The little tunny, false albacore, Euthynnus alteratus is a fish that drives our obsessions, wakes us up from a deep sleep, and fires the predatory instincts in our angler souls.
Why the obsession? These small tunas when hooked can run two hundred feet of backing off of your nine weight in about twenty seconds. As an angler what can be more thrilling than that? Unlike their cousin the bluefin or yellowfin tunas the false albacore is found very close to shore and can be targeted by most anglers cost effectively.
On Cape Cod angers catch these fish from shore, on kayaks, and aboard power boats. Many of the Thomas and Thomas family target false albacore. Ray Jarvis of Westport Massachusetts is another local seasoned guide with Thomas and Thomas rods on his boat. Contact them early as their dates fill up for the fall run when striped bass, bluefish, Atlantic bonito, Spanish mackerel, and yes the false albacore are all available in and around Cape Cod!
Even these seasoned anglers marvel at the blistering runs that the albie makes once hooked. Dan and Tom have made our albie trip an annual event. If you want to try for one of these little speedsters get your casting sharp!
The typical way to attempt for an albie is to find the fish actively feeding in pods on the surface. The fish corral up a bait ball, pushing it to the surface and then feed violently for sometimes only seconds to one minute. A seasoned captain like Joe or Abby will position the boat upwind of these feeds and through patience and persistence nose their boat in close enough for a cast.
