Insane Fish in the Storm

"Here they come! Here they come... there they are! Sonny! Behind you behind you behind you! Get um buddy get um! Yes! They're right in there, holy s***!!! He's got it, I'm on! Fish on, fish on! F*** yeah! WOOOOOOOOO! 

When sonny texted me 12:15 A.M. Sunday asking if I was going to fish that day and if we could go after false albacore I was immediately on board. He was lucky I was still awake, but I was so we made plans. I looked at the weather... it did not look healthy. The first parts of a two day long storm would be rolling in, with heavy rain late morning and sustained south winds of 15mph with 26mph gusts after the rain passed. I knew it would make fly fishing difficult but I also knew it would turn the fish on. We started out early before the storm came in and for a good while the fish did not show. But the tide was fairly low and I knew fish would come in when it peaked. In the meantime I decided to show Sonny some other spots and maybe find some bass before the tide reached its optimal flow and height.

In our wanderings that morning we bumped into a crew we did not expect to see in these parts, Viktor (Landshark Fishing), Ryan (JunoRyan) and a buddy of theirs, Alec. Viktor and Ryan are from Florida... it was a heck of a surprise to run into these dudes in a relatively unknown striper and albie spot on the CT shore. We had a good long chat on the rocks, I gave them some ideas on where to go and what conditions to look for and we parted ways. 

When we got back to location A I spotted the tell tail form of a breaching false albacore about 100 yards off the rocks. They were here! For a little while we kept casting into the roiling waters, hoping for more signs of life. But the fish stayed distant. The tide was not quite right yet so I was not worried. Then, it started raining. Sonny and I hid in the car while we waited for the rain to pass and the tide to turn. 

As had been expected the wind and surf surf came up during the front passage, but a slight drop in wind was forecast after the rain and that certainly did not happen. The wind was viscous and the surf was pounding. 

But then, out of the trough of a wave, there! Yes, that is what we are looking for, the goofy looking silvery shape of an albie. Closer and closer it came, then one of his buddies showed too, right near the end. I shouted down to Sonny and before I could finish my thought they were in the corner, blowing up more aggressively than I've seen albies blow up ever before. I made a violent back cast that punched into the gusts and a light forward stroke that sent to fly right into the blitz. An albie took, leaving a 10 foot long trail of foam in it's wake, and it quickly turned towards open water. Disaster was narrowly averted as the line caught in the reel handle, but I cleared it just in time. I shouted in pure ecstasy to the wind, probably only Sonny and I could hear it though. I was soaked from standing in the spray, absolutely soaked, but I was grinning ear to ear. 

Fish tailing photo sequence: 

Since there was a lot of water over the lip of the jetty I could't do the tradition downward plunger release, so I gave the fish a few strong pushes so it breathed some and started to kick vigorously, then I gave it a quick long shove and it swam back out with speed. That was one of the best false albacore releases I've done from shore, I'd highly recommend that technique in places where the toss is not so easy to perform. 

A short time later another group came in. I made a short cast and halfway through the retrieve I was hooked up again. So I was able to tie my land based albie record! But could I break it....

After that fish I told Sonny to come over to the same area. I really wanted him to hook up. We got more chances, but neither of us were able to full capitalize. Sonny got one hookup which resulted in a break off and I had two that just threw the hook. Next time it's Sonny's day to land a speedster, and I'm hoping before the run is over I can have a day or two that result in 3 or 4 albies to hand from the rocks.