Tuna 2022, let the games begin!

SilverFly

Life of the Party
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Has anyone found the Aug. fishing magazine that @Nick Clayton said was talking about the fly fisherman catching albacore on flyrods? I know @SliverFly posted a pic of his back pulling up a long fin that he got as a online order but I have not found one of the magazines any where.
I tried a couple of local Safeways and Fred Meyer but only found a few July editions. Online is only a buck and change.
 

Evan B

Bobber Downey Jr.
Staff member
Admin
I feel like we're getting close to the fat lady singing on 2022 tuners :(
 

Jake Watrous

Legend
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I feel like we're getting close to the fat lady singing on 2022 tuners :(
What follows is a very anecdotal survey based on one conversation with deckhands and one day trip I went on:

Thursday one boat killed 48, Friday one boat killed 8 and that seemed to be the norm, Saturday our boat killed slightly more than that. Definitely seems to be tapering. Lots of jumpers, far fewer commitments and almost no conversions to bait stops.
 

Nick Clayton

Fishing Is Neat
Forum Supporter
I put 47 fish in my boat today. It's still as good as its been all season, and the water is still ideal and there's lots of it. Some days are better than others but that means nothing in regards to the overall season. My money says we have at least 2 weeks left, if not more.

The numbers are there. The fish will remain as long as the water does.
 

Jake Watrous

Legend
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I put 47 fish in my boat today. It's still as good as its been all season, and the water is still ideal and there's lots of it. Some days are better than others but that means nothing in regards to the overall season. My money says we have at least 2 weeks left, if not more.

The numbers are there. The fish will remain as long as the water does.
Glad to see things are going strong out there still.
 

Cabezon

Sculpin Enterprises
Forum Supporter
I put 47 fish in my boat today. It's still as good as its been all season, and the water is still ideal and there's lots of it. Some days are better than others but that means nothing in regards to the overall season. My money says we have at least 2 weeks left, if not more.

The numbers are there. The fish will remain as long as the water does.
Dang, I hear that clock ticking. I would like to squeeze in one more trip...
Steve
 

SilverFly

Life of the Party
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I put 47 fish in my boat today. It's still as good as its been all season, and the water is still ideal and there's lots of it. Some days are better than others but that means nothing in regards to the overall season. My money says we have at least 2 weeks left, if not more.

The numbers are there. The fish will remain as long as the water does.
Are they still keyed on small saury? S&B had a post the other day that there were tons of jumpers but few biters.
 
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Nick Clayton

Fishing Is Neat
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Haven't put eyes on saurie lately, but they're likely still eating them. Lack of aggressive biters while seeing lots of jumpers doesn't always mean they are keyed in on anything. Often it's just a mood or timing thing. Some days they are finicky most of the day and then they turn on. Some days there are a million jumpers but tough to catch and then same area in the morning and they'll chew the paint off the side of the boat.

When they are eating on the troll they are still smashing large troll lures quite well, instead of only responding to small stuff.

As much fun as it is to try to come up with answers, and lord knows I do that as much as anyone, there's just no accounting for what the fish want to do at any given time.

Today we had really good bait fishing. Several other boats had lots of troll hookups and much less bait fish. Just came down to which batch of fish one came across.

What I know for sure is there are still a ton of fish around. Until that water is all scattered, that likely won't change. I've never seen better September weather either.
 

Nick Clayton

Fishing Is Neat
Forum Supporter
Oh and most importantly....swell comes way up on Wed so I get my first day off in over two weeks!!!!

This has been such an incredible season both in terms of fishing as well as number of trips run. As a company we've set a new all time best for total number of trips run. Well over 200 Tuna trips between our 4 boats, and counting.

Physically I'm still as good as ever. Sore as shit and all that, but not slowing down. But mentally I am lagging behind and am desperately needing some rest lol
 

Evan B

Bobber Downey Jr.
Staff member
Admin
I put 47 fish in my boat today. It's still as good as its been all season, and the water is still ideal and there's lots of it. Some days are better than others but that means nothing in regards to the overall season. My money says we have at least 2 weeks left, if not more.

The numbers are there. The fish will remain as long as the water does.
Just looking at the forecast, things are getting pretty sporty. I see very little hope of a little dinghy like mine getting another window. One can hope though.
 

SilverFly

Life of the Party
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Oh and most importantly....swell comes way up on Wed so I get my first day off in over two weeks!!!!

This has been such an incredible season both in terms of fishing as well as number of trips run. As a company we've set a new all time best for total number of trips run. Well over 200 Tuna trips between our 4 boats, and counting.

Physically I'm still as good as ever. Sore as shit and all that, but not slowing down. But mentally I am lagging behind and am desperately needing some rest lol

Nick, In the unlikely event you get bored in your downtime, you should re-visit the "Interesting Recent Commercial Catches" thread on the old site. I did today and it's pretty entertaining, and sometimes fascinating in light of what we (meaning mostly you) have learned about this as a fly fishery in the years since.

I might steal some snippets when I get a chance.
 

SilverFly

Life of the Party
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Hop into the way back machine. Quote from (then) future tuna Captain Clayton in 2016 about the (then) hypothetical potential of fly gear in our albacore fishery.

Which goes back to my thinking, that I've mentioned before, where I believe there is a world of opportunity out there for the fly guy that wants to dedicate himself to it. Most guys I've seen are going on gear trips with gear captains and pulling out the fly rod only when the situation with the boat, other fishermen, and fish line up perfectly. Not knocking this one bit, or the gear captains as there are some incredible folks out there, just saying that until someone really spends the time chasing these fish strictly with fly rods will we start to understand just what is possible out there.

Personally I think there is more opportunity and chances for legitimate success than most people think. I just need to get everything to line up so I can get a new boat and begin to find out.
 
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