Salt Water Sportsman – August 2019

“Albies!” Elliot Taylor yelled. He

pointed off the starboard bow. “See

the birds?”

“Got ’em!” I called as I pinned the

throttle. “Hold on!” I urged to our other

buddy, Sean Callinan.

A knot of terns pummeled the

surface 300 yards away and, as we

approached the rip, we spotted the

metallic fl ash of porpoising predators.

Powering down, I swung up-current

of the froth and cut the motor a long

cast away.

After my 4-inch Deadly Dick plopped

among the commotion, I reeled a cou-

ple of turns and twitched the rod tip.

I immediately felt a tug, and my spool

whirred like a tire spinning in snow.

Then Taylor and Callinan hooked up

simultaneously. Within moments, their

lines crossed. Taylor ducked under

Callinan’s rod and maneuvered around

the bow with his rod bent double.

Before long, another fi sh hit and parted

Callinan’s line. Taylor and I pumped

our little tunny up, and Callinan deftly

unhooked them and slid them back into

the water.

Albacore Alley

False albacore, nicknamed “apple

knockers” by old-timers because they

arrive when apples ripen and drop, are

accurately named little tunny and were

once considered a trash species. Now

albies command devoted attention as

prize light-tackle targets each fall.

Starting in early September and

running through October, countless

pods of apple knockers gather along the

chain of islands at the mouth of Long

Island Sound. This stretch of water,

locally known as Albacore Alley, holds

fi sh dependably each autumn while

other spots remain hit and miss.

Between the islands, notorious

tides rush, including the famous rips

of the Race, the Sluiceway and Plum

Gut, where bottlenecked waters surge

upward from 300 feet to less than 30

feet in spots, creating turbulence that

attracts albie forage. The hot action

spreads as close to shore as Pine Island,

only 100 feet off Groton, Connecticut.

On the Hunt

“Working birds are an indicator of

albies,” says Ned Kittredge, a charter

captain with 40 years experience, “but

they aren’t essential. Many times the

only sign is fi sh breaking. You have to

look carefully. Their feeding behavior is

diff erent from bluefi sh, a result of their

extreme speed. If you study them, you

can tell the diff erence.”

Once you locate a pod, one option is

to sprint to the school to make a quick

cast or two before it settles or moves.

But a fast-feeding cluster can top

30 knots, so this run-and-gun tech-

nique is most successful when large

schools remain in one spot for more

than a few minutes. Otherwise, schools

tend to vanish just as you get within

casting distance, only to have a group

bust in the spot you just left. It’s this

level of challenge that draws dedicated

and patient action junkies.

Another plan of attack is a drift

technique that involves cruising into

an area of action and waiting, often

uptide of a rip, or near a jetty or point,

SEPTEMBER 2019 SALTWATERSPORTSMAN.COM 45

TINY TERROR: False albacore prove size

often belies ferocity, opposite.

CLASSIC CHOICE

The Acme Kastmaster

Spoon remains a proven

winner for albies.

Soft plastics such as the

D.O.A. Jerk Bait offer

variety in presentation.

FAVORED METAL

A Deadly Dick provides

casting distance and the

attraction of extra fl ash.

False albacore are seldom

picky but respond best to a

lure that mimics the prevalent

forage, at the proper depth in

the water column.

PROSPECT

OR PINPOINT

MASSACHUSETTS

CONNECTICUT

Hartford

Waterford

Groton

Plum Island Great Gull

Island

New

London Pine

Island

Goose

Island

Two Tree Island

Channel

New Heaven New London

Block

Island

New

Bedford

Providence

Cape

Cod Bay

Stamford

New York

Long Island

NEW YORK RHODE

ISLAND

NEW
JERSEY
ATLAN

TICO

CEA

LONGISLA N

NDSO

UND

LONGISL

ANDS

OUN

D

Alba

cor

eAl

ley

ATLANTIC

OCEAN