Albie reports

[BassBuddah]

Just got back from Montauk yesterday.

We also saw some albies jumping about 300' from shore, tried DDs, but could not get any. They were chasing anchovies and small bait, amazing fish.

[DarkSkies]

Glad you almost got into them up there BB, so far down here it has been hit and miss. They have been spotted off Breezy in massive schools. A friend and I are dedicated to finding them and nailing a few, no luck so far.

Some of the other sites report one or 2 scattered catches from the surf since my last report, but there is no real "run" so far to speak of, just isolated catches. However, boat guys are into them and bonito pretty heavy. They are SO CLOSE, but so FAR!

That's good, because it means anyone targeting bass or blues has an equal chance of nailing one, it's just the luck of the draw so far,
your chances are about 1000 to 1.

Another friend was after them for the last 2 days, usual spots. Saw them breaking water and chasing bait each day, but they were 1/8 of a mile out. At the usual places, there is no heavy concentration of bait to bring them into the surf, or just beyond the rollers.

Even Allen Riley and his Team Albacore have been getting blanked, every day, despite fishing hard for them every morning. Allen Riley is one of the best surf albacore fishermen out there. He has years of experience. If he can't pull just one in despite fishin for them everyday, that really sucks.

Keep the faith, water temps are still high enough, one of these days more than one guy will get lucky.

[DarkSkies]

Nothing happening in NJ yet. A few surfers I know reported some jumping in various spots Moco, but none caught.

Great news from the North fork of LI, don't give up on these fish yet guys, they are still north of us, and out in deeper NJ waters. Caught on Mon and Tue.

The report:


Took a break from a morning hunt on Monday and took a ride to the beach.



Never saw so many trucks and cars in the parking lot when I pulled up, so I knew immediately that something was going on....What I saw was incredible; rods doubled over and some quick maneuvering from multiple hookups led me to believe that there was a major bluefish blitz occuring. Instead, it was a major false albie blitz!!!



I witnessed about a dozen albies get caught and it seemed that Deadly ****'s was the lure of choice . There were even some flyrodders going for it but I think the fish were out of their range.



I was going to ask one of the successful anglers if I could take one for shark bait but I didn't want to scent myself for the afternoon hunt. Oh well, my October mako will have to settle for bluefish!



For all you albie "affishianado's", now is the time!!

[DarkSkies]

A week later and still no appreciable reports of albies in the surf. They were in full swing by this time last year.

I am still holding out hope for them to show up in numbers, because they were north of us last week. The only thing that gives me worry is that although we are seeing small bait, the flow is sporadic. Changes from day to day, and this would definitely affect whether we will get them frim shore.

I believe some will be caught here and there from different shore spots by guys who aren't targeting.

However, as far as a strong run is concerned, each day the possibilities lessen. I still want to keep that hope alive, ready to jump on it at a moment's notice. I always carry my albie rigs with me now - other day I left them in the car, and made a walk back to get them "just in case".

But the clock is ticking, time is running out, I hope we get a few shots at them.

[wish4fish]

yeah, i been out at the hook, and haven'tn seen much except for quick moving birds one day a week ago, and they were too far off.
was there this morning, some bass around, but no albies.

[bababooey]

Thanks for keeping up the reports, DS. My friend got into them yesterday off of Montauk in a boat, so maybe there's still hope for them hitting here. Have to see what the storm does.

[DarkSkies]

Bunkerjoe raised the posibility of it being over for the albies in his report. I would have to second that. Out at SH this am, not much small bait, though I know about the night sandeel presence, nothing in the daytime.

Surf very quiet, if we get any real numbers of albies from here on in Ill be amazed. I'm giving up on targeting them and working to find them, though I will have my albie rigs with me for the next 2 weeks, just in case.

[DarkSkies]

Last year was one of the worst in recent history for surf albie opportunties. I knew of a few caught, but they were not in the usual places. Some people refused to believe that any were caught at all in the surf.

