I personally think that one of the reasons why albacore fishing is so popular is because when you find a school of them, you're almost guaranteed of catching a boat full in that one session. With other species of tuna, you may catch 2 or 3 in a day but with albacore you usually come home with 10 or 20 in the boat. They would have to be the perfect size for eating too, their body length is just right for tender strip fillets or cross cut tuna steaks.
But before you get the chance to fillet and cook an alabacore, you're going to have to find and catch one first. No matter if you've been a fan of albacore fishing for years or are looking for ways to catch your first one, you've come to the right place for advice and techniques!
How to find albacore tuna
Firstly, you need to know where the fish are feeding so as always with tuna fishing, keep your eye out for sea birds hovering above the water and diving down into it. If your local area is known for albacore then you will often find them within ten miles of the coastline which makes your boat travel time nice and short, it won't always be this way though so be prepared to travel if the situation calls for it.
If you want to take a more scientific approach to your albacore fishing trip then jump on the Internet and study the sea surface temperature maps too look for the gradients of warm and cold water. Once you've found the thermoclines you want to target the warm side and troll your lures in that temperature range as this is where albacore will most often be. They seem to prefer warm water and spend much of their time following it around the coastline and the world in general.
Chumming tips for albacore fishing
Once you've found your school of albacore, quickly set a waypoint in your GPS and then circle back onto that zone so you can start chumming with anchovies. This will bring the fish towards the boat and get them ready to take a bait or lure. I would be throwing out finger sized live baits at this point, maybe whole anchovies or small squid if you don't have live fish bait on the boat.
When it comes to tackle and lure selection, there is a wide range of options which will work for albacore fishing. Many of the old salty dogs swear by the trusted method of trolling feather jig lures through warm water over a hundred miles offshore to catch albacore tuna. Other fisherman will wait for the rough weather and big sea's then head out with heavy, metal head lures for their catch of fish.
Albacore fishing tackle and lures
One thing that is common to all conditions and sizes of fish is the strength of fishing line used, so don't go too light or you are likely to be bitten off before you land your tuna in the boat. For maximum fun, try using 10lb mono with a 20lb leader and all the skill you have available to catch albacore. If you don't want to risk your catch then go with 20lb mono line or heavier and it's pretty much assured you won't get bitten off. I don't know of anyone that uses wire trace when albacore fishing so go with what works and stick using mono leader or heavy lines all the way to the hook.
Albacore can grow up to 30kg in weight, the most common size will be less than 20kg though so choose your tackle for that weight range.
Stick with only one option, and expect for more catches, and make sure to use the same lure or bait in trolling. Even though it goes against logic, by limiting the choices the quantity of catches of Albacore actually increase. If you want to throw an oddball cedar plug, or green monster, use it away from the presentation, at the furthest length.
When trolling lures for albacore tuna, it is widely accepted among anglers that the fish will strike on any of the following lures:
- Soft plastic swim baits
- Deep running iron jigs
- Small tuna feather lures
- Minnow lures
- Small spoon lures
- Hex head skirted lures
- Rubber squid skirts
Sharp hooks matched to the size of live bait are also a necessary requirement for Albacore fishing success. So having an ample selection of hook sizes will be a prelude to success based on the size of the bait that is available on a given outing. A collection of hooks in various sizes would be a great investment for trolling boats to have. Anchovies, sardines, and small mackerel are good live bait and are hooked in different fashions to better attract Albies. Anchovies should be hooked with mouth shut, through the bottom, up through the top lip. They can also be collar-hooked. Sardines and mackerel, on the other hand, can be hooked through the nose or anus, which encourages top water or downward presentation, respectively.
The best techniques for albacore fishing:
- correct tuna bait and chumming technique,
- right time of day/night
- albacore tuna hooks and rigs,
- their preferred water temperature,
- longfin tuna lures,
- correct ocean depth
- precise trolling speed
Unlike large yellowfin and bluefin tuna, it won't take a marathon fight to land your albacore tuna due to their smaller size. Once you've got an albacore near the boat, either net the fish or gaff it in the head. Gaffing an albacore in the body can spoil the flesh due to the blood and toxins being released into the immediate area. Once you have your tuna on the boat you must bleed it as soon as possible then put it into a slurry of ice and salt water.
