Albies From Shore: Just When We Couldn’t Take Any More

by | Salt Water

Albie From Shore Video

The False Albacore is a formidable query. As with all Tuna species they always seem to be here today gone tomorrow, just out of reach and always one step ahead of the fly fishermen. Catching Albies from a boat is a lot of fun, but finding, tricking and catching Albies from shore is a rewarding accomplishment and experience. I often tell my friends, “If there were one more element of difficulty the pursuit of Albies on foot would be the most frustratingly impossible fish to target.” Oh yah, everyone hear’s the whispers of legendary successes, “Dude, they slayed them here or there yesterday.” Or “Oh man, 2004 was an epic year. We were catching 14 Albies per day.” The only true report that applies to Albies is what is happening now. They are nomadic species. They have no home. They roam the seas and its anybodies guess where they will be next. They will light up a break wall or a random harbor one day and be gone the next morning. And, while fly anglers wait impatiently for them to show up the Albies often leave them at the altar and never show. Such was the case on Martha’s Vineyard this year. I was just one of thousands of fly fisherman from around the world who planned a few days of Albie and Bonito fly fishing on Martha’s Vineyard. Last year was epic, and everyone was ready for a repeat this year. All of the conditions were perfect! There was tons of bait! The Gut, East Beach and Lobsterville were loaded with silver sides and snapper blues. The weather was perfect and the water was clean. But, there was one major problem. The Albies were nowhere to be found. I have never witnessed a more depressing fly fishing scene. Fly fishermen were roaming the island with their heads hung low looking for any sign of Albies. Last year, Edgartown Harbor was lit up with busting fish. There were pods of Albies and Bonito crashing as far as the eyes could see. This year there was nothing but sad stories, slack lines and long faces. Sure I had a lot of laughs and it was nice to see all the regulars and hang out on the beach with friends. But, that got old quick. I looked at Alex and I said, “Should we pull the plug?” He said, “Let’s get off this island!” So we cancelled our motel, put the car on the next standby ferry off the island and headed for our home waters of Rhode Island. First light found us on the waters we grew up on and know so well, and the Albies were there to greet us in astounding numbers. I was ready. I stood still with 70 feet of fly line stripped neatly into my stripping basket. I waited for the perfect opportunity. A pod of Albies worked towards me and when they got in range I fired off a single cast into the busting fish. My fly landed just beyond the fish and I used a two handed retrieve to strip the fly through the fish. I felt the solid unmistakable take and set the hook hard. The fish felt the hook set and made a blistering run towards Montauk. I let him run, but tightened the drag enough to keep a constant and balanced pressure on the fish. Then the fish turned and ran back at me. I gathered all my line and then the true challenge was underway. There was a ton of line between me and the fish and lobster pots surrounded me. At this point it was total teamwork. Alex and Keith helped direct me and guide the fish through the seemingly endless maze of lobster pots. At several points I really thought it was a battle not worth fighting but somehow we got to a point where the fish was in landing distance. Alex, is the truest kind of Albie fly fishing partner. He scaled down the slippery break wall and literally got in the water with waves crashing on him. He was basically swimming to land my fish. This Albie was not just any fish. This fish verified that persistence and hard work do pay off. Alex and I have spent countless hours on lifeless beaches, break walls and islands in search of this year’s Albie from foot. We had paid our dues and gotten our butts kicked time and time again. We were always a day late and in the wrong place at the wrong time. But this day and this fish marked the end of a quest. On this day, we were in the right place at the right time and this fish was so much more than just another fish.

12 Comments

  1. waterwhippa on November 30, -0001 at 12:00 am

    That is the type of accomplishment that warms you to the core. Definitley one of the feelings that keeps us going back for more. I think you hit the hard-tail grand slam if there is such a thing, blue fin, albie and bonito within a few weeks? that is serious stuff. Well done man. Whats next, Billfish??

  2. Shaq on November 30, -0001 at 12:00 am

    You the MAn! Great Job, GReat read. Loved it. Like I was there, Great move on bust out, do what it takes to find them.

  3. jeremy on November 30, -0001 at 12:00 am

    what’s next??? …. must you ask … freshwater albies (aka. steelhead) .. see you on the river.

  4. flyfishmich on November 30, -0001 at 12:00 am

    Jeremy, that location looks familiar? It was nice meeting a group of guys as crazy about tunoids as I am, on the two best days of the season. And yes, steelhead are on my menu very soon…definitely by the end of this month!!! My toughest decision will be what river to fish out of the 6 or so within a couple of hours.

