Salt Water Sportsman – August 2019

SEPTEMBER 2019 SALTWATERSPORTSMAN.COM 47

Herring, which imitate silversides,
anchovies and sand eels.
One problem with matching the for-
age is that a little, shiny lure is just one
of thousands of small, shiny objects in
a school of bait. Many albie pros think
this mimicking of baitfi sh is the key to
success. Others believe that an artifi -
cial that contrasts with the dominant
prey gets noticed, so they switch to less
traditional soft plastics.

Soft Approach
Ironically, many soft plastics look
nothing like the tiny baitfi sh albies
usually target. It’s the lure’s action that
triggers an instinctive attack.

One key to successful soft-plastic

fi shing is using the lure unweighted to

take advantage of its action as it twitch-

es along the surface. The drawback is

that an unweighted plastic doesn’t cast

far on a breezy day. But when fi sh are

hitting with abandon, a plastic with a

small bullet head adds distance to your

cast, and the fi sh still strike it readily.

Soft plastics come in a variety of

shapes, colors and sizes. The standard

4-inch jerkbait-style lure, which imi-

tates a minnow or squid, remains the

most eff ective. Paddle tails are some-

times hot too. Because albies trap bait

against the surface and key on the

white undersides of prey, albino, pearl

and white-and-silver are go-to colors.

Keep the soft plastic in good shape

so it swims naturally. Replace any that

have a bitten-off tail or have bunched

on the hook. Top-rated soft-plastic

hooks include super-sharp Gamakatsu

and Owner Cutting Point models in a

wide-gap, off set worm style with a black

fi nish, in sizes 2/0 and 3/0.

The three of us had about 20 hookups

and landed four or fi ve fi sh each that

autumn day, which is a good albie

outing. But as the sun dipped into the

western end of Long Island Sound,

the tide and the bite quit, and it was

time to run back to the launch.

“Well,” I said to the guys as I fi red up

the motor, “it doesn’t get better than

that. Tomorrow’s forecast looks good.

Are you free?”

“I’ll make myself free,” Taylor replied

with a smile. “I wait the whole year for

apple-knocker time.”

ROD

7- to 7^1 ⁄ 2 -foot spinning,

medium or light action

REEL

4000 to 5000 series spin-

ning reel with good drag

LINE

12- to 15-pound mono or

20-pound braid

LEADER

17- to 20-pound fl uorocar-

bon; pros often avoid swivels

and join the leader to the

line with a double Uni knot

or Blood knot

THINK FAST: False albacore strike on
the run and keep moving, above.

Surface feeders demand a

different presentation than

albies traveling below the

surface. Match your lure to

the situation.

DEPTH SOUNDER

The Luhr-Jensen Crippled

Herring swims shallow or

deep, based on retrieve.

BUILT-IN ACTION

The Zoom Swimmin' Fluke

Jr. features a paddle tail

for additional action.

A Hopkins Shorty offers

the utility of a spoon with

the allure of a bucktail jig.

WELL-STOCKED

TACKL E B AG

New England

False Albacore

SWS

Tackle Box