False Albacore

[George C]

Bonefish are great, striped bass sublime, I may never cast to a permit or a tarpon, but I am blessed to have this fishery in my backyard for two short months each year.

This video (not mine) gives a great idea what it is all about. It is hard to imagine having more fun with a fly rod.

[George C]

They get bigger off NC , and in Fla people supposedly avoid them because of water depth, but where I live, on Cape Cod, we have them in shallow water. They average 7-8lbs most years. A double digit fish is big. There is a huge amount of hunting and waiting. They pack feed and are up only momentarily. When you get a chance it is fleeting. The casting is difficult both because of the brief window, the speed with which they move, typical wind, and adrenalin. Getting close enough to make a cast is an art in itself. They are fussy and often you need to match the hatch.....which is not always obvious. When hooked they can dump 100yds off an 8-9wt in seconds. Clearing line is blur. They break rods, pull off tip sections, and pop tippet like bubblegum. Success or not they leave you wrecked....and full of respect.

[George C]

Here are some of the flies we use

[sms]

Definitely a fun fish.
Been to Harkers Island in NC two times (one hit one miss trip) and once in Jupiter, Florida (holy mother there’s gazillion albies - and sharks).

[Mangrove Cuckoo]

Gazillion might be an understatement for south Florida!

And, its true the water is usually pretty deep as they tend to congregate between the reefs that parallel the shore. The sad thing is that often when they dive straight down they get tail wrapped and you end up reeling a dead fish backwards back up to the surface.

That aside, they can really heat up a drag system, and it is a nice way to spend a calm summer day out on the water.