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Montauk Albie Video

Northeast saltwater fishing, for me, has always been about the camaraderie, the crew and the energy of it all. I grew up in Rhode Island and for as long as I can remember I always had a “crew” of fishing friends. Whether we were running and chasing fish down miles of beaches, riding rusted out bicycles to hot fishing spots or taking out our tiny barely running beat up hand-me-down boats to rips and reefs that we had no business being at; I always had a crew. So much time has passed since the earliest memories and crews and the methods of fishing and crews and names and faces have changed many times over. But, regardless of whether the crew was a bunch of kids with duct taped surf rods on rusted bicycles, ex-cons and other types of castaways on off-shore commercial long-liners or fly rod wielding albie addicts ... the fundamental fishing energy and sense of camaraderie remains unchanged. There are many forms of more relaxing and mellow saltwater fly fishing of which I love to do. You know, hunting and sight fishing to a solo striper or bonefish or whatever eating crabs or shrimp in skinny water. I love the hunting and visual aspects of saltwater fly fishing and the energy of the sea and being surrounded by its many life forms. The more life and energy, the better! So, amongst many Northeast saltwater fisherman, there seems to be a somewhat generally understood never ending quest for more life and more energy! Sure, many times the goal is one nice fish from a difficult environment or one big fish measured in inches or pounds but many times the goals and respective measurements are inherently different. The hunt and

the visual dynamics remain the same but everything else is super magnified. Anyone who has spent time fishing in Northeast saltwater has seen or spent time looking for the epic “Blitz.” It usually involves covering many miles of relatively lifeless water by foot, boat, bicycle or car looking for the inevitable signs of massive volumes of life. This could include but is not limited to hundreds if not thousands of birds, seals, porpoises, dolphins, whales, stripers, bluefish, albies, bonito, bluefin tuna and millions upon millions of helpless baitfish. It is not as easy as one might think to find a “Blitz.” Infact, it can often be just as difficult as finding a tailing bonefish. But the signs of a “Blitz” are almost always consistent with birds dive bombing into the baitfish and all sorts of fish smashing and crashing through the bait causing the water to appear as though it is boiling. It is very difficult to effectively describe the energy and life, as it is something that can only be felt. And, regardless of the actual crew and its names and faces, that same feeling is felt by everyone. And, not only does the sea come to life during a “Blitz” but the entire crew comes to life. It is almost as though we are part of the “Blitz” itself and the crew feeds off the energy surrounding us. I suppose that non-fisherman would feel nothing at all and some fisherman would not feel the same electric energy of the blitz. And, that’s cool … just as long as they are not part of our crew! So, when my friend Greg Snow called me and said, “Dude, wanna make a run to Montauk? I heard there was an almost epic blitz today?” I said, “Of course, can Alex and Boz come?” There was a moment of silence and he then politely said, “Dude, those guys are like brothers but 4 fly rods fishing at once? Whatever, let’s do it.” So, we ditched my boat on Block Island and all jumped in Greg’s boat. I had one of the best days of my life and it was epic with literally miles of albies surrounding us in every direction. Our crew was part of the blitz from the time we arrived until the time we left. And, somehow the four of us managed to fish and maneuver around the boat as an almost single entity casting four fly rods and chasing and hooking countless albies without a single tangle or issue. Oh ya, except for the last cast of the day when I drilled Alex in the back with an epoxy fly (see very last sequence of the video). But, I think I was just subconsciously getting him back for when he cracked me on the head with his fly reel a couple years ago during another albie blitz. I tried to put this video and tune together in a way that tries to capture the energy and essence of the blitz. But, ultimately ... a "Blitz" can never truly be described with video or words or whatever; it can only be felt.