One of the most famous surf albie fanatics is Allen Riley, an old mentor of mine. Albacore Al, as he is called by those who know him, has been pursuing albies from the surf for approximately 2 decades, and really has a pulse on them and how to target them. Here is a quote by him last year, a reflection on the dismal possibilities:

"The clock is ticking on the albacore run. Each day that passes without them in the mix is another day crossed off within a narrow window of opportunity even during years with strong runs. Time will tell."


There were no real catches of albies last year until the first week of September, while boat guys had been hitting them good, but inconsistently, all through August. I think the Fall weather patterns kept them away from the surf line, as we had a few noreasters in a row that dropped the temps and made it tough to fish for them.

Just remember, if they are around, don't procrastinate, set up some deadly ***** pre rigged with flouro leaders, and start carrying them around. The most successful fisherman is one who can adapt quickly. Many times you will only have a small window of 15 minutes or so to catch one of these speedsters.

Their eyesight is incredible. The guys who can change over to slim metals and pre-rigged flouro leaders will be the ones with the best chances. And you should be prepared to cast dozens or hundreds of times for one solid hookup, if they are there. I did see a guy catch one one a bucktail once, though.

The reward is like crack for the surf fisherman, at least it is for me. The adrenalin rush of the first run is awesome, and something every fisherman should experience at least once. That's why we put forth the time and effort, and cast after cast, for these elusive speedsters.


So post up what ya know, or read in the reports out there. It doesn't matter how they were caught, or even if there was only a sighting and no catches. Posting here will give us an idea when they're available.

I started the same thread last year, and eagerly await their 2009 arrival. Most importantly, these are a fish that can only handle limited time out of the water. If you catch one, try to have the camera ready and out of the case, ready to snap that shot as you bring it in and quickly release it.

These are not fish that will survive "photo ops". I can tell you from experience that any release time longer than 30 secs, or 60 secs at the most, will leave them floating dead in the water within a few minutes of their release.

If you really care about not wasting a resource, please try to follow the 30/60 sec guidelines.

Ya can't eat these fish, though I have eaten sushi slices off freshly dead ones (ya should see the looks I get and internet reports that guys put out when I do ). Overall, they are one of the hardest fighting and most exciting fish that any surfcaster will ever catch on medium tackle, so let's try not to waste them, guys and gals.

Here's a link to a thread "all about false albacore"

http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?t=3663

[DarkSkies]

Post up what ya see or hear about, people! Try not to be too specific if the area is small or if you don't want 100 of your closest internet "friends' to be there shoulder to shoulder the next day.

Reports/sightings:
-Some sightings already off of jetties in Ocean county, but no confirmed reports. Keep in mind that there are different fish that show the "albacore" feeding behavior, whether they are albacore, bonito, or frigate mackerel, which are usually on the smaller side.

-Some catches of frigate mackerel in the inshore waters in Monmouth County by boaters and kayakers.

-Remember that it's possible for the untrained eye to confuse albies with bluefish. One of the key differences is that when the albies are worked up, they leap out of the water when feeding. Their body shape is distinctive. They look like little fat footballs.





They also differ from bluefish in the speed they travel at. You will see activity in front of you, and 30 secs later they're a 1/4 mile down the beach.

Don't bother chasing them. Even an Olympic track star couldn't keep up. If the small bait is there, just have confidence in your long casts, and keep doing it until you get one or decide to give up, cause "these crazy fish just ain't worth it"

I don't mind if you guys post "heard from a friend" reports, but please consider the sophistication of your source if you post the report here, and try to generalize the location as much as possible. I know guys who will be fishing for them every day as soon as they start to come around regularly. I would tend to believe a report from someone like that rather than a reported sighting from someone who has never caught one

Have fun, be safe, and please treat these magnificent fish with care.

[BassBuddah]

We should be seeing them soon at montauk.

[Jackbass]

I was just thinking about albies today. I was looking at the calender and thinking about when I might hear about a couple of canal sightings. The Bonito have been taken off the vineyard by floating reef but I have not heard any of the real deal showing up yet.

[fishinmission78]

I heard some albies were spotted off one of the jetties, but like you said, "heard" is the operative word here. Can't be sure if they were albies, or bonito.

