Warm currents bring Albacore near coast for large hauls



It’s been a good day on the water when fishermen get off the boat talking about how sore they are from fighting so many big fish.

Six anglers who ventured out on the 43-foot charter boat Miss Raven Wednesday got a workout, landing 67 albacore tuna on a day-long trip.

“We were the first boat to go out this year and doggone if we didn’t hammer them,” said deckhand Shannon Hunter. “There’d be a fish on, and they’d be looking at each other like who’s gonna reel this one in. That’s how tired they were.”

All six customers had fish on at the same time during the day, said Captain Mike Sorensen, who has run charter boats for 26 years, helming the Miss Raven for the past 13.

Tuna fishing is open all year, but warm currents only bring the fish close enough for boats to reach during the summer and early fall. Sorensen said the Miss Raven began picking up fish Wednesday about 27-miles out of Newport and fished out to 37-miles.

The Miss Raven, which books trips out of the Newport Marina Store and Charter, left the docks at 5 a.m. and returned with six very happy fishermen 12 hours later.

“The minute the fish would get close to the boat, away they’d go,” said Al Poshusta, 79, of Newport, describing how hard the tuna fought.

Another angler compared the sleek albacore to fighting like a “F-22 Raptor on steroids.”

The fish brought back by the Miss Raven averaged 20 pounds. After filleting, each angler took home about 80 pounds of tuna at the end of the day. That’s about $480 of fish if bought in a market - making the $200 cost of the trip a pretty good deal.

Sorensen said anglers can expect to catch tuna through September.

“The best time to book is now because the fish get more finicky as the season goes on,” he said.



Larry Coonrod can be reached at 265-8571 ext 211 or larry@newportnewstimes.com



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