SE 43 on Friday 6-18-04
Left MB @ 3:30 with a scoop and a half of dinos and headed for 32:25 117:54
numbers from earlier in the week. Noticed on the charts this was one of the 1000 fathom canyons in the area; there was a larger one 8 miles NW which was also holding fish and alot of boats. Albacore like to frequent the edges of these canyons so I thought I would try an alternate area first away from the crowds. There were also reports of the fish moving west each day; there was another group of boats /sporties 10 miles farther west. About 6 miles short of the area I saw alot of meter marks but I continued to the numbers where we then started trolling rapalas and 3 small feathers @ 6:45 By7:00
we had our first single with no baitfish, we continued NW approximatly 6 mile to 32:27 117:59 where we took a couple more singles, no bait fish. When we got to 32:30 118:00 (weather buoy) it dried up so turned back and worked to our last bite. We ended up centering our fishing on 32:28 118:00 going back and forth; finally a double with a baitfish, single with a baitfish, and all 5 jig lines by 11:00 AM. We ended up with 28 albies from 15-19 pounds and a small yellowtail off a paddy deep. (I lost 2 on iron). Flat ocean overcast all day. On the way home while cleaning fish we passed by my original numbers from the morning and couldn't keep the tuna off the jigs all the way until we passed the first area I saw the meters marks early in the morning.Most boats had 5 -10 albacore; the LA sporties only had 5-15 each but a ton of small yellows. They kept moving looking for the "afternoon hotspot" and choked while we just found fish that wanted to bite and stayed on them.
Unless you have a trusted buddy that calls you on the radio and he has the same definition of a wide open albacore bite as you do,
YOU NEVER LEAVE BITING FISH TO FIND MORE BITING FISH!
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