False albacore are weird. In the South where they’re called “bonita” they’ll chow down on almost any lure, fly, or bait you can get in front of them. Set out a chum slick and they’ll hang around for hours and hours. But that’s not the case in the Northeast. Here, albies have a cult-like following. In the late summer and early fall, they migrate so tight to the beach that surf anglers get shots. They’ll flood sheltered harbors where kayakers can play. The game, however, is not easy. Unlike their Southern counterparts, these fish get cued into specific baits. They’re lightning-fast, frothing the surface one second and disappearing the next. If you’ve got a boat with a fast motor, it’s an advantage. If you don’t, you’re not out — you just need to be a bit more calculating.
My buddy, Kevin Blinkoff from On The Water magazine, is one of the highest-ranking albie cult members I know. While he targets a huge variety of fish, nothing gets him more charged up than the pending false albacore run in the inshore waters around Cape Cod where he lives. Blinkoff vehemently pursues them on foot and in his kayak and, over the years, he’s learned a ton about the timing and execution that’ll get you more shots at these fleeting speed demons. The overriding theme of successful fishing? Be one step ahead of the fish.
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Land Lovers
False albacore typically show up in force in New England in September. In New York and New Jersey, early October tends to be peak, while runs as far south as North Carolina fire in November. But no matter where you’re chasing them, getting as far “offshore” as possible on foot is key. These fish are so fast they can be blitzing 20 feet off the beach one minute and feeding a mile offshore a minute later. So any point, spit, bar, or jetty that juts out into the ocean is a great place to make an interception.
“One thing to remember is that false albacore are not a fish you’ll find spread up and down a beach,” says Blinkoff. “You’re going to get your shots in specific places like jetties and inlets with a little bit of access to deeper water. It’s one of those fisheries where having a network really helps. But if you don’t, you’ll know if you’ve found a good false albacore spot because there will be a dozen other guys there not casting and just scanning the water.”
So much of shore-bound albacore fishing is, in fact, waiting and scanning, because most of the time you’re going to get only a shot or two during a tide. There are rare exceptions where albies will stay up in casting range for an extended period, but it’s more common for them to pop up slashing bait on the surface just long enough to get one or two casts into them.
“I can go to a spot with good structure for striped bass and I don’t need to see them to know they’re probably there,” Blinkoff says. “But with albies it’s not a game of blind casting. When they’re feeding it’s almost always at the surface. They might be up for five or ten seconds, and the only way to get bit is to get a cast right into them during that short amount of time.”
Though metal lures like the Deadly Dick and the Hogy Epoxy Jig do a great job of imitating the anchovies, spearing, and other baitfish albies crave, these baits are also staples because they’re slender, heavy, and cast accurately at a distance. That matters when you’ve got mere seconds to make the shot. Engage the reel the second the lure touches down and crank fast — speed triggers strikes. And no matter how quickly you’re reeling, an albie will have no trouble catching up.
Pedal Like the Wind
Advances in kayak technology have made them increasingly popular among albie junkies, particularly in areas where the fish show in more sheltered water like Long Island Sound and Cape Cod Bay. While it may be hard to understand how they could possibly be more advantageous than having a center console with a 250-horsepower outboard on the back, Blinkoff makes an excellent case.
“Albie fishing in a boat with a bunch of people will end friendships,” he says. “Everyone has a different opinion of where the boat should go. Somebody spots fish over there, another guy sees them over here. But in a kayak, you’re totally in control, and a lot of times [you] benefit because you can’t chase them as quickly. So, what happens is the boats around me will zoom off to distant fish and the albies will pop right back up in my casting range. I’ll have them all to myself.”
Blinkoff is correct in that the desire to run after schools of fish often gets the best of many anglers in boats. It’s too tempting. But often the fish will stay in a general area even if you don’t see them, so the better move is staying put and waiting for the next shot. And getting that shot is much easier thanks to modern kayak designs.
“I started off trying to paddle after albies, and it’s doable, but it takes a lot more effort to chase them down,” says Blinkoff. “The bigger issue is that in the time it takes to put a paddle down, pick up your rod, open the bail, and make a cast? You might have missed the opportunity.”
Blinkoff’s kayak of choice is an Oldtown Bigwater EPDL+, which can be pedaled — but it also has an electric motor. Even if you don’t have a motor, a pedal kayak allows you to move faster and steer with one hand so the other is always on the trigger ready to fire fast.
“The fun in that is streaking towards these fish, they pop up, and you’re thinking, ‘Okay, can I close the distance in time?’” says Blinkoff. “You’re racing toward them and as you’re coasting in, you’re launching that cast, trying to pick up the slack line and hook up. That’s about as exciting as it gets to me.”
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