Aquaholic Fishing CharterFree cancellation up to 5 days beforeFrom €500
Instant bookingFishing Game 07Full refund if weather cancelsFrom $1,000
Instant bookingHooked Malta - Ultimate Tuna Fishing Free cancellation up to 5 days beforeFrom €650
Mister Fish ChartersFree cancellation up to 5 days beforeFrom €350
Instant bookingPesca a fondoFree cancellation up to 1 day beforeFrom €350
Instant bookingTuna Wahoo Fishing ChartersFree cancellation up to 1 day beforeFrom $750
🎣 Blue Horizon – Small Game GibraltarFree cancellation up to 1 day beforeFrom £400
Little tunny charters by country
When a school pins sardines or anchovies against the surface the water boils for a minute, then goes flat as the fish move on. That is little tunny fishing: find the birds and the breaking fish, get a small metal lure or a jig into them fast, and hang on while the reel empties. Anglers in the American northeast call them false albacore or albies, Floridians call them bonito, and in Spain they are bacoreta. You can tell one by the wavy dark lines on the rear of the back and a few dark spots under the pectoral fin. The meat is dark and strong, so many anglers release them or keep them for bait, though a fish bled at once is good eaten fresh.
The best fit on our site is Blue Horizon Small Game in Gibraltar, which names little tunny as its headline fish from late October to February, on 3 or 6 hour private trips from 06:00 for up to 4 with rods, lures and nets supplied. Our Gibraltar boat fishing by season guide puts that winter run beside the rest of the year. Further west, in Spain, Pesca a fondo in Cádiz spins, jigs and trolls on 4 hour trips.
Three Malta boats list them, and our little tunny in Malta page covers that fishery: Hooked Malta in Gżira, which fishes them on its lighter gear while the heavy rods wait for bluefin, Mister Fish Charters in Marsascala and Aquaholic in St Paul's Bay. In Turkey, Fishing Game 07 trolls and jigs the coast off Finike on 6 hour trips. In Florida, Tuna Wahoo Fishing Charters leaves Riviera Beach Marina at 07:30, and little tunny are one of the fish its light tackle and kite trips meet.
Bring polarised glasses and ask for a light spinning rod of your own. Blitzes are short, and the angler who is already holding a rigged rod when the birds drop is the one who hooks up.
Questions and answers
Short answers to what people ask before they book. Anything else, ask the captain in chat.
When is the little tunny season in Gibraltar?
Blue Horizon Small Game in Gibraltar gives late October to February as its little tunny season, on 3 or 6 hour private trips from 06:00 for up to 4 anglers. Outside those months the same trips fish for mackerel, dentex and other reef fish.
Are false albacore good to eat?
They are edible but strong. The meat is dark red and oily, so many anglers release them or use them as bait. If you want to eat one, ask the crew to bleed it and put it on ice straight away, and eat it fresh rather than freezing it.
Is a little tunny the same as an albacore tuna?
No. Albacore are a larger, long-finned open ocean tuna with pale flesh. Little tunny are a smaller coastal fish of the Atlantic and Mediterranean, with wavy lines on the back and darker meat. The name false albacore comes from that confusion.