Oregon Tuna Charters
Oregon Tuna Charters
The Liberty Gun is a big fast boat and we spare no expense in getting you on the fish. Your Oregon Albacore Tuna charter is going to be first class. Join us on the fast and comfortable "Liberty Gun" out of Astoria, Oregon or Ilwaco, Washington! This 36' 7", triple 300 hp offshore fishing machine can quickly and comfortably get you to where the fish are!
Oregon’s Albacore fishery has been in existence for many years, but until the last decade, was primarily fished only by commercial boats, with an occasional charter taking clients out to fish tuna with hand lines. The rod and reel fishery didn’t really begin to blossom until the early 2000’s.
Since that time, Oregon has grown in recognition as one of the best Albacore fisheries in the country, and possibly the world. There aren’t many locations where private boats and charters regularly see 15 to 40 fish days, and quite often, considerably more! Come see what this fishery is all about, but be warned, it’s amazingly addictive!
Book your Oregon tuna charter on our ultra fast and comfortable 36' 7" Yellowfin Center Console, the Liberty Gun!
40 MPH Cruise with a 62 MPH Max! Less time driving means more time fishing!
Tuna trips are always booked with the understanding of, if we can't get out to the tuna grounds because of bad weather out there, lack of fish etc, then we will fall back to a different species at the corresponding reduced rate. This could be deep water rockfish, lingcod, nearshore rockfish & lingcod, salmon in the river etc. If we don't think the fishing will be good anywhere, then a refund or reschedule will be made. After all we know you want to go fishing and we don't like cancelling on the dock because of weather that is out of our control. We just adapt and overcome, change the plans up and fish for some other type of cool fish!
Our Oregon Tuna Fishing Season
The Oregon tuna season starts around the beginning of July when the first fish begin to arrive from the mid-pacific, and continues well into October. There have been many years where the commercial fleet still lands fish into November, but the ocean has generally become too rough to target these silver speedsters.
When the Albacore first show up in July they are primarily feeding on squid. This is when our troll fishery really shines. We generally run 8 lines at a time, trolling tuna jigs (7 Strand Tuna Clones, Zukers, Eat Me Lures Lolo’s, etc..), cedar plugs, and large diving plugs like Rapala X-Rap Magnums. The troll fishery is consistent until somewhere around the middle of August when we begin to see the fish switch their preference to baitfish.
As this transition occurs, we find our troll bite begining to dwindle, while the use of swim baits (both trolled and cast), vertical jigging, and live bait become a much bigger part of our game plan. During this transition period, the troll bite can still be good at times, but you have to be ready to change up your fishing technique based on the fish’s mood. As the end of August arrives, the traditional troll bite (trolling tuna jigs) is all but over for the year, and our days become centered around fishing live bait and baitfish imitations.
September can often be the most exciting fishing of the year. This is when our run and gun fishery blossoms!
Run and gun fishing is an exciting way to pursue these fish, combining hunting and fishing into one action packed past time. The boat cruises along offshore in areas showing signs of fish, actively looking for groups of albacore crashing bait up top. No troll spreads needed! Once fish are spotted, the boat eases up to the action, and swim baits or iron (different types of lead jigs) are cast into the melee trying to get a couple fish hooked up.
Once a couple tuna are hooked, the transition is attempted, where we chum live and dead baits at the back of the boat to lure the entire school to the transom of the boat. When a tuna school commits, and boils up at the back of the boat, true pandemonium breaks out on deck. It’s something you have to experience at least once in your life, but again be warned, this is a super addictive type of fishing!
Of course these basic seasons can change year to year. There have been many instances, where we find tuna schools up on top in July and are able to make great catches casting swim baits and fishing live bait, and we’ve had some years where the tuna clone troll fishery lasts well into September. For this reason we carry a fully rigged arsenal of rods on each trip so we can be sure to employ the necessary techniques to be successful no matter what the tuna show a preference for.
Currently booking tuna trips.
The boat you will be fishing on during your Oregon Tuna Charter
We fish from of our 36'7" Yellowfin full walk around charter boat, the Liberty Gun.
We have marine bean bag chairs for your comfort when we’re running, as well as forward, middle and stern seating that easily accomodates six anglers.
Liberty Gun is powered by triple Yamaha, 300 hp, four stroke engines, that get us to the tuna grounds quickly (40 mph cruise!), quietly and reliably. In fact, they are so quiet when idling, you have to look back at the motors to see if water is coming out of them to tell if they are even running.
We also have all the safety gear, including a satellite phone, high power vhf radio, GPS Chartplotter, FLIR Night Vision, 62 mile radar, 8 man life raft, flares, first aid kits, and life jackets, including inflatebles. Insured and bonded of course. The captains, Kevin Newell and Sean Phillips are Coast Guard licensed. Our deckhands as well as Kevin and Sean have considerable experience on the ocean catching Albacore and making these trips fun. We take your safety seriously!
Liberty Gun also has a full compliment of fishing features! We have two Simrad 16” fish finders with five high power Airmar through hull transducers. We can actually see tuna under our boat when we are running and gunning!
Simrad Autopilot, outriggers, stereo, and a ton of fish holds. She also features enough rod storage for all the rods we carry rigged and ready to fish. She also sports two live wells, a 55 gallon and a 75 gallon. Where we can carry up to 10+ scoops of Anchovies which is a massive amount of live bait!
We take extreme pride in taking extra good care of your catch. Each fish is bled as soon as it’s brought on board, and then stored in ice in our holds to ensure you bring back very high quality table fare.
