The arrival of false albacore is a celebrated occasion each August within the Northeast, starting the transition from summer season to fall. We’ve all heard, watched, and examine typical albie methods. So, as an alternative of the identical details about albie etiquette and matching the hatch, my aim is to ship a number of distinctive, outside-the-box ideas which will add a number of extra digits to your albie totals on a given day. As a younger captain and angler on Cape Cod, I’ve chased these fish from the times when Lethal Dicks and metals had been all that had been wanted by the creation of epoxy jigs, comfortable plastics, eggs, and flies. Your entire panorama of false albacore fishing has turned into a extremely detailed, aggressive marketplace for lure makers to separate their product from the remaining. When it comes proper right down to it, the simpler you make the pursuit, the higher off you can be.
Concentrate on Casts, Not Colour
Generally, you simply must put the deal with field away and confidently fish one bait. On days when albies ignore the whole lot you throw at them, you might shuffle by colours and sizes of lures, on the lookout for a silver bullet. As an alternative, spend that power on the fish themselves.
Concentrate on precisely how the fish are performing on that day. Whenever you’re coping with choosy fish, a well-timed, well-placed solid and retrieve is extra necessary than lure coloration 9 occasions out of ten.
When partaking a faculty of feeding albies, solid past the feed, not into it. Don’t get overexcited once they pop up—learn the feed for a second and make the solid. When you’ve decided the route the albies are feeding, solid past the college, forward of its path, and put your jig on an intercept course with the fish. Matching the hatch is all the time be necessary, however the subsequent time you’re fighting choosy fish, preserve this in thoughts.
Use Your Electronics
Consider it or not, electronics can play an enormous function in false albacore fishing. The same old strategy is to look for birds, bait, and floor exercise, then chase these down. Nevertheless, if in case you have electronics at your disposal, utilizing them may help put you in the fitting place on the proper time.
Begin together with your charts. In case you are in an space the place albies have been constantly feeding, observe the placement in your charts. Most of the time, the fish will probably be constantly exhibiting on a particular contour line, depth change, or construction. Figuring out the areas the place they’re prone to pop again up will preserve you one step forward of the fish whereas different fishermen are left chasing blitzes.
Additionally, use your sonar and, if accessible, aspect imaging. Monitor these electronics across the fish to see for those who can mark colleges of bait and the albies themselves. Staying on the transfer at a gradual velocity allows you to scan numerous areas till you mark fish or bait in your display screen. Whenever you do, idle for a minute and see in the event that they push to the floor.
Superb-Tune Your Retrieve
One of the vital underexplained facets of false albacore fishing is the way to retrieve epoxy-style jigs. On the water, I usually see anglers casting into feeds and retrieving whereas imparting all types of twitches, bumps, and motion with the rod. When the fish are closely feeding and committing to lures, that’s wonderful. Nevertheless, if you’re working choosy fish or making numerous blind casts, doing an excessive amount of will be ineffective.
Make lengthy casts, then preserve your rod tip down and preserve a gradual retrieve. Keep away from pointless twitching and preserve the jig slightly below the floor on a straight line. I inform anglers to squeeze the rod deal with tight and lock your wrists. This may preserve the rod tip regular and permit the jig to maneuver slightly below the floor, flashing its colours. That is particularly efficient on the subject of blind casting in areas the place the fish have proven.
Get the Proper Gear
Whether or not you’re a seasoned false albacore fishing veteran or an entry-level angler, utilizing the correct deal with can actually enhance success. One among my favourite discoveries is utilizing a faster-action rod. You continue to wish to go together with the lightest rod doable—many anglers get pleasure from catching them on medium-light and light-action rods—however a quicker motion makes it simpler to maintain the rod tip nonetheless whereas retrieving, which helps casting jigs swim completely slightly below the floor.
Leaping up a weight in your favourite albie rod to a medium-heavy or heavy can even make a distinction in perfecting the retrieve on an epoxy jig. A lightweight, whippy rod has an excessive amount of motion on the tip that can trigger the jig to leap out and in of the water as an alternative of staying constantly slightly below the floor. A faster-action rod may also add a long way to your solid when paired with the fitting reel, which I prefer to preserve small and quick.
Maintain the Hookset
There’s a ton of power that goes into chasing these inshore footballs, which may make anglers a bit set off comfortable. Whenever you lastly get a chunk after casting right into a blitz of finicky false albacore, what tends to come back subsequent is a hard-hitting hookset derived from hours of awaiting that strike. Generally, a fish inhales it sufficient for the hookset to work, however extra typically, you’ll pull your lure proper from its mouth. Attempt to keep targeting the strike. Whenever you really feel the hit, reel into the fish. Proceed the tempo of your retrieve proper up till your reel locks up. Keep away from the high-stick hookset and produce the rod throughout your physique, permitting the motion of the rod to set the hook.
Scale back your RPMs
There’s a methodology to this. Should you take note of your engine RPMs whereas wanting and ready for a pod to floor, you’ll see that staying at or under a sure degree will preserve the fish up longer. For me, that quantity is 700. Holding your motion underneath 700 rpms permits for mobility in addition to stealth.
Nobody desires to be the man roaring from pod to pod at breakneck velocity, however nobody desires to overlook out on feeds both. Observe and sample utilizing your eyes and electronics, then keep on the transfer at a low RPM degree.
Associated Content material
13 Casting Jigs for False Albacore
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Blind Casting for Albies
WATCH: Drag-Screaming Kayak Albies on Cape Cod | Kayak Fishing the Coast, Ep. 3
