How to catch False Albacore
False Albacore aka Little Tunnies aka Albies are a favorite among many of my anglers as well as myself. It’s hard not to like false albacore, they rip drag, sight fishable, great for fly fishing and are beautiful fish. I like to call these these fish deep water bonefish because they will get you into the backing on your fly reel about as fast as a bonefish will and are pound for pound some of the toughest fighting fish we have. What’s not to like about False Albacore!?
Well some people would call these trash fish because they really are not that great to eat unless you are a cooking magician. When fishing offshore many times you will run into these fish and it’s not too exciting when you are out fishing for mahi or tuna or wahoo and for some reason reeling them in on heavy offshore equipment is just not that fun. But and this is a big But when you are fishing for them nearshore right off the beach and these fish pop up in front of the boat in large groups and are crushing bait on the surface it’s a sight to see and getting them to eat a fly or a lure on your light spinning rod is an absolute blast and really hard to top. I think it all comes down to matching the fish with your equipment. Sure reeling these in on a big offshore rod is not that fun because it’s not really what your looking for but feeding them flies on an 8 wt or 9 wt or a ML spinning rod feels like you are catching the fish of a lifetime and it’s all sightfishing. We are not casting into nothing and hoping for a bite, we are scouring the beach looking for groups of birds diving, fish busting the surface, bait getting blasted into the sky, it’s all a very visual experience which makes it all the more exciting.
Now that I have gotten why I like fishing for albies so much off my chest let’s talk about how you go about catching these footballs. It may be slightly different here in the Wilmington Area on how we target these fish but for the most part it should hold pretty true to the species as a whole. For us we tend to get a Fall run of False Albacore as well as a Spring run. These are migratory fish so generally they are passing through and will hang around for a time while the bait lasts and then they are either heading North in the Spring or headed back South in the Fall. The Fall run here in Wrightsville Beach tends to be the best for albies as far as sheer numbers of fish around but the Spring is nothing to wave a stick at, it can also be lights out but is less predictable.
Like I said earlier when these fish are around we are going to be sight fishing for them meaning we can see them before we cast to them. This is generally how most fisherman prefer to fish for albies and i’d wager the most exciting way. I’ll start to look for them from about 100 yards off the beach all the way to about 5 miles off the beach. They can definitely be out further but I try not to really start targeting them until they have made their way in slightly as running 5 plus miles off to find them can be tough if the weather does not allow for that in my bay boat. Birds are the key to success when it comes to albie fishing, find some diving terns and if they are hovering over the surface diving down to get bait and it’s the right time of year (fall & spring) then there is a good chance there is some albies underneath them. Get within casting distance of those birds and start to watch the surface of the water underneath where the birds are hovering and give it a few minutes. If nothing is busting the surface after a few minutes move onto the next group of birds. Eventually you will find a group of birds that is on top of fish and then it’s game on. Now a caveat to this is that occasionally you will find groups of albies busting the surface with now birds on top of them and these are just as catchable. Just keeps your eyes peeled for any water disturbance while looking for birds as this does happen. I will look the hardest for albies around inlets especially when the tide is moving as that is going to be when the bait they are after is getting moved in or out of the inlets. Tide lines are also another great place to spend your time looking for these fish as well. I’ll typically do a run of the beach about 1 to 2 miles out and if I don’t see what i’m looking for then I’ll cut that distance in half off the beach. If am am still not seeing them and the weather allows for it i’ll start heading offshore as much as possible to try and find them. Occasionally at least here in Wrightsville Beach, Carolina Beach, Topsail if we get a lot of rain the fish will move further offshore.
Now let’s talk about what to throw at them. For a spinning rod a hogy epoxy jig is about all you need most of the time. Size and color can matter so pay attention to the bait they are feeding on most and try and match the hatch. If they are feeding on glass minnows than something silver/clear will work great. If they are feeding on anchovies than something pink/red will work. Many times if you just throw something that is the same size as they bait they are eating than they will eat it but occasionally they can get picky on color. For flies probably the most widely used are clauser minnows and surf candy flies. I tend to gravitate towards the surf candy flies as they are quite easy to tie and require little materials. Colors hold true with the above comment on matching the color of the fish they are eating but occasionally a fly that stands out like a black and chartreuse will get the bite as they can see it really well. As far as retrieval of these lures is concerned….fast, fast and faster! You want your lure or fly to look like a fleeing baitfish and in order to do so you have to really fast. I often tell my clients to reel as fast as they can with a spinning rod and then knock it down about 10%. On a fly rod I recommend a double hand strip, which helps with moving that fly as fast as possible to entice the bite. Once you get one of these fish on the let them run and enjoy the ride!
Lastly let’s talk about boat placement. I see A LOT of people gunning around as fast as possible from busting fish to busting fish which is fine in my opinion but please just don’t run over them! Stay as far away as possible while still being able to get a cast into them and then when you hook one don’t keep chasing the school, get that fish to the boat and then move onto the next or find the school of fish you were fishing again. If the fish are really spread out but there is a ton of them around sometimes it pays huge dividends to just let your boat drift with the motor off or with the use of a trolling motor. If you find that fish are popping up and going back down immediately but there are lots of fish around, staying in one place or drifting can be a great strategy. Lastly i’ll say just be considerate of the boats that are out there doing the same thing and try and give everyone ample space and be open to taking turns on large schools so that lines stay untangled and profanity is not used!
I hope this helps any of you that get to go out there and chase these awesome fish and as always if you have any questions please feel free to give me a ring or shoot me an e-mail. Below you will find some links to some helpful information regarding albie tackle.
Favorite Albie Lure - Epoxy Pink Color
Favorite Fly Rod - 8 wt or 9 wt
Favorite Spinning Rod - ML 7’ or 7’6’’
Thank you for taking the time to read this post about False Albacore and I hope this helps anyone looking to further their knowledge and catch some of these awesome fish this fall. If you want to book a trip for some of these explosive fish give me a shout.
Happy Fishing!
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BlackBird Guide Services / Capt. Cam Pappas
