Albie fever has been gripping the Rhode Island shoreline recently, with record numbers of them around and record numbers of fishermen trying. A week ago was spectacular, with acres and acres of bay anchovies, miles of false albacore busting, rampaging schools of blues, and stripers along the rocks.
Now, it seems, they’re all gone.
With the bait gone, the predators have departed also. This all happened last weekend, as both Sunday and Monday were complete busts along the Narragansett shoreline from the Town Beach all the way to the Walls outside of Galilee. We went from some of the hottest fishing on record in September to nothing.
But, even when the fish are hitting, in the crowds there are a ton of frustrated fishermen who can not seem to catch them. Most of these guys are throwing plugs that are too big and metal that is ineffective.
Pay attention to this if you want to catch a false albacore.
For spin fishermen, the very best way to catch one of these gamesters is the use of a float. I am talking a wooden egg float that you will have to make yourself (sorry, baitshops don’t sell them, though I don’t know why). If you want to know how it’s done, click here.
If you can’t make the egg float, just take the hooks off a popper or pencil popper and use that as your float. The egg is simply the casting weight. Three feet of heavy mono (30-pound test) is attached to the end of the float. At the terminal end, you want to tie on a Deceiver fly or a three-inch Zoom fluke (light color) that is threaded onto a barbed hook.
The Deceiver fly that I am using is also homemade. It is tied with white thread. The tail is dark blue saddle hackle and the body is either white thread or fine chartreuse chenile. Up front, the throat is white bucktail and the wing is made with white bucktail with an overlay of chartreuse bucktail. The hook is a Mustad 34007 size 1/0.
Cast this offering out and simply pop it in while reeling like you’d fish a popper. I like to do a moderate retrieve, but I will sometimes reel it in very fast if blues are around. Bluefish will have a difficult time catching up with a fast-moving lure, but no problem for the more speedy albies.
Fly fishermen know the effectiveness of using a fly for albies. However, fly fishermen are limited to a short cast and have trouble fishing a heavy surf. That float and egg will give spin fishermen a booming cast which is often needed in some spots to get to breaking fish. You have a big advantage when using the float and fly or jig for albies. It is the very best way to catch them.
I suspect the up and down fishing we’ve experienced recently will be a trend this fall. You will have outstanding fishing when a lot of bait comes around. Without the bait, there will be very little. You see, we have very few resident fish around. I am trying a lot of places after dark where in the past I could pick up a fish here and there. It’s not happening this year because the fish are constantly on the move following the bait schools.
Photos of How to Fool False Albacore
