It gets better. Check the current issue of Northwest Sportsmam Magazine.  The Albacore are now being taken with fly rods.

I'll be saving for a few years in order to be able to afford that gear... 12wt big game rod , large high capacity reel with 2 spare spools each w/a different line and depth capacity,  etc.

Researched the prices.... owwch... 🙄

Ah, just read some stuff from the bug wand forum. I see this has all been hashed out in depth.

Yeah, we've debated it.  I've tried it and my bottom line assessment of using monofilament as a running line is "it's damned slippery when it and my fingers are wet".  Airflo and others, I presume, sell thin, level running lines targeted at spey-casting enthusiasts.  I use them, they cast great, doesn't coil on the reel, and the combination of a running-line and a length of heavy sink tip costs half of what a traditional fly line costs.  If I ever run into a top-water bite, I carry a floating shooting head and can exchange the sinking head for the floating head faster than the guy with whom I fish can swap reel spools.