Albacore on the Fly

I joined Puget Sound Fly Company for a tuna trip on Sunday. We left Astoria about 5:30am and headed west for about 45 miles until the water temp hit almost 60 degrees. The skipper yelled Tuna and we put out a couple of gear rods and a fly and soon had two Albacore ripping line off the reels. I dropped my 500 grain 12 weight and let it start sinking near the other fly hooked Tuna and soon saw the fly line disappear with about 200 feet of backing. I landed my first Albacore. Anil and I both honored our fish by eating the still pumping heart.
My second fish came straight to the boat without a fight but when it saw the net it took about 250 feet of line in 10 seconds. I have never seen a fish fly the fast. Landed my second Albacore. As we were washing off the freshly bled fish, my fly was behind the boat and I was fast to another fish. As it came closer to the boat I couldn't believe how big it was. It was a 7' Blue Shark. When it finally saw the boat it made one big head shake and the 30-pound leader parted and he quickly swam away. The 5 guys on our boat landed 13 Albacore and the 5 on the second boat landed 11. It is a long day but one I look forward to again next year. Check it out on www.pugetsoundflyco.com

Good fishing, Steve

Thanks for sharing your story, Steve. I often think about chasing albacore some time . . . but then remember I'm prone to sea sickness. 45 or more miles out, and a lot of the trips are over-nighters - not sure if I want to risk it. Sure sounds fun, tho.

Sincerely,

Salmo g.

Salmo g, we were fortunate that there were not very heavy seas. None of the 10 of us were seasick. On a rough day just leaving the Columbia can be a challenge. I will definately be going on the trip next year.