If you like the sound of screaming reels, it’s time to gear up.
Picture it, whitewater erupts a hundred yards in front of you; zipping, slashing and rainbowing out of the water are hundreds of false albacore breaking water like a washing machine. Adrenaline pumps fast as you muster enough willpower to calm yourself down; in a situation like this, it’s not easy to stay calm!
The engines cut as you drift 30 yards away from the school, whipping a small metal out across the path of their directional heading. “Reel, reel, reel,” you tell yourself, until your fast retrieve stops you in your tracks. A thump jars your line and instantly that poor reel in your hand is burning drag and singing in pain as line dumps from the spool.
If you know the feeling, there’s quite nothing like it from the surf or the nearshore waters in the late summer and early fall. Albie fishing is on another level and schools of these speedsters have been showing up during the latter days of August during recent years.
My log books charted some insane albie fishing outside of the Manasquan Inlet last summer. An entry date of August 25, 2023, says it best:
“Went out with Jim Louro, 6 a.m. to 7:30 a.m., absolutely nuts albie fishing. Nonstop, thousands of albies breaking water in massive crashing schools everywhere you looked. Best I’ve ever seen it in New Jersey, 77-degree water temps, flat calm, no wind, clean water, sunny 95 degrees. Landed dozens in just that hour and half, too many to cast to.”
So why did that happen? Usually, little tunny fishing at the Jersey Shore is a September type of thing, but that bite was triggered by the presence of tiny 1-inch snapper bluefish that these “fat Alberts” were keying in on, combined with super warm water pushed in by a tropical storm. On top of that, it was on the heels of a full moon tide. Could it happen again in late August? If it does, I sure hope you’re as prepared as I plan to be!
Surfside Speedsters
| SURF SENSE |
| Last year in the surf, false albacore schools worked off the Ocean County beaches in a wide quarter mile circle, coming in and out in a circle for hours on end, so you didn’t even need to move north or south. Most time albie fishing is best from pre-dawn hours of dawn until around 10 a.m. when they stay lower in the water column, but can pop up anytime during the day. – N. Honachefsky
Sal Timpani with a false albacore taken on a Joe Baggs Resin Jig at Island Beach State Park, featured on the September ’22 cover of The Fisherman. Think you have a good cover shot from the ’24 season? Email jhutchinson@thefisherman.com. |
Anyone who albie fishes from the surf knows this – it’s a run and gun affair. But it doesn’t have to be. You always seem to be just behind with your cast as tunny are always moving super-fast; you’re either just out of range or have just missed the school. It can be frustrating, but a few tips can up your hookup ratio. To start, get to the top of a sand dune and look for visuals of breaking schools and note the direction they’re heading. Try to anticipate where they will be in 5 minutes, not necessarily where they are at the present moment as most times it will be too late to make an effective cast to where they were.
Pop up a couple streets and wait for them to move into your scope of casting to get a couple casts in when they cruise by. Make your casts long and about 20 yards past the head of the school, allowing the metal to sink, then reel in at a lightning pace where your presentation will be right in the middle of the pack for a strike. In other words, don’t be behind the action, or right in the middle of it (unless you are extremely lucky in the right place and right time), but get ahead of it.
If you have access to a beach buggy permit beach, the run and gun is more doable, but if not, block hop down the streets and park where you anticipate the school to be.
Cut The Engines
No doubt, witnessing massive tunny schools blow up in front of you can give you full throttle syndrome to punch the engines and get to them. Just keep in mind that any sound of engine noise usually pushes the schools down which can make boat fishing frustrating, especially when a fleet is out there spooking them with juiced up intentions. Calmer is better and you can only hope the fleet understands that as I am sure everybody has been ticked off at one time or another by a boat running right on top of them and shutting the bite down.
Again here, same as in the surf, anticipate how fast and in what direction the school is moving, then set up a hundred yards ahead of their path and cut the engines, allowing the school to come to you. When you allow the school to come to you, rip off a long cast and let the lure sink for a three to four count before you begin to reel in to insure you are covering below the water surface and not skimming the surface.
Best times and areas to shoot for false albacore are around inlet mouths such as Barnegat and Manasquan Inlets, especially the areas outside Sandy Hook too; and the early morning red sunrise just cracking the horizon, that’s usually a great time to get them on the feed.
Light Is Right
Tackle selection is geared toward a lighter scale for casting, hookset and presentation purposes. Spinning rods like a 7-foot Shimano Terramar for the boat, up to an 8- or 9-foot St. Croix Mojo for the surf are recommended with a moderate to fast action. Spinning reels with a liquid smooth drag and backbone power such as a Shimano Vanforth 5000 fits the bill. Spool up with 30-pound braid like Power Pro and use an Albright knot to attach a 4-foot section of 15-to 25-pound Seaguar or Yo-Zuri fluorocarbon leader. Tie directly to your lure, without any possible terminal tackle connections which will be seen with the false albacore’s keen eyesight, often turning off the possible strike.
Metals are clutch here, mainly slim profiles such as Williamson Gomoku Jigs, RonZ, Deadly Dick #4, Tsunami Slim Waves, Hogy Epoxy jigs, the Shimano Current Sniper and Game On EXO jigs are money when spearing, sand eels, and rainfish are the predominant baitfish; wider profile lures like Crippled Herring in the 1-ounce size will work well when peanut bunker are the prevalent forage. Drag setting should be tight enough to set the hook, but loose enough to allow the albie to rip off a sprint. Too tight a drag will result in a snapped line or a pulled hook as the ferocity of the fight can be daunting on light tackle.
From the surf, once an albie is hooked it’s going to run wherever and however it wants. You need constant pressure on the fish, but not to overfight it. Let it run and hold on tight, allowing the drag to do the work. Follow the fish up or down the coast and stay in front of it, reeling in whenever the fish stops for a brief second of respite to gain line. You may have three or four runs until you feel you are effectively beating the fish.
From the deck of a boat, the same rules apply, though you should be more cognizant of when the albie gets close to the boat as more often than not, they will zip under the boat, or around the transom where a cut line on the lower unit can end the fight prematurely. Follow the tunny around the boat and ensure you always keep it at a distance of 5 to 10 yards before the end game to leader the fish.
This is now the time to chase the little tunny. August just may offer up shots at albies before the September swing; be prepared and get on the hunt.
| WHAT IS IT? |
| There are a variety of summer speedsters you’re apt to encounter on the inshore and midrange grounds this month, and knowing the difference can help you keep it legal, and in good quality seafood. In New Jersey, there’s a 23-inch size limit on king mackerel and a three fish bag, while Spanish mackerel has a 14-inch size and 10 fish bag. While similar to little tunny, Atlantic bonito are a different species that do make fine table fare (unlike false albacore) if bled immediately; there is no size or bag limit for bonito in New Jersey. And if you’re hoping at a shot at bringing home some bluefin, make sure you get your vessel permitted first at hmspermits.noaa.gov.
|
