Albacore Tuna Fishing - New Zealand Game Fishing

Albacore tuna taken on a trolled high-speed Mighty Mackerel Mauler.

From about January through to May albacore tuna can be caught off the Kaikoura coast. Some years they show up later than others. In good years they are caught right in close to shore. In other years you might have to go out ten mile or more offshore to catch albacore. They have at times been caught as close as 500 metres off the Kaikoura Peninsula .

Trailer boat owners wishing to catch albacore off Kaikoura need to develop a network of informers to send out the signal when albacore have been spotted off the coast. You can do this by talking to fishing club members, tackle store people and commercial fishermen. Albacore move closer to shore following baitfish. They also more around to some extent dependant upon water temperature though this species of tuna is more forgiving of cooler water than some others. The one thing albacore do prefer is clear dark blue almost black water of the open ocean. You will generally not find albacore tuna in greenish or discoloured inshore waters. The water far out to sea off Kaikoura is a typical black colour. The upwellings from deep water support abundant sea life of many kinds. There is a very significant groper and ling fishery offshore, and plenty of blue cod and moki to be caught right along the coast.

Though an excellent lure for albacore tuna their careless use can lead to horrid tangles when multiple lures are trolled at once.

A pair of skirted but unrigged Hex Heads. They are ideal for albacore in the smaller sizes 150mm (6 inches). These lures are used by United States commercial albacore fishermen.

A selection of colourful unrigged soft plastic lure skirts known as muppets. All you need are some lead heads, beads and hooks to make up inexpensive yet highly effective albacore tuna lures.

A fully rigged albacore Lead Head Muppet lure. These lures are straight runners. This makes it easier to set a pattern with many lures out at once. There is less danger of them crossing when turning!

Over the summer months there are many fish species that come to call at Kaikoura. These include schools of jack mackerel, kahawai, barracouta, dogfish and yellow-eyed mullet. Many blue sharks are attracted to the rich pickings as are makos and threshers.

It is the albacore tuna that most anglers love to catch on rod and reel. These torpedo-like speedsters are actually attracted to boats by the prop wash. Indeed some fishermen even tow old car tires and the like to cause a surface commotion that mimics a school of frenzied baitfish being worked from above by sea birds. Trailer boats anglers can tilt their outboard motors to create excessive prop wash for a similar effect.

Another ploy carried out by commercial fisherman seeking albacore is to squirt water on to the surface of the sea with high pressure hoses to attract the fish. Many times albacore tuna will take your lure right in very close to the boat. When you catch one albacore they are always plenty more close by even if you can't see them so it pays to keep trolling. Multiple strikes are common with this species. Others will often follow the hooked fish to investigate what's happening!

Most albacore are taken on trolled lures. Commercial Hex Heads are popular with recreational anglers. But many other lures are also good for taking albacore. The main thing is to use strong 4/0 hooks and keep them very sharp.

Other successful lures include: Yo Zuri Squid, Rapala CD Magnums, Mackerel Maulers, and a wide variety of soft plastic lures, and skirted lures made up with lead heads. Experienced anglers prefer to stay away from bibbed minnows like the Rapala CD Magnum because although they work well for trolling at high speed, and are good for taking albacore tuna, they have a tendency to cross over other lines particularly when turning. This isn't so much of a problem with only a couple of lures out the back. The best tactic when targeting albacore is to get as many lures out at once as you possibly can to create your own “fish school.” With say 6, 8 or even 10 lures out at once, in a staggered pattern, straight runners like skirted lead heads are a safer bet. See also Lead Heads.

You don't need super heavy gear for albacore tuna. Typical 15kg gear is fine. Reels such as the Shimano TSM4, Shimano Calcutta 700, Penn 320, and the like spooled with 25 – 30lb mono are all you need. Each fish will take quite sometime to subdue on this sort of gear. You can easily take an hour on each fish. You could also fish lighter if you wanted but you'll be there all day!

Generally albacore are taken fast trolling at say 10 knots. However sometimes when you find yourself in the middle of “worked up” fish you can cast to them on spinning tackle.