    If my video clip turned out, please email it to me when you get a chance. I tried to view your clip but with snail slow antique dial-up connection it took and hour for the first minute. Thanks again and it was a pleasure meeting you guys!!!

    Tight lines,

    Rick from Michigan

  5. Fisherboy on November 30, -0001 at 12:00 am

    Nice job jeremy surely a beautiful albie and one heck of a hard earned fish

    Austin

  6. PeteD on November 30, -0001 at 12:00 am

    Nice work! Everyones heard of the ‘fish of 1000 casts’ but I’m fairly certain you’ve proved that Albies are the fish of 1,000 miles, 1,000 smokes and one real good cast at the right time. Way to go on a well deserved fish.

  7. jeremy on November 30, -0001 at 12:00 am

    rick,

    nice meeting you too .. we all had a blast out there … on the first day we were referring to you as the guy with the red sweatshirt .. it kinda went something like this … “my god, the dude in the red sweatshirt is hooked up AGAIN!” ….

    yah, i do have that clip .. private message me your email address and i will send it to you so that you can download it…

    really hope to make it out to michigan sometime to try steelheading in that pond … i hear it is amazing .. but like all the great lakes .. ya gotta know where to go and when … i am most familiar with ontario … if you ever have room for a steelie junkie like me to tag along .. would love to try my luck with the chrome in lake michigan (the second largest great lake) …

    ok … send me a pm .. i will send you the video clip..

  8. jeremy on November 30, -0001 at 12:00 am

    thanks pete .. i know you understand .. wait a minute no you don’t .. you showed up to your first albie trip with flip flops on … stumbled down to the rock .. borrowed a fly from me and first cast you hooked and landed an albie … don’t think i will ever be able to forget that …. that blew my mind

  9. wrh on November 30, -0001 at 12:00 am

    Jeremy,

    I had never been exposed to albies or bonita except by word of mouth. Through you’re videos I now really want to feel the pull of those torpedoes. Thanks for nothing as my wife thinks I have a crazy look in my eyes every time I watch one of your videos.

  10. Rainmkr on November 30, -0001 at 12:00 am

    Jeremy,

    Incredible video and effort to land that fish. I’m amazed you did it from the shore. I’m now intent on landing an albie on the fly and from the shore. Tell me about the lure that you used.

    Congratulations on one excellent adventure.

  11. jeremy on November 30, -0001 at 12:00 am

    hey thank you very much .. i put in a ton of work throughout many outings for that fish and as me and my friends say .. “a lot of hours on lifeless beaches” .. but that really doesn’t have to be the case .. what i mean by that is more importantly than anything else it is finding these bullets and finding out what pattern they are on … by pattern, i mean, are they feeding on the incoming or outgoing tide? first light? 2pm? last light? Wind is a huge factor! perhaps the biggest.. is it going to be blowing hard or not at all and more than that what directions … as a general rule of thumb, “northeast fish the least southwest fish the best” .. but, that is not always the case:) … ya never know…

    then, you really gotta be prepared for these fish … you really do get 1 solid shot and maybe 2 at tops .. so practice getting it perfect … practice making 1 long cast count when the pressure is on .. without hooking anything behind you, snarling up your fly line in your stripping basket or hooking yourself … practice keeping your cool and when they blow up infront of you … just get the fly in there …. fast and well.

    here is my fly recommendation and it is all i use: Epoxy Surf Candy either olive and white or blue and white about 4 inches in length … why .. because it was developed primarily for the albies and it is a versatile work horse … it can easily represent a sand eel, silverside and a snapper blue … it is durable and most importantly to me … it never fouls … deceivers and all that stuff tend to fowl and there is nothing more frustrating than waiting for the albies to show up and when they do, you make a great cast and strip in your fly and nothing takes it .. then you look at your fly and it is fowled .. so, even if you prefer to use other flies, be sure to tie in a mono wrap on the top of the back end of the hook to stop it from fowling .. many albie guys do this with their bunny flies … but, i only fish epoxy surf candy flies …. the standard Bob Popovich versions in olive and white/blue and white and chartreuse and white … they work ….

    good luck …

  12. KodiakCommando on November 30, -0001 at 12:00 am

    That’s sweet! Those thing are like nature’s equivalent of a fine Euorpean sports car. Built for speed!