Let’s go fishin’: Albacore may be on the menu

Warm water is making its way closer to shore, and the highly migratory albacore are soon to follow. Private boats are looking for and commercial fishermen are already landing albacore. Salmon fishing, along with rockfish and halibut, are still providing good inshore action.
This time of year, warm offshore currents displace the cold inshore water, and albacore are found along the water breaks where warm meets cool water. Sport fishing vessels out of Crescent City and Brookings, Ore., have already posted scores of albacore ranging from five to 30 fish per boat. Most of the “long-fin tuna” were caught trolling jigs, and some were taken while the boat slides to a stop casting iron lures and swim baits. Commercial fishermen are on the search from the Mexico border all the way up to Washington state.
Jack Webster reported from the Millie G, “We are up here in Washington and catching up to 150 fish per day, but the schools are scattered, and we would like to have better weather.”
Jack fishes with live bait and lift poles, a technique that requires great skill and strength. He and his crew travel up the coast from San Diego to Washington. He also reported catching a few albacore off the Northern California coast.
Albacore fishing should get better as the warm water stabilizes and moves closer to shore. The season lasts through October, with September being a prime month. The key to catching albacore is timing the weather, currents and groups of fish while heading out on a seaworthy boat. These fish are fun to catch and tasty on the table. Commercial markets should be providing hook-and-line-caught albacore, also.
The inshore fishing has been good for most species.
Salmon continue to be caught out of Santa Cruz. Halibut are caught on a regular basis for those with some patience and skill. Rockfish and lingcod fishing have been close to a guarantee, and striped bass are still being caught along the beaches from Capitola to Moss Landing.
I hope you can get out and do some ocean fishing soon. Even fishing from the beach can yield a striped bass.
Mike Baxter has fished in the Monterey Bay Area since he was a boy and has been a licensed charter boat captain for more than 15 years. Contact him at

ca************@ya***.com











. He also hosts a fishing show on radio station KSCO (1080) from 7:06 to 8 p.m. Thursdays.