Can anyone recommend an outfit in San Diego Bay for a 1 day limited load tuna charter. I'm determined to bust my tuna cherry this summer and I want the first time to be the best! I've read about a bunch on line, but it sounds like some of you guys might have the inside scoop!
FYI the striper are all over the SF beaches!!!!!!!
Thanks,
Paully

I don't know what you are willing to spend. For albacore you will want to bring 20 and 25 lb. line for the albies - so you can bring a couple of different reels, or if you are on a budget, buy an extra spool for your reel. Some guys bring 15 lb. line for when they are really shy biters. You need a 7 ft. rod with some backbone, I would suggest a Calstar 700 L, 700 ML, or a Calstar 870. Seeker makes some decent affordable rods too that can be purchased at Sportmart like the 270.

For reels, you can go cheap or you can go big. On the inexpensive side, look at the penn jigmaster, Newell, Daiwa Sealine etc. and you should be ok. If you are new to it all, stay away from gold reels unless you have money to burn.

The main thing you should be focused on whatever combo you pick, is that you can cast away from the boat with it using 1/4 oz - 3/4 oz rubbercore or sliding sinkers and an anchovie. Using he lighter stuff and casting away from the boat are the keys to success so a reel with a smaller spool, narrow jigmaster, TLD10 etc. are good choices as they are easier to cast with light tackle.

I typically bring several setups for albacore to have all scenarios covered, 20 lb., 25lb., 30 lb. Match your line / combo set up to the fish you are catching, if you are catching bigger fish and they aren't shy biters, try going up to 30 lb.

Good luck

I agree with the what's been pointed out before and here are my two cents.

first: get as good quality reel as you can afford, tuna are notorious to destroy under quality gear. you want to look for the best free spool available matched to a good good drag system. again budget is an issue, look at it like an investment, you are going to spend a good bit of dough just to get on the boat, then factor in food and drink and jackpot also add in travel time, gas....... to end up skunked because your gear wasn't up to par...
the free spool is vital to be able to cast out small pinhead chivies far out enough to get bit, then the drag comes into play, has to be smooth enough to stay on the fish. good choices are in price tag order are the penn jigmaster, daiwa sealine 20 or 30, shimano calcutta, pro gear, accurate boss and my tool of choice shimano jigger (equivalent to american trinidad series) with 300+ yards of 20-30 spectra tied to 100-150 yards of 12-20# p line.

Next: the rod selection has to have a soft and fast tip to toss the chovies far without killing them to a progressive strong backbone needed to subdue the fish, some of the best I found to do this are the seeker black steel, awesome rods for this application, altough over all the most important issue on this regard is that the rod has to match the reel size and line chosen, other wise the balance of the rig and full potential wont be achieved. best bets are as I pointed out before seeker black steel, calstar grafighters, shimano calcuttas (i use the xfa 715 and 720 with roller gides with awesome results)

Third: if you only intend to bring one rig with you it has to play two roles, light outfit and medium or even heavy, so your line selection should fall somewhere 20# range, lighter for more sport as well as risk and heavier for more security, 20 works well me on albacore, but then again when I go out I usually take enough rigs to set up a tackle shop on the boat, get some fluorocarbon leader spools of 15# & 25#, 30# or 40# to tie as leaders to the 20# string to make it versatile. good choices are maxima, ande and my fav, P-line in steel blue.

get some small circle hooks, (word of warning, do not get the offset circle hooks because they catch the albacore on the top palate as oposed to the corner of the mouth) this will help you go lighter on line without worrying about the line fraying on their mouth.

when all done with the purchases, set up your rig and drag, preferably with a scale to about one third of the breaking strenght of the line chosen.

now all rigged up and ready, go out,nail them fish silly.
best of luck to you.

If I forgot something important I'm sure that some one else will fill in the spot in no time.

I Fish...Therefore I Am

I just noticed your comments regarding SF strippers, I assume you use spinning gear for plugging the bass, if so another option is the shimano baitrunner 4500b or 6500b maithed to a shimano bait runner rod at 7' 90+ dlls for the reel at squidco plus 80+ for the rod. the only catch is that a lot of the veterans on the boat might look down at you and your coffe grinder rig.

also something important on rod selection is lenght, 7'-8' seems to be the concensus, shorter rods give you the best leverage but hamper your casting distance, required for succesfull albie fishing, and longer rods cast farther but you'll question yourself who has who if you manage to hook up a big fat one.

also dont forget to practice yelling at the top of your lungs HOOK UP!!!!

