TUNA ON THE FLY
It was total chaos as we threw at schools of Albacore Tuna 40 miles off the coast of Washington. Teamwork makes the dreamwork! There were 6 of us on the boat plus the deckhand and captain. The days started well before sunrise as we had a 1.5 hour boat ride to reach the fishing grounds. I personally have never been that far from shore before and it was a little daunting looking around and not seeing a spec of land in any direction. The colors of the ocean at this depth, mixed with the clear blue sky, was amazing.
The plan was for 2 anglers to be in the stern using bait while the other 4 of us were in the bow casting flies into the schools. The captain would slowly navigate the water looking for flocks of gulls to start dive bombing the water. This meant that there were large schools of bait pushed up to the surface. We would then quickly make our way towards the school of bait, slow the boat and watch for tuna. They looked like silver torpedos shooting through the crystal clear blue water. Once they appeared, it was time for chaos.
It looked like a ballet on the bow when we were rotating around casting, stripping, and fighting fish. One angler would cast and then move a few feet to the side to allow the next angler to jump in and cast. You would let your fly sink a bit and then start a super fast retrieve. Then in the clear deep blue water, a silver bullet would crash into your fly at full speed. Fun fact, a tuna can reach speeds of 50 mph. Line would shoot out of the rod while the tuna made its initial run. It was impossible not to let out a yell as you tightened your drag and began to haul the fish to the boat.
The Pacific ocean boasts a healthy population of Albacore Tuna. Seafood Watch considers them a “Best Catch” meaning that their population levels are great and the risk of overfishing is very low. With this in mind, Washington did not put a limit on the number we could keep. The only limiting factor was how many we could fit in the boat. With the two anglers in the stern using gear rods and the 4 anglers in the front throwing flies, it took half a day to fill the boat.
The tuna provided many friends and family with ceviche, marinated and smoked tuna belly and tuna steaks. If you are looking for an absolute thrilling fishing experience with a hefty haul of meat at the end of the trip, look no further.
