Six Steps to Cure Albie Fever

When my spouse determined it was time to get a brand new pet, I made a cope with her. She may select the canine, however I acquired to decide on the title. She ended up choosing a rescue canine from Alabama, a cute little terrier/lab combine.

I named her Albie.

To say I’m obsessive about false albacore can be an understatement. For some unusual cause, there is no such thing as a different species of fish that turns me into such a lunatic. I’m obsessive about them. Their blistering pace, the ferocity with which they tear by way of a college of baitfish, and their intense, electrical coloration make them, fingers down, my favourite light-tackle goal.

When the albies roll into city, family chores are delay. The garden could develop as excessive as my knees. Household obligations will undoubtedly be blown off, and I’ll present up late to work extra days than not.

False albacore have solid a voodoo curse on my soul and have stricken me with an habit. My restoration has stalled in the first step. I’ve admitted that I’m powerless, however I can’t imagine there’s a higher energy that may restore me to sanity. There’s just one approach to curb my habit … and that’s to catch extra albies.

I’ve typically contemplated why I dedicate a lot time to chasing these fish. I caught my first false albacore 22 years in the past, a day I’ll always remember. Since then, I’ve spent numerous hours making an attempt to foretell their unpredictable patterns. The largest factor I’ve discovered? Albies are erratic. There is no such thing as a rhyme or cause to after they present up, and when you suppose you’ve all of it discovered, the whole lot adjustments. For me, the search to resolve the albie puzzle, to understand their sporadic habits, is the actual hunt with false albacore.

I’m under no circumstances an professional on catching albies (and anybody who tells you they’re is a liar), however I’ve discovered a couple of tips the arduous means. Following are six steps that may assist deal with your personal habit.

Fish the Froth: False albacore are simpler to catch when the water is tough. Wind and waves pile up the baitfish, making them straightforward victims for these speedy predators. Flat-calm seas will not be preferrred for albie fishing. (Photograph by Joey Manansala)

1. The Blind Nut Catches the Albie

Step one in understanding albies is to come back to phrases with the truth that they spend solely 0.001 % of their life crashing bait on the floor. Simply because you may’t see them doesn’t imply they don’t seem to be there.

Don’t get me mistaken – it’s a lot simpler to hook an albie when it’s whipping the water to a froth. Once they’re blitzing, these fish have bait on their mind, they usually compete intensively with one another to get their subsequent meal. However belief me, they chunk nearly as properly when they’re stealthily cruising under the floor.

A standard mistake I see is when anglers solid solely at breaking fish. I’ve caught far more albies blind-casting versus casting into breaking fish. When these fish aren’t breaking on high, they’re circling faculties of bait properly beneath the floor. The extra time your lure is transferring within the water, the higher your odds of intercepting one and getting a chunk. An albie lure dangling from a rod tip is as ineffective as an unloaded gun. Solid, reel, repeat. Time and again. Don’t cease. Maintain casting.

When blind-casting, resist the urge to make lengthy, hero casts launching your lure so far as doable. You can be higher served with shorter casts. This fashion, if a pod does pop up and begin crashing on high, you’ll have sufficient time to retrieve your solid and get a shot on the breaking fish.

READ MORE: Blind Casting for False Albacore

2. Pace Kills

It’s not humanly doable to reel in a lure so quick than an albie can’t meet up with it. These fish are simply extremely quick; in addition they have unimaginable eyesight. The very last thing you need an albie to do is get a superb take a look at a chunk of plastic or steel, irrespective of how reasonable it’s. The sooner your retrieve, the much less they see, plain and easy.

False albacore are additionally aggressive. When one fish sees a schoolmate take off after a baitfish, the race is on, and albies don’t like shedding races. If you may get a number of fish to chase your bait, the chances go up and the fish are extra apt to make a mistake.

Whereas a quick retrieve is essential, you additionally don’t need your lure water-skiing. Attempt to preserve it slightly below the floor, sometimes breaking it, which can catch their consideration. Maintain your rod tip as low to the water as doable and pause your retrieve a few occasions to permit your providing to sink a bit.

3. Maintain The Religion

Final 12 months, I fished precisely the identical lure throughout the albie run. Why? Why not? I place confidence in it, I do know it really works, and I understand how to make use of it. Albies, like most different fish, will not be that fussy – they’re simply tough to idiot. If they’re feeding on peanut bunker and, say, a small squid swims by, they will eat it. Don’t overthink issues – preserve them easy and change lures provided that you realize one thing else is working higher or if you’re 100% sure that what you’re utilizing isn’t working.

4. Lengthy, Gentle Leaders

One factor I’ve observed is that the longer your chief, the higher your odds of getting a chunk. Braided fishing traces have lots of good qualities, however low visibility isn’t one among them. I take advantage of a 5- to 6-foot size of 15-pound-test fluorocarbon, and I tie the chief materials on to the braid. For those who don’t already know easy methods to tie a uni-to-uni knot (or higher but, an FG Knot), cease what you’re doing proper now and study it.

5. The Grass Isn’t Greener On The Different Aspect

Working round throughout creation, chasing down pods of fish isn’t one of the simplest ways to catch them. We’ve all finished it. You see white water a half mile away, you fireplace up the engine and race over to it, and simply whenever you get there, the fish disappear. There’s a cause for this. Albies are nervous and appear to reside their lives in fixed concern. Something out of the peculiar will spook them and ship the fish packing.

Stealth is essential. It’s like deer looking, the place it is advisable have the ingredient of shock in your aspect. For those who’re in a ship, kill the motor whereas drifting.If you’re motoring up on a college of fish, do it slowly and steadily. Don’t rev the engine up and down as a result of this can scare the fish. You additionally have to plan your assault. At any time when doable, strategy the varsity from upwind. This will provide you with an extended solid, getting your lure additional away from the boat’s engine noise.

6. Keep On The Bait

Working round and chasing flocks of birds is an efficient tactic for those who’re on the lookout for stripers, however as a result of albie faculties transfer so quick and barely blitz for greater than ten seconds, birds will not be one of the simplest ways to find them. I’m extra inclined to be looking out for a single tern hovering above the water, a real indicator that an space is about to explode. Even higher, for those who discover a huge pod of bait, keep it up and wait issues out. False albacore typically hammer a college of baitfish for a minute or two, depart the scene, after which present again up about 10 minutes later. Why? I don’t know. However I’ve seen it sufficient occasions to know that for those who discover a good pile of bait, keep it up.