The best of the four major ‘food groups’ for hardtail hunters.
There’s not much that can compare to a day of “destroying” false albacore. Of course, I love them, along with their bonito brethren, and wish they’d just stick around forever. But if they were to befall victim to some kind of metaphorical apocalypse, their version of the “Four Horsemen” if you will, I think I know what that would be.
There’s no particular hierarchy here as each category could reign supreme on any given day or location. Let’s take a peek at those options and talk about some of the where and when along with how to deploy them!
Classic Metal
You can’t go wrong with the classic Deadly Dick #1 long in green. It’s still one of the most popular hardtail lures for a reason. Another classic is the Point Jude Po-Jee. It casts like a bullet and works great in either an erratic or straight retrieve at any speed. You’ll never be able to reel fast enough to outrun an albie, but there are times were they like a slower retrieve and this lure has a seductive wobble even when it’s worked at a crawl. The 1.5-ounce version is the perfect size for New England hardtails of any type. The Acme Crippled Herring has also withstood the test of time, and I find that the sweet spot is the 3/4-ounce version in plain old ‘chrome’. Finally from down under we have the Halco Twisty. The 15-gram version in green (what else?) has saved many days for me, especially in the late season when the albies were slowly picking off peanuts and being impossibly finicky.
The Deadly Dick and Crippled Herring are dual purpose and excel in a vertical presentation, which is nice on combo trips when you want to fill the cooler with scup, sea bass, and tog (yes, tog will 100% eat a jig) while the surface action is slow. The Po-Jee fishes great right out of the box, but you’ll want to upgrade the hooks and hardware on the others.
Resins & Epoxies
My favorite epoxy (as in the one I always have multiples of) is the Fat Cow Fishing 2.5-inch Epoxy. You guessed it, the green one is my go to. It’s been deadly on both albies and bones and my top producer from shore as well as on the boat. As a bonus this lure comes with both an inline single and a treble in the package. Hogy ruled this segment without much opposition for a while and both their metals and epoxies are set up with quality hooks from the factory. Technically metals, their long-cast heavy jigs can be a game changer on windy days, as is the peanut bunker jig, the latter is also irresistible to bottom dwellers. There are a slew of newcomers to this segment and I’ve done well with offerings from JoeBaggs, RonZ, and the popular Exo Jigs from Game On Lures.
On The Softer Side
I’ve got two top picks in this category, the RonZ and Albie Snax. If the fish are feeding aggressively on the surface either option will work, but there’s something special about watching albies compete to get a shot at a weightless plastic ripped across the surface. Albie Snax are also great for slower presentations, such as a twitch-pause-sweep retrieve will often pique the interest of picky fish feeding in short bursts or tight to shore in shallow water. The RonZ has the advantage in covering more of the water column. Fish that might reject a lure on top will often annihilate a RonZ on the drop. You can also jig or dead-stick one as you would for tuna. Just make sure the rod is either securely in a holder or you’ve got a solid grip on it. The hits are savage and come with zero warning.
I’ve had the best luck using Albie Snax in ‘pearl white’, and this color works well with the 4-inch RonZ too, but most of the time I go with silver or green. I’ve also added a few of Gravity Tackle’s smaller offering to my hardtail repertoire in advance of this season. If they’re anywhere near as effective on funny fish as their bigger plastics are on striped bass, I think these may be another solid option.
Hardbody Options
Hardbody lures are another segment with an abundance of choice, but I have a few favorites. The SP Minnow is a bonito slayer. Bones, with their impressive dentition seem to be more willing to take on proportionately larger baits than albies. The smaller 5-1/8-inch size works best in either laser or laser green shiner. These lures tend to weed out the smaller fish too. Rapala X-Raps in sardine have always performed well for me and also track well on the troll. The smaller sizes are good to have on hand if the fish are keyed in on tiny bait.
Speaking of trolling there’s nothing that tops the old Rebel Fast-Trac; that is, if you can find still find any. They’ll tolerate the highest speeds which helps mitigate bycatch like bluefish, sea bass and stripers and with triple trebles (you’ll definitely want to upgrade the hooks) the fish will usually stay on the line. If you can’t find them, the Yo-Zuri Crystal Minnow (standard and jointed) will work almost as well. Keep a few of these in deep diving spec around too. Sometimes heavily pressured fish will hang below the chaos of the run and gun crowd. Trolling might not be the most exhilarating method but it can help you find a few fish to pick off. If you’re catching and there’s a decent amount of bait in the area hang out for a bit, you could be there for the beginning of an epic feed!
Special Situations
One of the biggest keys to finding success in any style of fishing, for any species, is reading behavior of the fish and/or reading the situation to help you choose how and what to fish. Hardtails can be extra difficult to read because of how quickly they move and also because we only have them around for a few months each year. But the observant angler will begin to root out some patterns after years of chasing these amazing creatures and these things can really help when trying to figure out a tough bite.
One of the most peculiar forms of behavior is the slow rolling, slurping style of feeding albies sometimes adopt when they feed on peanut bunker, especially later in the season. You’ll find them midafternoon, cruising slowly just below the surface in gin clear water. They seem to become incredibly picky and spook easily so a long, accurate cast is necessary. If you get too close, or a few other boats show up, the party is over. In this situation, the Halco Twisty with a slow retrieve is often the only thing that gets bit. The bites are extremely subtle, almost a gentle nip so be ready to set the hook on a light tap.
| FROM THE LAND DOWN UNDER |
The Halco Twisty hails from Australia and sort of looks like a cross between a Kastmaster and a Deadly Dick, but with a twist (see what I did there?). The lure has slightly curved front and rear ends that impart a unique wobble even when retrieved at a crawl. This seems to help when the albies want a slightly slower retrieve since you don’t have to work the lure as hard or as fast as some of the more traditional offerings. I’ve had my best success with the 15-gram (about a half-ounce) version as its lighter weight keeps it from sinking too far out of the strike zone. |
Sometimes we see larger offshore baits moving in during the middle of their autumn vacation to the Northeast. Halfbeaks have been a regular party crasher over the past five years. If this bait is in the area, go big. Larger RonZ’s in the 6- and even 8-inch sizes are perfect to mimic these baitfish. You might see the bait porpoising out of the water trying to evade a predator below. I’ve never seen an albie or bone air out behind them, they seem to stay submerged. Throw one of those RonZ’s (in silver) and prepare for something on the larger size. This is typically a quality over quantity bite. Any albie big enough to scarf down a halfbeak is going to be a good one.
Albies and bonito have a well-deserved reputation for being speed feeders, leading to the “run and gun” style of pursuing them. The common practice of trying to match them in velocity often leads to a cluster of boats running them over and driving them down. I’ve found it helps to take a step back and observe their attacks. They often feed in large loops. They’ll corral and push bait to the surface before obliterating it. Afterward they’ll disperse and begin the pattern again, over and over. If you can pattern this style of feeding you can position yourself to be right on their next foamer instead of running around wasting time and fuel with the rest of the fleet. Each “loop” might have multiple blitz points but pay close attention to rips and structure, these become hot spots where they have an advantage to pin the bait.
Now that you’re rigged and ready for battle, go unleash hell on some hardtails and have fun! Maybe I’ll even see you on the battlefield…I mean water. Tight lines everyone!
