The false albacore is a special fish. 

In some ways the false albacore is the polar opposite of the striped bass.  The striper is a fish which can hunt and thrive in virtually any conditions.  The false albacore is a fish that does one thing to perfection.   That thing is speed.  A false albacore feels like polished glass, the only “imperfections” are the two “dents” into which it can tuck its pectoral fins.  In fact a false albacore lacks a swim bladder and due to the high oxygen requirements of its muscles it can never stop swimming.  This is something to be mindful of when targeting them with light gear, unlike stripers an exhausted albie has almost no chance for survival.

Albie fishing is special as well.  In many ways they are perfect for fly rodders.  They generally feed on small bait which is easily imitated with flies, they are not boat shy so long casts are not required,  they feed near the surface and can be targeted with intermediate or even floating lines, and though they are an incredibly fast fish they aren’t particularly strong so they can be brought to hand in a prompt manner. 

This will be a brief overview of what the angler needs to know and be able to do to catch false albacore, yet before we devle into that too deeply I feel I need to get this off my chest.

Successful albie fishing has far more to do with the captain’s skill than the anglers. 

Take a good look at the photo.  Notice how the boats are holding in a relatively flat section of the sea.  This is called the “head” of a rip.  The rip itself is very choppy and can be dangerous if the weather is foul, and naturally the worse the weather the better the fishing. 

The frantic feeding behavior of the albies will draw birds and then boats from all over.  As is the case with an endeavor involving two or more humans, this can often be unpleasant.  Stories of guys anchoring in a rip, trolling through a rip, as well as pilots who simply don’t pay attention or lack the necessary skill to deal with the conflicting forces of wind and current are common.  Add to this that albie fishing is a highly competitive commercial endeavor.   The false albacore has almost no table value – it tastes like crap there are tales of cats refusing it – but there are many guides that specialize on this fishery.  Add money, ego, and a sense of urgency and competition and you can easily imagine how unpleasant this can be.

As a guy who has never driven a power boat, all of this is really not my problem, but I recognize that the lions share of the challenge of albie fishing takes place behind the wheel not nearly so much the angler. 

Albies can be taken from shore…but it is a crap shoot.  If your goal is to catch a false albacore hire a good captain, or better yet make some good friends who own boats.  Every albie I have ever caught was on a boat captained by my friend Mark Dysinger.  I firmly believe that every albacore I will ever catch will be with the same captain.  I trust him to find the fish, get the boat into the right position, deal with the nonsense, and most importantly to know when enough is enough and seek out less stressful fishing opportunities.

All I really had to do is pick a fly, cast it, and work a retrieve.

False Albacore have incredible vision due to their enormous eyes.  I find that imitative flies work best, however, when the bait is especially thick a very flashy or all-white fly is generally a better choice.  Surf candies, Mushmouth patterns, Clousers, and Deceivers will all work.  My favorite pattern is a woefully simple zonker sized to the bait.  I wrap the shank with Krystal Flash and use a thin zonker – ginger is my favorite color (I perfer Maryanne on Giligan’s Island though.) 

The most difficult part of fishing for false albacore is line management.  Due to the fast pace of the fishing, the captain may feel it best to reposition the boat, if some other boaters are acting in an unsafe manner this many need to happen quickly.  Boats with a shallow casting deck – ideal in calmer waters – will present a challenge to the angler…especially angler who is fond of stripping off a great deal of line and making long casts.  Coils will bounce around, become tangled, or worse blow out of the boat and be damaged by the prop.  I feel it is the responsibility of the angler to be ready to move promptly.  The easiest way to do this is to limit your casting distances to what is manageable based on the situation.

The second aspect of casting is knowing where you can place a cast.  The common sense of knowing that you can’t backcast where the rod holders, captain, or fellow anglers are tends to get a bit confused when a huge pod of albies starts busting on the surface.  To maximize your opportunities, learn to fish your backcasts, cast regardless of wind direction, and make change of direction casts.  Know what you can and can not do, and make sure your captain knows.  Also know what room other anglers will need and stay out of their casting lanes.  Few things are worse than having the false albacore blow up around the boat and you are untangling your line because your partner caught your backcast. 

As is the case with most fishing, the retrieve often makes all the difference between success and failure.  I find the key lies in understanding a few things about false albacore feeding behavior.  I have observed two types of surface activity.  Since I have a masterful command of the English language I have come up with terms which are beyond reproach…streaking and beaking.  Reproach away.

Streaking – the albies are swimming at the surface at a more or less constant depth.  The give away at a distance is you will see the rounded surface of their backs occassionally break the surface.  When displaying this behavior the albies are generally moving fairly quickly.  The best place to cast is well away from the splashes to a point where you believe they may be headed (the location of the splash is most likely the place they are least likely to be by the time your fly is cast.)  The best lines are floaters – for the ease of pick up and repositioning the fly – and intermediates which get to fly a foot or two below the surface.  The most useful retrieves are generally as fast as possible.  Unless you are the Flash, there is no way you can strip a fly too quickly for an albie to grab it.  Dead drifts and twitching retrieves also work, sometimes better so resist the temptation to get caught up in the excitement.  If the fast retrieve isn’t working, try another.  The good news is setting the hook is almost a non-issue, most of the time the albies will hook themselves.

Beaking – The second type of surface activity I’ve observed is when the albies seem to come straight up to the surface and their mouths (sometimes their whole bodies) break the surface.  With no swim bladder,  false albacore can change depth rapidly.  I find that this type of activity lends itself to a deeper presentation, and even though the activity is at the surface I catch far more fish when my fly is deep.  It takes a lot of discipline to count off a 30 second sink when birds are screaming and fish are busting, but if you have made a few casts with no takes this may be your best bet.

False Albacore fishing is a great experience, not my personal favorite but many Northeast anglers have caught chronic cases of Albie fever.  Just remember to pack your sense of humor when you target the biggest little fish in the ocean.