Albacore Mother Ship?

I even have a charter captain interested in doing a mother ship trip for albacore.

Oooohhhh  ... more info please.  I'm on a quest to jump on a mothership albacore trip this summer.

-Allen

Oooohhhh  ... more info please.  I'm on a quest to jump on a mothership albacore trip this summer.

It's not something he has really planned out. But I stopped to talk to him and he saw my Ocean Kayak Fishing Team shirt and kiddingly suggested taking me out for tuna.  I jumped on that and said.. "Really, great I have a bunch of kayak fishing buddies that have been looking for a forward thinking captain like yourself.."   He's pretty stoked about the idea.  Mostly I think he wants to video/photo us for his website.

Anyway, I don't have his card in front of me, but he's located in Southern Washington (Westport) and runs overnight live bait albacore trips.  A full boat carries 10-12 and he thinks he can carry at least 4 kayaks on top.  Looking at a photo of his boat I think he can carry much more than that.

Anyway, we'd have to probably fill the boat and if we can't carry 10 kayaks we'll have to take turns... e.g. 5 out on the kayaks and 5 fishing from the charter boat after a couple hours switch out.  

His rate was ~$535 for a 2 day trip per person.  He needs to check on kayak/diver rider to his insurance in which case there might be an extra charge.

He's worried about blue sharks, makos, etc..  and thinks gaffing out own tuna might be a bad idea.

Did a quick search on the internet...

Capt. Don Davenport
56' Blanchard  "Ranger"
http://www.albacoretunacharters.com/fleet.asp?tripcategoryid=238

Allen, I'll send you his info tonight when I have his cards in front of me.  He gave me his cell number to book directly rather than going through the ladies at the office which won't know what we're talking about.

Brian

Oooooh, mako on a yak, I'll bet that would be heck of a sleigh ride!!

Anyone crazy enough to do this trip with me?  I'll check them out and see what they have going on.  After just going on an overnight mothership, I think I have a good idea what would make a good trip.

I'll also check into possible salmon and bottomfishing trips.

-Allen

I probably have one moderately decent kayak trip in my budget this year.   If this goes forward I'm interested.

We might be able to find a couple interested parties out of Nor Cal.

We might be able to find a couple interested parties out of Nor Cal.

Yup ... I'm one of those "interested parties out of NorCal".     There are also a couple other options in NorCal for a mothership albie trip.

-Allen

Yup ... I'm one of those "interested parties out of NorCal".     

Ah yes, I keep forgetting.

If I can scratch some cash together I'd be interested as well. Will have to see though.

Z

He's worried about blue sharks, makos, etc..  and thinks gaffing out own tuna might be a bad idea.

did you tell him we'll catch those too...

What was the guys take on how yaks would work for live bait tuna?  I have fished tuna a ton out of my own boat before selling it this fall.  The key was to be mobile and scout for and chase jumpers then cast live bait or iron to them. The action can be fast and can be over quick.  You then scout around for more fish and repeat.  I could see pulling up on some fish and by the time yaks are deployed and everyone in ready the school sounds and its game over. Deep water halibut would be interesting too.

I mentioned bait tanks as an option for keeping bait alive on the kayaks.

As for the fleeting nature of the schools, he didn't mention that nor did I think of it at the time.

Looks like this captain does deep water halibut trips too.

The butt season in WA is too short at 2-3 days for us to be able to plan a trip.

I've tuna fished quite a bit.  I have some ideas how to target them from the yak, but it will be hard to do your typical run and gun.  Gonna have to find an area of them.  I've always thought trolling swimbaits in formation would be a good way to do it.  We can't carry enough live bait to make live bait chumming worthwhile, but we can carry it to fish with, and use dead bait chum.

I wouldn't worry about the sharks.  The blues are harmless.  And how many makos has he actually seen that far north?

-Allen

We can do this!!! I know we can.  But I think he'll find that the insurance is prohibitive for him to run just one trip.  I recall a number like $1000/yr for a rider on the existing insurance to cover this sort of thing.

That being said ... I WILL be on a mothership tuna trip somewhere on the west coast this year.  If you're willing to travel down to CA and are interested in this, let me know.  The more people "on board" with this, the better chance of making it a reality.

-Allen

I think he was hoping for a short term rider just for the trip or the week.  If it's $1000 for the year, one would hope he might be able to get a short term rider for a couple hundred.

As for a California trip, I could be convinced.   How reliable is the tuna down in CA?  Seems like even when I was in CA I heard more about OR albacore.