A lungi / Albacore fishing

[Kenken]

Hi all, first of all I would like to compliment you all for this forum, truly well made and full of interesting information.

I am relatively new to alungi trolling this is my first full season. I started mid season last year and only managed one catch from some 3 or 4 outings. This year I have had to attempts with no success.

My boat is berthed in bbugia, I usually tend to try my luck something between 13 - 20 miles out in a filfla direction from bbugia. I use rapala fire tiger lure as I am told it is very successful when it comes to catching alungi.

I am wondering if anyone could help me with some helpful tips on how to make my fishing sessions more successful? I recently bought a Garmin fish finder, is there anything I should be on the lookout when trolling? Dept? Water temperature? Any particular areas one may recommend? I usually troll at about 5.5 knots is that ok? Should I troll towards or away from the sun?

Thanks and keep up the good work on the forum


Kenneth

[farfettcassar]

Hi Kenneth
                    7 knots no less and the firetiger is one of the preferred lures but it must be the 14 firetiger even the squids are very good for alungi l hope l have helped you ?

                                                                                         Thanks Joe.

[shanook]

I am a true believer of straight runners or chuggers, I never ever use rapalas or lipped lures, especially the deep divers. They go berserk above 5knots.
I like the straight runners because u can alternate speeds up to 12 knots. as a matter of fact I deploy my lines as soon as I leave harbour and proceed to the fishing grounds at 10/12 knots when i get there i slow down and alternate between 6 and 8 knots.
If u have a temperature sensor look out for any change in sea temperature even a slight change can make a difference.
If u keep on the ridges u cannot go wrong. I have caught face, backwards and sideways of the sun  but if there is a swell keep it at a 45 degree angle to the bow.
My 2 euros... oh mind u 'IL-Farfett' (farfettcassar) is a good Alungi fisher and has caught a lot of them. He is also the winner of the first interclubs Alongi competition with a catch of 8 Alungi. Good old days eh Joe..........

[Kenken]

Hi guys thanks for the quick replies.

Seems I may be going a little bit too slow then. Will try going at 7-8 knots next time round.

Shanook by ridges I presume you mean drop offs. Will try this as usually I just speed of 13-20 miles out and just troll irrespective of ridges.

Should I be surface trolling or do you recommend me putting a weight after 9 am as I have been told that the alungi swim deeper at about that time.

Re temp the last time I was out average was around 22.6 I am assuming warmer waters are better is there an ideal temperature I should be looking out for?

Another question if you guys dont mind how far away from the boat should the lure be placed approx?

Sorry for all the questions but I really wanna make sure I am doing things the right way to improve my chances. ))


Thanks again to both of you for your help

Ken

[farfettcassar]

Hi Shanook
                Not to correct you but it was 9 Alungi and also you are not a bad fisherman yourself ,you are one of the first that started catching Alungi and you have caught a lot of Alungi yourself ,you are one of the few that is always out there doing what you love the most and that is fishing ,sadly we all had  to cut down drastically  because of the fuel costs ,and l have only gone out once this year for Alungi and that once was in the competition only and l was lucky so if anybody needs advise on how to catch Alungi Shanook is a best bet ,also l was very sorry  to here on the VHF the someone got hurt on your boat and that you had to go in after waiting for the competition all this time it was bad luck ,maybe next year you will be more lucky and it will be me congratulating you for your catch my friend ,Thankyou

                                                                                                             Joe (Farfett)

[shanook]

Then it was ur brother that had 8. Oh by the way the second place of the first Interclub was taken by 'il-Mister' brother of il-Farfett so it was a family thing. Once I am here third place was Il-Brother and these were all representing B'Bugia fishing club. (just a touch on history). Oh it was the first time for alungi for me as well, unfortunately it didnt last long.FOR  next year.

@KenKen.... Alungi are continuous swimmers they never stop, if they stop swimming they die as they cannot breath on their own. They also swim quite deep especially the adults, the juveniles stay closer to the surface (when i say closer they are usually 100/150 feet down). So water temperature is not an issue as they can and are used to cold water. The only difference it makes is that when there is a water temperature change which happens where there are ridges (drop offs) this causes an upward (of course and a downward) current and the Alungi go on this and take a free ride up and down this was they are moving without exerting or using energy and they can rest and still breath. thats why we target these places. If we had the opportunity of buying a surface temperature graph then we would go to it when we go for them but unfortunately we dont. Now this does not mean that they are not found anywhere else as i said they can find these currents and believe me they are found in many places.
The weight can be used at anytime, it helps to draw up Alungi that are not that deep. But i have been hit on surface lures even at midday so there is no hard and fast rule.
the distance from the boat is a tiny bit related with your wake, if u have a larger boat with inboard engines then ur wake is better than an outboard motor. I place my lures at 35 qama, 70 mtrs or 200 feet. I know those who have caught closer to the boat at 20qama, 40mtrs or 120feet and there are those that swear by 50 qama,100mtrs or 300feet. there are advantages to both the long and short. If u have a good wake it hides the lines from the sharp big eyes of the fish. If u want to catch other species that are shy of the boat then the further u are from the boat the better.
Now this is my set up and what I know, it doesnt mean that its the only one....As farfett told u he swears by the rapalas and they produce catches so u have to try ur thing. listen to what people say and then try out when u find what u need and what is good for your style then improve on it and experiment. I have always wanted to drift, chum and jig for alungi but have not found the time to do so, once i go out there i tend to go around searching for them, its a bad expensive habit.

[Kenken]

Thanks for the valuable information Shanook really really appreciate. Gona try my luck tomorrow (wed) will keep you posted

Ken

[camkev]

Are alungi still being caught as tomorrow will be out for them?Tks

[offken]

yes kevin on sunday we have had a strike and landed one and there was some surface activite also

[camkev]

Tks Kenneth 

[skip]

Heard that yesterday there was a lot of surface activity between Filfla and the shore, lots of Alungi feeding on small white bait. But as with previous instances, they weren't too interested in plastic lures, not even ones with a strip bait on them!

[busumark]

on monday we caught 5 Alungi with swordfish long-line but a friend of mine was trolling and didnt catch anything

[toxictuna]

today ... one strike but the fish got the lucky get away. Did anyone go out today... I saw only maybe three boats ... must be the fuel price scare!

[albatros]

Today some 3 miles out of gnejna/ ras il pellegrin a herd of tuna leaping out of water and heading towards filfla. we were bottom fishing. and with nassi vopi.

a great view, seems the close season is fruitful, with all those fleet of french/italian vessel tucked at home.

[nemxu]

I caught 2 last sunday. Was hoping to go out again this sunday. Was using plastic lures.