I hope by now most of you have had your fill of albacore. I just have one comment on this once in a lifetime season, do not try to kill every single albacore out there. Just because there is no limit on these tuna show a little kindness and leave a few for the next season. To give you more incentive, the season following an El Nino is usually a good one to catch albacore too. Check the catch totals for 1984 & 1985.

    This month tips are for the lucky ones who will be traveling down the Baja coast this fall on a long range trip. These 7-10 days usually offer the greatest variety for the angler. Wahoo, Yellowfin tuna, Dorado, Marlin and Yellowtail all on the same trip is possible. So how do you get the most out of one of these adventures?

    Be prepared. Bring all of your equipment. From 20 lb. to 80 lb. because you never know what you might run into. Bring a wide variety of lures as well as live bait hooks. If there is one species of fish that you are really after make sure you know what do to when the opportunity arises. I target wahoo and dorado on the fall trips. All of my casting lures have the hooks pre-sharpened and ready for the wahoo. My lighter rods are rigged with live bait hooks for the dorado. Sometimes you only get one chance so you better be ready.

    Be flexible. If the wahoo are not available, fish for what is. I do not have as much fun fishing for tuna as I do for wahoo but catch something is better than catch nothing. If the fish are only eating the live bait than fish with the live bait. Do not stick with something that is not working. Do not be afraid to try something "off the wall". Last year I landed two yellowfin tuna by drifting a dead mackerel at 30 feet down on a dropper loop. Everyone else was fishing the bottom for yellowtail and I nailed a couple of 25 lb. tuna.

    Keep fishing. If you want to catch fish you have to be fishing. I spend a lot of time off the rail and I still get more than my share of the fish. How do I do it? When I am fishing I fish "hard". If you are going down to relax and have a good time and do not really care how many fish you catch then, by all means do just that. Relax and have a great time. But please do not blame anyone else at the end of the trip when you do not have any fish to take home. There have been a few times when I have told someone that he was wrong, when he blamed the skipper for having a bad trip. Put you time in at the rail if you want to catch fish.

    Bring the right attitude. You are here to have fun and enjoy the outdoors. Leave all your personal problems behind in San Diego. Remember that you will be sharing the vessel with other anglers. Treat them with the proper fishing courtesy and they will return the same. One thing that causes problems on these trips are anglers who waste a lot of bait. Try to conserve that bait as much as possible. Once the bait is gone; EVERYONE has to "make" bait. Not a fun job but one that has to be done. When it does come time to do that dirty job, do it correctly. Just remember the faster the bait supply is refilled the faster you can get back to the real fishing.

    Work as a team. The better everyone works together the smoother the trip will run and the more fun you'll have. Get to know your fellow anglers. It is harder to get mad at a friend than a stranger. Help each other, cheer on an angler having a tough battle, and you might end up making a few new fishing buddies along the way.

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