Needless to say, we didn't eat it. We gave it to our neighbors, and they enjoyed it very much. That was the first albacore we ever caught.
Seventeen years and hundred of albacore later, we feel very much at home on the inshore tuna grounds along the 20- and 30- fathom curves. We've upgraded the tackle as well. Six-four custom rods from J&B Tackle allow our customers to fight fish standing up or from the chair. These rods are a compromise between the traditional trolling rod and a West coast stand-up rod. They are perfect for fishing from a small boat. Penn 50SW's, loaded with 80 Pound Hi-Seas monofilament, complete, the setup. We drop down to 12- and 20- pound outfits for fun fishing or when experienced anglers are aboard. But for charter fishing, the heavier outfits leave room for error, especially when yellow fin and blue fin are cruising the same waters.
Note that the ideal water temperature for albacore, in my estimation, is between 67 and 70 degrees. If it's too warm, no good. If it's too cold, the blue fin move in and the albacore move out. The depth of the water isn't a major factor, but be sure to try the 20- and 30- fathom curves. The keys are water temperature and bait.
Our most productive lure is probably the hexhead. To catch more fish, rig them without leaders, run the line through the lure and tie it to a 100 pound test barrel swivel. We use a fisherman's knot, but any good knot will do. Put the other end of the barrel swivel into the eye of a #7 O'Shaughnessy tin hook. Don't forget to close the eye with a crimping tool or a pair of pliers. You can buy these hexheads in a wide variety of colors. My favorites are red & white, particularly on sunny days, and black & white for cloudy days. We like pulling small lures because we can catch just about anything: mushies, albacore, yellow fin and school blue fin. Little Smokers, Green Machines and Zukers also produce for us.
When trolling these lures off the transom, use a clip or a rubber band to hold down each line. This keeps the lures down in the water and prevents the lines from tangling during turns or in windy conditions.
We usually fish six to eight rods, but on a smaller boat, six is plenty. Fish two in the second wake, two in the fourth wake and two in the sixth wake if you have outriggers. Seven to 7.5 knots is a good speed; try to create as much white water as you can. If you have trim tabs, put those down to kick up more white water. Trim up our I/O or outboard to kick up even more frothy water. The more white water behind the boat, the more albacore you will catch.
When an albacore strikes, there are probable 40 behind the boat. The idea is to hook up four or five rods at a time, not because you're greedy, but because it creates a hell of a lot of excitement. When those albacore look up and see your spread or lures, it looks like a host of bait charging along the surface. They're going to come up and feed. If your tackle can handle it. fish strong drags. A strong drag will keep the first albacore close to the boat. Tuna are very competitive fish. If you keep the first fish or two in the white water, more albacore will crash your baits.
So, keep the boat moving for a count to 10 and try to hook up the rest of the rods. Then put the boat in idle, just making way, and turn toward the side that hooked up. Don't stop dead in the water. If you do, the fish will swim all over the place, probable tangle up or cut the line on the props. Keep the boat in gear and keep the fish coming.
As with any tuna, try to gaff albacore in the head to avoid damaging the meat. since that first trip 17 years ago, I've learned that albacore are excellent eating. Bleed head, gut and ice your tuna immediately to maintain the quality of the meat.
Remember, pull your lures in the white water, fish a strong drag, count to 10 for multiple hook-ups, and don't forget to save a fish for your neighbor.