False Albacore Fly Woes: Day 1

 Little tunny- more commonly but less correctly called false albacore -are one of the most coveted species for light tackle saltwater anglers in the northeast. They are as hard fighting a fish as you can tie into with your feet on dry ground. The're also very pretty. I caught my first tunny in 2016. Then I really hammered them with consistency in 2017. 2018 wasn't bad either. Then I didn't target them much at all through two very poor seasons in 2019 and 2020. I decided that 2021 would be different and have chose to target hardtails at ever opportunity. Welllll... it has not been good. Despite and early showing and quite a few days with good numbers of fish around, I've struggled to catch any. Some of it was poor timing, some of it was bad luck, some of it was me having m head up m own ass when fish actually showed in range. Whatever the story the first month of my tunny targeting went down painfully. This post is about the day it started. 

On August 27th I set out hopeful but uncertain of what to expect, Henri had hit Rhode Island just days prior and I knew there had been some albies caught near Fallmouth just prior to the storm. I hoped the storm had pushed them further west. When I started out, nothing was showing on the surface. I dragged the fly along the bottom hoping to pick up something not so fast while I waited to see some life. I did pick up some fish: small seabass and fluke. 

It went on like that for quite a while. Then, suddenly, at the bottom of the tide, there they were. The shining forms arcing into the air, the violent surface slashes... they were unmistakable. The tunny were here. With my heart beating out of my chest I set off in pursuit. 

Why running and gunning isn't effective

And that's where it all went south for me. The fish were cycling predictably and were feeding on good sized silversides. It was a good setup for success. I, however, had been forced to cast back handed most of the day and had developed some wicked line twist. Once you have severe line twist it's all over. Tangles just keep coming and they will happen the most right when you need them not to. I missed opportunity after opportunity due to the gobs of looped up fly line that constantly formed in my stripping basket. I tried to clean the line (I missed two schools that cam by during that) but it was hopeless. The first day of tunny time had been ruined. 

That turned out to be the beginning not only of the tunny season but many days of agonizing fishing for yours truly. 

Until next time, 

Fish for the love of fish.

Fish for the love of places fish live.

Fish for you.

And stay safe and healthy.

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