Albacore tuna charter, Tuesday, 1 September 2026
- Thread starter Cabezon
- Start date
If push comes to shove on the catching front I’m sure I’ll try a jig setup at some point. Love jigging almost as much as fly fishing.
SilverFly
Legend
Yes, Ed has "augmented" our catch with jigs. I will as well in a pinch, but love the fly grab too much to usually pick up a jig rod. Definitely a fun nd productive way to catch tuna.
Landing tuna on fly gear can be done reasonably quick depending on rod weight and probably more so on technique. You cannot let tuna rest. Short aggressive, relentless pumps makes a huge difference. I also am usually fishing a 13, or 14wt which helps. Landing albies under 15# on the 14wt is almost "easy" ... almost.
Three. For the record, it was three, and I didn't even start dropping the jig until you had been f'n around with that fish for awhile. In the moment, I really thought you weren't serious about reeling it to the boat, but it turned out to be a legitimately jumbo albacore and I better understood your prolonged struggles.
I bring the jig rod because I do like a jig strike fish and there are some moments where 4 people casting feels like too much for the space, especially if the surface bite has slowed. Straight down is always open.
Plus, it's my best long term WA opah plan. One day I will find one 300' down under some debris.
two… three… who’s counting
I gotta work on that short pump technique. Need more reps! Although some albacore are pushovers and others aren’t. I remember a troll fish one trip that didn’t even make it to the backing.
i was under the impression that a 'fish on' can often keep, or bring other tuna in to the action ? thus if someone has one on, keep it on, and others can throw out one thing or another ?? i may be wrong here.
That's a classic proven technique for dorado/mahi/dolphin, but I'm not sure it's such a thing for tuna. Also may be wrong here.
It's moreso that if you lose the fish, it'll take the school with it when it takes off.
I’m on a trip with @Tallguy and @Kfish 30 days from now. Thanks to Ed, I’ve been jigging a lot for salmon in Puget Sound the last couple years. Lou has been doing it a lot as well.
I wonder how disappointed Nick would be if all three of us put the fly rods down and just started dropping jigs at every stop
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I wonder how disappointed Nick would be if all three of us put the fly rods down and just started dropping jigs at every stop
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Capt. Chuck was Red....something but not the dish soap...
assuming we're talking about the same one out of Hammond with a 40ish foot boat, was red, he was salty as fuck.
That’s the one and only.
we did a fly trip with him back in 2009 (I think) and after we got back to port (and every single one of us chummed), he stated, "that's about as rough of seas as I'll take clients out in"
'thanks Chuck'
SilverFly
Legend
"Salty" is polite. It was Red Sky Charters, on the Bewitched. She was a big girl, slow, but roomy. Thankfully stable and capable of handling rough seas. I'll never forget being 35 miles offshore in 14' combined seas, looking up to see our trolled flies surfing over the wave crests. Like I said, "salty" is polite. The guy could find fish though.