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The albacore tuna bite remained hot over the September 20-21 weekend for
both party and private boaters fishing out of Monterey, Moss Landing and
Santa Cruz. The warm water current pushed big schools of large albacore and
bluefin tuna within 15 to 34 miles of shore.
"So far this season, I have lost five large bluefin that either spooled my
line or came off due to angler error," indicated Captain Darrell Erickson of
Seaduction Sportfishing. "As we trolled through a large school of tuna
yesterday, one of the rods doubled over and the reel started screaming as
line ripped out. Before I got a chance to reel down on the fish, the bluefin
took off with the bait and broke the line."
However, Erickson has been getting consistent scores of albacore tuna,
averaging 7 to 8 fish per rod on recent trips. He is trolling with Mexican
Flags and bright-colored Cedar Plugs. "The fish favored darker plugs earlier
in the season, but are now reacting better to bright colors," he added.
Captain Darrell experienced his top action while fishing between 28 and 32
miles off Santa Cruz . "On my last trip, my clients and I spotted a striped
marlin jumping," he said.
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Captain Guy Fish of Reel Thing Sportfishing has found similar action fishing 22-24 miles off Moss Landing. "The fish moved back in and they're all big fish, weighing up to 40 pounds," stated Fish. "We didn't catch any peanuts - smaller tuna - this week. During the last trip, we put six fish in the box for 2 passengers. We averaged 3 to 6 fish per rod the rest of the week." "I have also heard of a few bluefin being caught inside the Monterey Weather Buoy 42," he stated. "However, it's difficult to land them, due to their size and strength." "Over the last seven trips, my clients and I have boated 84 albacore tuna to 40 pounds and fishing still looks great," replied Captain Norm Chapin of Hook'em Up Sportfishing. "Most boats found tough fishing last week as the wind blew. However, since the wind has calmed down, fishing bounced right back and we started hammering the fish again." Anglers fishing out of Chris' Fishing Trips in Monterey took their share of tuna in the 30 pound class over the past week. "We averaged about 4-5 fish per rod this week, with our latest trip by 12 anglers taking 30 fish while using live anchovies 20 miles from shore," explained Todd Arcoleo at Chris' Fishing Trips. Anglers fishing aboard the Sur Randy out of Randy's Fishing Trips also experienced solid fishing 25 miles off the Monterey Coast. "The boat just returned with 40 albacore for 14 passenger," reported Crissy Chonacki. "Most of the fish were caught on live bait, but a few fell for plugs and jigs." The Wild Wave out of Shamrock Charters in Santa Cruz is also experiencing great tuna fishing. They found the tuna 22 miles from Santa Cruz on Friday, September 19, returning with 42 albacore,. They fished the same area with calm seas on Sunday and bagged 83 huge albacore. "These fish are 20 to 46 pound late season bruisers," said Captain Mike Baxter. "I would be ready to fish 30 pound gear with 25 pound fluorocarbon leaders. They are big and grumpy." On September 21, Joe Stoops of Chartle Charters reported "another banner day" on the tuna grounds. His 6 anglers boated 25 albacore from 25-35 pounds, mainly on one bait stop that lasted 2.5 hours. For more information on tuna trips, contact: Seaduction Sportfishing, 510-915-5242; Reel Thing Sportfishing, 831-623-2262; Hook'Em Up Sportfishing, 408-666-9942 or 209-992-0418; Chris' Fishing Trips, 831-375-5951; Randy's Fishing Trips, 831-372-7440; Shamrock Charters, (831) 476-2648; Sea Stag Sportfishing, (831) 427-0230; Santa Cruz Sportfishing, (831) 426-4690; and Chartle Sportfishing, (831) 336-2244. |
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