With albacore is full swing off the central California coast , I will devote this month's tips to those longfin bullets. There will be two parts this month, one for private boaters and one for anglers fishing on party boats.

    Private boats your first tip is be careful. Be sure that your boat is in ideal working condition. You do not want a breakdown 40 miles offshore. If you can fish with another boat or two all the better, but give the other trollers some fishing space. Usually a quarter of a mile away or more is ideal. You are still close enough to one another if someone needs help and far enough away not to disrupt the other boats fishing area.

    Second tip is keep it simple. Trolling with four rods is more than enough. You can fish two without any weight and two with a torpedo sinker. Usually a 16 oz. torpedo is fine. This set-up will stop tangles and still catch lots of fish. Try fishing the outside lines with the trolling weights and putting them back about 50 to 60 feet. The inside lines without weights about 80 to 90 feet back. You want to keep the total difference in length between your "shortest" and "longest" feather about 20 to 30 feet. This will help to get more double and triple jig strikes. Many people recommend things like outriggers, daisy chains, or trolling six or more rods, it is just too much "junk". I own a tackle store and I would love to sell you all that stuff, IF you needed it, but you don't. Spend your money on a very good quality water temp. gauge. You can also get hooked up with a company called Ocean Imaging. They have software and a download service, meaning it is not free, that offers full color surface water temperature for central California. You can get a download before you leave in the morning and know where the water temperature breaks are. You can find Ocean Imaging at: "http://www.oceani.com".

    Third tip is trolling in the correct water. Try to find water that is so dark blue that it even looks purple or black. For those who have been out already this year (1997) you know what I am talking about. If you compare this year's color to last year's you now know the difference between what is ideal water color, this year, and what is fishable water color, last year. Once you find the right "color" start trolling if the water temperature is above 58 degrees. Try to find the water temperature changes or "breaks". These breaks will hold fish. The ideal temperature for albacore is 61-64 degrees.

    My first tip for party boat anglers is make sure the boat has live bait and lots of it. If you are "just going trolling" you are missing out on all the fun and excite of live bait fishing for albacore. There is nothing as fun as feeling that tuna pick up the anchovy and swim off with your hook. Fighting albacore on 20 lb. test gear is what it is all about.

    Second tip:get the troll fish in quickly. Landing a trolling fish quickly allows the school to follow that one fish to the boat. Once the school comes to the boat you can start flylinning live bait to the albacore. Troll with at least a 6/0 size reel. If you have a "30" size lever drag or larger even better. Be sure you are trolling with a tight drag. Fifteen pounds of drag is a good start. On all of our charters we supply the trolling combos that way everyone who is up on a trolling team has the "right stuff".

    Third tip: Pick a good live bait. The better the bait the better the chance of you getting hooked. You want to pick an active and "clean"(no missing scales, red nose or one eyed) bait, hook it and get it in the water quickly.

    Fourth tip: Do not swing on the hook set. If you have sharp hooks and the right drag setting, just wait for the fish to run with the bait, put the reel in gear, when the line comes tight just raise the rod up and your hooked. Swinging will sometimes pull the hook out or pop your line.

    Fifth tip: Follow your line. If you are drifting a live bait or fighting an albacore always keep your line directly in front of you. There should not be any angle to your line. Always take up any slack line.

    Final tip: Enjoy the battle. One on one with an albacore is fun. Do not be in a hurry to land the fish. It will take about 5 to 10 minutes to land a feisty 20 pounder on 20 lb. test, don't rush it.

Past Tips

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