Species Profile: Little Tunny

As most of you hopefully already know, I am a life-list angler. I target, document, and count the number of species, hybrids, and subspecies I catch, specifically on fly tackle. Because of that I spend a lot of time learning about and fishing for many different species of fish. This means I'm more adept at identifying and fishing for an extremely broad range of species than the average fly angler. This series will attempt to outline species identification, some life history, and methods for targeting with fly tackle. Maybe I'll get to every fish on my life list, but considering it is ever growing... it would take a while. Mostly, I hope this will get a few of you interested in going out and learning about or catching something new. 

Come September each year, virtually every fly and light tackle inshore angler in southern New England is chomping at the bit watching for the first reports that little tunny, also called false albacore or "albies", have infiltrated our waters.
By contrast, in Florida and along every Gulf Coast state, most anglers just wish "bonita", the exact same fish, would go somewhere else and leave them alone.
Depending on where you live, Euthynnus alletteratus might be anything from a highly welcomed seasonal visitor to a ubiquitous annoyance. But wherever they are found, little tunny are a powerful, startlingly fast moving, beautifully colored pelagic blur.

Little tunny are the most abundant tunoid species in the Atlantic Ocean, existing in virtually all tropical and seasonably warm temperate waters. In the west the are found from Brazil to Cape Cod Bay (where they only occasionally wander through the canal) as well as throughout the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico; and in the East from Namibia to the water around the south of the UK, and throughout the Mediterranean. Some will say, even some otherwise very authoritative sources, that little tunny exist in tropical waters worldwide but this is not true. Euthynnus affinis, commonly called mack tuna or mackerel tuna, are abundant in the Pacific and Indian oceans and look nearly identical to little tunny in every way, but they are indeed a distinct species.

Little tunny are found inshore, nearshore, and offshore, nearly always at the top of the water column and in large schools except on the occasion that they wander into quite shallow water to feed. It is shaped much like other tunas and mackerels (Scombridae), with a torpedo shaped body. Its two dorsal fins and seven finlets, as well as its pectoral, pelvic, and anal fin can retract down tight, making the fish as streamlined as possible. Each fin fits perfectly into a slot on the fish's body. With a broad, crescent shaped tail, the little tunny, like every other species closely related, shoots through the water at astonishing speed. At a good clip these fish can exceed 40 miles per hour. These "albies" have white bellies, silvery iridescent sides, and olive to green to navy blue backs with black worm-like markings. There are at times dark spots just behind and under their pectoral fins, and indistinct vertical bars. They are an objectively beautiful fish. Like other tunas, little tunny are actually warm blooded and need to swim continuously to breath.

Little tunny feed in a coordinated fashion, organized schools of anywhere from just a few to hundreds corral baitfish from below then charge into the schools with mouths open, doing what Ian Devlin calls "ram induction feeding". With huge eyes they are also very adept at picking out and chasing down a single stray baitfish, even a tiny bay anchovy. This species feeds on small baitfish like silversides, anchovies, menhaden, and sardines, as well as small squids and, when they are near the surface of the water, small crabs and other crustaceans. On this diet they can grow to over 35 pounds, though depending on where you live you may never get to see one over 15lbs. Large little tunny can be found off the Carolinas and East Florida reliably at certain times of year. Mike Laptew has captured some incredible underwater video and photos of little tunny feeding for his seminar series "Focus on Fish" (Laptew Productions), and Peter Laurelli captured some extraordinary drone footage and included it in his 2018 short film SIFF18: Four Years For Life, which is worth watching every second of anyway:

Little tunny are offshore broadcast spawners. Depending where they are the may spawn anytime from April to November but typically spawn when the water is at its peek temperature. They are extremely prolific, living rarely as much as 10 years but producing millions upon millions of offspring during that time, one of a number of factors leading to their abundance. IUCN list Euthynnus alletteratus as a species of least concern. With a flavor that is generally considered undesirable there is a very limited commercial fishery for little tunny. They are a species with the sort of abundance and life cycle of mahi mahi, but they taste awful. So, though there are a few people here and there getting concerned about  the increased frequency of articles about how to make an albie palatable, it is highly unlikely I'll be back here any time soon to talk about how badly we need conservation measures to be enacted to protect this species. That said, they are an ever more important fish for the light tackle charter industry here in the northeast. While striped bass numbers continue to decline, there's no fewer albies in the stock. Unfortunately though, they are not reliable here. Any given year there could be lots, there could be few, they could well not show up at all. Some years, like this year, they are highly localized, leaving shore bound anglers and boaters that don't want to burn hundreds of dollars of gas a week shit out of luck. In 2017 Noah and I caught our first little tunny of the year in CT on September 11th, and I caught the last on November 7th in RI. In 2019, I caught my only albies of the year in RI on September 14th and only saw them in CT one time, on the 15th of October. Little tunny are not something we can count on here, which is why it's so important to rebuild striper stocks if the inshore light tackle charters are to stay in business. And the reality is, as abundant as false albacore are, there is still an awful lot we don't know about them. I have yet to get a straight answer as to what they do after dark. They seem to completely vanish shortly after the sun goes down. Where do they go?

