Albies

Jim Niemiec

The first sport-caught albacore of the season in U.S. waters were

landed on board the deluxe sportfisher Bongos II, captained by Richard

Ruffini of Costa Mesa on Thursday.

The bite exploded for anglers on board the fast six pack charter boat

about four miles east of the butterfly Bank. This area is some 75 miles

south of Newport’s twin jetties, but within easy reach of charter boats

and a couple of the day boats running out of Davey’s Locker and Newport

Landing Sportfishing.

Captain Joe Bairian, owner of Bongos Sportfishing out of Newport

Beach, put together an open party charter to explore the outer waters for

albacore. Even though there had been a pretty good bite on big yellowtail

and white seabass at the San Clemente Island, we headed to the blue

waters with expectations of finding albacore in an area that had not been

fished by other private, commercial or sport fishers.

As soon as jigs were put in the water the boat had a triple on big

bonito, starting off the grey bite and we headed for the eastern edge of

the Butterfly, while second captain Chandler Bell of Newport kept an eye

out for a floating kelp patty.

We were in 61.8 degree blue water, conditions were ideal and it was

felt we could “go bendo” any time. The boat hadn’t been trolling the area

for more than an hour when the port jig rod bent double under the pull of

a hooked fish.

First to the lucky rod was harbor area angler Robert Kim, who muscled

the first albie to the boat. A steady chum line was kept going and

boiling fish worked up the prop wash.

Tom MacNiel of Costa Mesa was the next angler to call out “I’m bit,”

and his rod went double, followed by first-time albacore seeker Kate

Jackson of Costa Mesa, Dustyn Howard of Fullerton and myself, hooking up

with an albie on 12-pound mono.

The longfins stayed with the boat long enough for Kim and MacNiel to

deck two more albacore. For early in the season this was an excellent

“stop” for any sportfisher or yacht. If there had been 35 anglers with

bait in the water, the odds were good that everyone would have been

hooked up.

It didn’t take long to box the area and meter more albacore. We had

good anchovies for bait and smaller jigs were the choice of the hungry

longfins. A double on Rapala lures again brought a hungry school of

albacore to the boat and everyone on board got hooked up.

Kate, a member of the Bongos Girls Team, had never caught an albacore

before this trip, and she was on her second albie before the boat

stopped, then put a third bait fish on the deck and was all smiles and

ready to kick off a great albacore season for the Newport Harbor-based

sportsfishing and private yacht fleet.

Albies are on the move north and with the full moon just a few days

off, our local sportfishing fleet could be right in the middle of the

albacore action.