Albacore (Longfin Tuna)
Thunnus alalunga
The West Coast's summer staple and the original 'chicken of the sea' — the white-meat tuna with absurdly long, wing-like pectoral fins. Off California, Oregon, and Washington, albacore fuel a beloved run-and-gun troll-and-bait fishery.
Troll a spread of jigs and cedar plugs at 6–8 knots until you get bit, then stop the boat and 'bait-stop' the school with live anchovies or sardines. Blind-troll the temperature breaks offshore until you find the warm blue water they love.
Quick Catch Plan
ID Characteristics
Use these field marks and context clues to separate albacore (longfin tuna) from similar fish before logging or keeping one.
- Overall look: The West Coast's summer staple and the original 'chicken of the sea' — the white-meat tuna with absurdly long, wing-like pectoral fins. Off California, Oregon, and Washington, albacore fuel a beloved run-and-gun troll-and-bait fishery.
- Typical size: 10–30 lb; trophy class: 40 lb+.
- Most likely setting: offshore in Pacific Coast, Pacific Northwest, West.
- Where to confirm it: 58–66°F blue water, jumping fish, birds, and 'meter marks' offshore.
- Compared with Other tunas: The pectoral fin is diagnostic — it's extremely long, reaching well past the anal fin. No other tuna in US waters has fins like that.
- Compared with Bigeye/yellowfin: Both have short-to-moderate pectorals and (in yellowfin) yellow finlets; albacore's meat is white, theirs is red/pink.
Gear Recommendations
- Rod
- Troll: 30–40 lb conventional. Bait: 7'–8' medium fast live-bait rod
- Reel
- Star-drag/2-speed conventional (troll); 4000–6000 spinning or conventional (bait)
- Main line
- 40–65 lb braid or 30–40 lb mono
- Leader
- 25–40 lb fluorocarbon; drop lighter when the bite is finicky
- Hooks
- 1/0–3/0 live-bait hooks; ringed hooks on trolling clones
- Jigheads
- n/a
- Terminal tackle
- Fluoro leader, minimal hardware; heavier trolling leaders on the clones
- Lure sizes
- Tuna clones/feathers 4–6", cedar plugs, Mexican flag/zucchini patterns
- Lure colors
- Mexican flag, zucchini, black/purple, pink; natural live bait
- Baits
- Live anchovies · Live sardines · Trolled cedar plugs/clones
Book a West Coast albacore charter or overnight — they run the troll spread and supply live bait.
One light conventional troll combo + a bait rod covers most trips; split fuel on a long-range day.
A full troll spread, a big live-bait tank, and offshore SST/chlorophyll charts to run to the warm-water breaks efficiently.
Techniques
- Presentation
- Blind-troll to find them, then 'bait-stop': stop the boat, chum live bait, and fly-line hooked baits into the boiling school on light fluoro.
- Retrieve
- Troll 6–8 kn; fly-lined baits swim free with an open bail/thumb until bit.
- Positioning
- Keep the stopped boat drifting with the school behind it; keep bait in the water to hold them up.
- Depth
- Surface-oriented in the warm layer; they feed up in the trolling spread.
- Structure
- No hard structure — temperature and color breaks in open ocean are the 'structure'.
- Working current
- Warm-water fingers and current edges concentrate bait and albacore.
A West Coast offshore run-and-gun troll-and-bait fishery.
Timing & Conditions
- Seasons
- Summer through fall off CA/OR/WA.
- Time of day
- Trolling produces all day; low light can spark the bait bite.
- Weather
- Long offshore runs need a good weather window.
- Wind
- Settled seas for the 20–60+ mile runs.
- Water temp
- Key on 58–66°F clean blue water — the single most important factor.
- Tides
- Open-ocean temp breaks matter more than tide.
- Moon
- Minor.
- Pressure
- Minor.
- Seasonal movement
- Trans-Pacific migrator; the run tracks warm water toward the coast each summer.
Habitat — Where to Find Them
Cool-temperate open Pacific, holding in the warm-water fingers and breaks that push toward the West Coast in summer.
- Depth range
- Upper water column in the warm surface layer.
- Look for
- 58–66°F blue water, jumping fish, birds, and 'meter marks' offshore.
- Migration
- Long trans-Pacific migrations; predictable seasonal West Coast run.
Common Mistakes
- Fishing green/cold water — find the 58–66°F blue break first
- Trolling too fast or too slow (dial in ~7 kn)
- Heavy leader on a finicky bait-stop bite
- Not keeping live bait in the water to hold the stopped school
- Slow to bleed/chill the catch
Catch, Handling & Release
- Landing
- Gaff or swing smaller fish; they green-fight hard boatside.
- Handling
- Bleed and ice immediately — albacore's white meat is excellent fresh or canned.
- Release
- Revive and release fish you won't keep; they tire quickly.
- Conservation
- No federal minimum size on the Pacific coast, but state and (for charter/commercial) federal rules and any in-season limits apply — check current CA/OR/WA regulations before keeping.
Common Lookalikes
The pectoral fin is diagnostic — it's extremely long, reaching well past the anal fin. No other tuna in US waters has fins like that.
Both have short-to-moderate pectorals and (in yellowfin) yellow finlets; albacore's meat is white, theirs is red/pink.
Local Regulations
Size limits, bag limits, seasons, and gear rules change every year and differ by state (and often by individual water). Always verify with the official source before keeping fish.
All state sources for this species
Guide data is editorial and general — conditions, regulations, and fish behavior vary by water. Photo: Wikipedia — Albacore.