Catching little tunny on the fly isn't especially complex or difficult, but it does require the angler to be calm and collected under high-stress high-excitement situations. Little tunny feed fast and furious and fight fast and furious, if you aren't ready you WILL mess it up. In the Northeast, an 8, 9, or 10wt rod is preferable, while in the Carolinas, Florida, and the Gulf, a 11 or 12wt is preferable, not just because the fish are much larger on average there but because there are usually some sharks around that are going to try to eat a hooked fish. In the Mediterranean you are likely to use a fly rod that heavy or even more so because big tuna are sometimes mixed in with little tunny there. A reel with capacity for 200yds+ of backing and a smooth drag are necessary anywhere you fish for these speedsters.  What fly line you should use is highly situational. Most will recommend an intermediate sinking line, but that's not really my style. I often fish a floating line for albies so I can skitter a fly on the surface. When I'm not fishing a floating line I'm either using some sink tip, or, especially when its windy or the fish aren't showing on the surface, a full sink. Whatever setup you choose, make sure it is something you can achieve a fast line-speed with. Making fast, long casts with as few false casts as possible is very important. Whether fishing from a boat or shore, a stripping basket is usually a good thing to have to minimize tangling and give you the ability to move around without having to reel up completely. My preferred leader is 8ft of 20lb Berkley Trilene Big Game, though sometimes fish are picky and I cut back 4ft and tie on 5ft of 15lb or 12lb, depending on exactly how picky the fish seem to be. That may seem very light for such a hard fighting fish, it really isn't. You can and should put an awful lot of pressure on 12lb tippet. I've actually used as light as 8lb in the past, and still landed these speedsters in short order.
Flies for false albacore are also fairly simple. Typical Clousers, Deceivers, and Surf Candies catch plenty of albies. It is a good idea to match the fly to the forage. Most often in southern New England false albacore are feeding on bay anchovies, peanut bunker, or silversides. Less often you need to imitate squid or butterfish. In many cases, matching very tiny bay anchovies is the key. A surf candy an inch long is probably the best fly for the job. Under flat calm conditions I've found a small gurgler is the best fly to catch tricky little tunny.

Under conditions like these, tie a size 6 or smaller gurgler on. 

Finding little tunny is kind of a roll of the dice, as they seem to be both everywhere an nowhere at the same time. But they will generally be where the most food is, lie any predator fish. Good shore spots typically feature steep rocky drop offs, jetties, or piers, though beeches can sometimes also be productive. Look for schools of baitfish in the water, birds working, and the tell-tail big slashes that all tuna and mackerel make when they feed. Prime feeding windows typically run from sunrise until almost noon and for a couple hours before sunset, but I've seen little tunny feed heavily at all times of day from dawn till dusk, and under all sorts of tide and wind conditions. Moving tides are normally better, and an incoming tide is undoubtedly much better at breechways and inlets, but I've caught little tunny at slack tide on more than one occasion. One definite limiting factor is water clarity. If there is a lot of particulate in the water, if it is notably murky, you may as well fish for something else. These are sight-based predators, and they seem not to like muddy water.

Little tunny addict Mark Alpert works the end of a long jetty during a rare November bite.

Presentation varies as much as fly selection. The typical little tunny retrieve is a fast, continuous two-hand roll, and this does work most of the time. But not always. There are days or tides when the ideal retrieve is none at all: simply cast into breaking fish and let the fly sink. Other times, long, erratic strips work best. To make long strips into a stripping basket, hold your rod way out in front of you instead of into your body, it increases the distance you can strip between your rod hand and stripping basket. If and when an albie does eat the fly, keep stripping until the fish starts its initial run, then lift the rod to fight the fish. Never let go of the line with either hand until the fish is on the reel, but also make sure it can slip through your fingers without abrupt catches and stops that cause it to jump around and potentially tangle on itself, on you, on the reel, or on the rod. Remaining calm and collected is key, and it can be hard to do if you've never done this kind of fishing... in all likelihood you've never hooked a fish that fights anything like a little tunny. Keep a deep bend in the rod and fight the fish as quickly as you can. These fish can and will fight themselves to death if you let them. Once to the boat or to the rocks, grab the fish by its caudal peduncle, take photos as quickly as possible if you are going to, then release the fish either by plunging it in head first or, if it was a very short fight and brief time out of the water, just put it in the water and give it a little shove. 

Mark releasing a little tunny.

Of course if you're in Florida, you don't need to worry about any of the presentation stuff, even the the little tunny down there are much bigger they seem to be much less picky and will eat just about anything you throw them. Use heavy tippet and fight them as hard as humanly possibly to keep them away from the sharks, and then kill that fish when you do land it and use it to chum in those same sharks so you can catch them on the fly. I'm only being a little facetious, I might actually be doing just that right now. But I'll never turn my nose up at a little tunny no matter where in the world I am. 

Until next time,

Fish for the love of fish.

Fish for the love of places fish live.

Fish for you.

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