[surfwalker]

As Dark stated, last year was dead for me as far as catching or hearing any chatter on the beach about Albies. I only saw one fella get one,early one morning. But the year before, 2007, I had a field day with them. Middle of October, air/49°, water flat as a pancake and gin clear, in my area of Jersey. You could cast a mile and you just had that feeling that after a few cranks you would be hooked up, not disappointed, and that's they way it played out. Nice Albies, many hook ups, tons of hits, over 10 pounds, and they stayed for a few hours. Smiles were abundant, crowd limited to around 4 casters. Just too much enjoyment to be had.
Jackbass mentioned the Vineyard. In the late '80's up there, I picked up some 10 pound Bonito on a 8 1/2 foot Steelhead rod. The bend of the rod and the many runs are replayed many times over in my mental video.

Happy Trails

[Monty]

Last year I caught the one on a teaser in front of a pencil. I had a hit two casts before in the same area.

If you catch one is there normally more in the area?

I did see a guy catch one one a bucktail once, though.

http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?t=3663

[DarkSkies]

From my experience, Monty, they travel like bluefish, but in tighter schools. So if ya get one, you know there are more in that water. That's why it doesn't pay to chase after them. They move like lighning, but if bait is around will crisscross an area several times feeding.

And ya can't always know they are there, ya gotta work for them, so that leaves the binocular crowd out of the picture.

It's frustrating because so many times they will be just out of reach. To get them to come within 100' of the water's edge is often unrealistic, often those guys who can throw the furthest will get them, others will just end up drooling.

If I remember correctly, when you caught that one on the teaser, it was a pretty nice one. More importantly, no one was targeting them where you were. While we were all jonesing in NJ waiting for them to show up, there was beach in LI behind Montauk where they had them for 2 days!!

You had guys targeting them at inlets and at the ends of the universe, but they didn't show up there. They showed up in the middle, where you were blind casting, working the water, like any good surfcaster is supposed to do.

And you nailed one, it was like picking a needle out of a haystack. One of the very few surf caught albies that year, great catch!

[7deadlyplugs]

While we were all jonesing in NJ waiting for them to show up, there was beach in LI behind Montauk where they had them for 2 days!!

I read a report about that on another site but couldn't get there, had to work. Summertime blues.

[cowherder]

Some of your posts are inspiring fellas. I'm going to try for them this year. It seems you have to keep at it and can't give up, like climbing the bleachers up and down 500 times. I look forward to the alby reports here.

[cowherder]

They were reported on another site, the guy said they were in raritan bay channels this week!
"On the way to Ambrose the other day there were 2 pods of Albies pushing water inbetween the channels. Actually saw a few clear the water. Keep an eye out... "

[fishinmission78]

I heard talk of some being sighted at Barnegat Ridge this week, but the source was not that believable. The guy could have seen albies, bonito, or skipjack for all he knows.

[DarkSkies]

I checked my logs, and the first NJ 2008 surf albie I know of for that non-existent season was on 9-19-08. The guy who caught it is an albie fanatic, I think he nailed 3 that day.

The interesting thing is he didn't get them at one of the well-known NJ surf spots. He got them where there had been a lot of small bait staging for a few weeks, did his homework, and was lucky enough to be in the right place when they came through. He was so lucky that most people didn't believe he nailed 1, let alone 3.


As I was checking my NJ logs, they showed we were into monster bluefish, and some keeper bass, by the middle of August last year. The night action lasted for about 2 weeks, died out around the first week of Sept. Then it picked up around the 2nd week of Sept, still with monster blues, but the bass were a lot smaller, sub 28", until the action got a little better.

So now is the time to fish, guys. Even if you don't think they're there, if you are on the move and willing to hit a lot of spots in a night, you will find them. One key is a drop of the water temps into the 60's. Find that cooler water, find the bait, and fish will likely be there.

As for the albies, I'm hoping we will have some reported catches before Labor Day this year. You may only get a 5 or 10 minute shot at them, be ready! Hope springs eternal in the world of the fisherman.