John Butler from Butler Marine in Christchurch displays a chunky albacore tuna for the camera. It was caught trolling off Kaikoura during summer.

The best albacore trolling lures are bright and glittery. You want a lure that really stands out. The idea is to bring the tuna up to the surface. The more commotion you can create the better. Another old trick is to tow an old car tire behind the boat to create a bit of excitement perhaps imitating a school of bait fish being attacked by predators! It has been said, that once albacoreare excited, and “buzzing” around your boat, they will take any sort of lure you care to toss over the side.

Commercial boats create “excitement” on the surface by squirting jets of high pressure water on the surface of the ocean. The albacore take this for a school of bait fish, and they come up for a look. Once near the surface commercial fishermen take them on simple hex-heads and feathered lures fisked at the end of a long pole.

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