I Fish...Therefore I Am

When are you going? If it's soon, the one-day albies are all 8-15 pounders, maybe 20 max. They are scattered at times with 1-2 jig fish per stop and 1-3 baitfish from that same stop. Other times they are a bit more around the boat. Our trip July 5th was like this and most fish were on the 15-20# setups with many fishing fluoro leaders and small hooks. Don't be afraid to fish light line on these size fish, besides you are on a limited load so there's more fighting room. Oh, best jigs were black/purple with an amber head and zucchini.

Are you asking about tackle or a landing ("outfit" as in "organization") ?

Here's a link. http://www.sportfishingreport.com/FMPro?-DB=docktotals.fp5&-Lay=Entry&-format=dailylisting.html&status=today&-sortfield=FPA&-max=50&-sortorder=descend&-find

You can research landings/boats. Doubt if you can find a boat to charter this late. The good ones are booked a year or more in advance.

For an open party overnighter my choice would be the Dolphin II out of Islandia on a weekday.

H&M, Point Loma, Fisherman's are the "Big Three" you will read about. Seaforth and Islandia are on Mission Bay. Much better parking than the Big Three.

Good Luck,
Fishslayer

Good observation! I never thought he could have meant "charter business". I hear "outfit" and I just think tackle.

Boatwise, I think he might be able to get on a boat weekday still or one on a weekend but not like one-week away..you never know. I saw the New Lo-An (point loma sportfishing) on my last trip and am intrigued by it's wide beam and lowness to the water--both great stability features for a sicksick prone guy like me...anyone every fish it?

I rode it on an overnighter. I liked everything about it. VERY comfortable. Room on the walkways for two to pass without rubbin' butts! They have it looking absolutely beautiful this year, too. I recommend it.

Fishslayer

Thanks for all of the info fellas...I was actually asking about the Landing, but was also looking into buying my own "outfit", so I really appreciate the killer insight on tackle and rigs, cause I love to be self sufficient as possible even though I'm a first timer. Fishslayer you're right about Fishermans Landing being full, but H&M has room for the limited 1 day run to the Outer Banks...what's your guy's take on that trip on Labor day Weekend???

as far as landings go, check out islandia, the dolphin II is a good boat and tim is just awesome, most of the times yo'll be able to book a spot till the very end and price wise they are not bad, I believe they hold the cheapest fare still among all the local landings.

I Fish...Therefore I Am

If you have the time & don't mind a few extra $$ the 1.5 day gives a better shot at the fish and might be worth it if you're coming all the way from San Francisco.

Some of the boats have a really loose definition of "limited load."

Fishslayer

Thanks for all of the killer info an insight! I tried to post before but I'm not sure if it worked so sorry if I double post....I was actually asking about the landing, but as I'm also buying my "outfit" I again appreciate the thorough hands on knowledge. My question now is this: which would you choose if you wanted to target yellowtail...1 day limited load on the Condor out of Fishermans Landing to Outer Banks or a 1 day limited load on the Cherokee Geisha out of H&M also to the banks??? Or if there is a better option for targeting yellows and albies I'd love to know!

The geisha is an awesome boat, but my experience is that the crew is a bit rough, also the boat is somewhat high, I killed my knee while casting plugs to tuna from the bow, you have to stand on a thin ledge to do so. last trip on that boat we managed to hook the approximate of four times our limit each of yellow fin tuna, we c&r fish left and right and left them biting.

I Fish...Therefore I Am

A boat will determine what its target species are the day of the trip. albies like slightly coolor water and yellows like it a bit warmer. You will find yellows at the coronado islands or under kelp paddies. The boats may encounter some on the way looking for tuna. Some 3/4 day boats are going to the coronados to fish yellows but I dont know if they are currently. Some 3/4 day boats also go to the la jolla kelp for yellows too but again I dont know currently. when it's later season on the "outer banks" the water is warmer and you'll get yellowfin tuna, yellowtail and dorado all on the same trip. Our trip was strictly albies.

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Fishslayer