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Flies for False Albacore

Fly Patterns for Cape Lookout False Albacore

Fly Fishing Harkers Island North Carolina

False Albacore Fly Fishing

Harkers Island Cape Lookout

False Albacore Flies

Fly Fishing Tips - Albacore

     Sight casting to surface breaking schools of False Albacore is what most fly anglers whish for during their trip to Cape Lookout Bight.  Alberts will gorge themselves on schools of various "glass" minnows, silver-sides, and bay anchovies.  When Albacore are crashing through a school of minnows, a Clouser Minnow is go to fly for most experienced Harkers Island fly angler.  If your fly box is stocked with only chartreuse over white Clousers, you may find yourself whishing you had a few more choices.

     Flies that stand out in a crowd and are slightly opaque, like a Clouser tied in chartreuse over white buck tail will be just the ticket on many days.  There are time when the Alberts of Cape Lookout will best respond to a more translucent offering, such as the "Albi-Clouser" tied in translucent synthetic fibers.  I would not consider my self well prepared if I did not have a good selection of Clousers tied with Ultra Hair, Unique Hair or Super Hair, in color combinations like: olive over white, grey over white, and tan over white.  An assortment of sizes is also important.  The minnows you encounter can range from half inch long bay anchovies up to four inch plus silverside minnows.

     Surface flies are also an exciting option when chumming with bay anchovies.  From my experience, using surface flies while chumming works best when the is at least a little chop on the water.  Small crease flies, as well as Bob Clouser's floating minnow fly; can produce some spectacular surface strikes.

     Tutti-Frutti fly, a rather unrealistic color variation of the Clouser Deep Minnow; will at times produce False Albacore strikes when other options are non-productive.  A chartreuse and hot pink fly seems an unlikely fly to catch a game fish with such a widely accepted reputation of superior vision; yet this fly will produce False Albacore just drifting along behind the boat..

     Surface flies for breaking False Albacore include: foam poppers, sliders, and crease flies.  A small Crease Fly tied in a natural baitfish color combination will draw Albert strikes when fished almost motionless if cast into breaking fish.  Poppers and sliders, often produce best is fished rather fast.  One big mistake I continually see False Albacore fly fishermen make; they are hell bent on stripping their fly right out of the strike zone.  If the Albers have a school of minnows bunched into a ten foot ball, then that's where your fly need to be, right in that ball of bait.  False Albacore will crash through a school of minnow at lightening speed, and then they will often circle back and at a leisurely pace sweep up the wounded and stunned minnows. 

     Trawl Boats: Cape Lookout Bight has an active commercial fishing fleet.  Shrimp trawlers as well as gill net boat may be working the areas where you are fly fishing for False Alberts.  Trawl boats are like magnets to Albacore offering up a easy to catch meal.  Trawl boats release "chum" in two different ways.  The most obvious is when they dump their catch on the deck and begin to shovel overboard their unwanted by-catch.  The other way is not observable from the surface, but it still produces an opportunity for a prepared fly angler to exploit. 

     When the trawl boat crews are shoveling the by-catch overboard, all the fly angler need to do is cast their fly into the wake of the shrimp boat.  Larger Clousers, as well as broader profile baitfish flies will produce Albacore strikes.

     Shrimp trawlers also produce a chum line that is not readily apparent from casual observation.  As the trawl gear is towed along the seabed, fish both large and small are stunned or otherwise injured from contact with the gear.  These stunned fish escape the trawl in various ways including tears in the net mesh, and via mechanical devices in the fishing gear that is designed to exclude unwanted by-catch whish also includes sea turtles.  To take advantage of this unseen chum line, fly angles can cast fast sinking lines with 3" to 4" long baitfish flies.  This technique is definitely not as productive as to casting behind a boat that is shoveling cull off the deck.

Leaders and Tippets for False Albacore

    Fluorocarbon makes a big difference.  Lighter tippets will produce more fish than heavier ones, 12 pound test is about as low as I ever go, and 15 pound test is better when there are bigger fish around.  I am a proponent of long leaders.  Day in and day out, I believe longer leaders in most situations produce more fish.  One of the best skills a fly angler can possess for consistent Albert fishing, is the ability to quickly and accurately put a fly on target at any range and distance.  You never know exactly where that school of Albacore will pop up next.  Don't make the mistake of overburdening yourself with a leader that you cannot turn-over when casting into the wind.  No matter what your leader length, you will most assuredly catch more Alberts with quick accurate casts.

     For use with my intermediate fly lines, I will construct a tapered leader completely out of fluorocarbon.  Fluorocarbon leaders sink faster than monofilament leaders.  Monofilament leaders with a section of fluorocarbon tippet is better for casting poppers and other flies you want to keep on the surface. A no-slip loop knot is my preferred knot for attaching almost any fly if I am using a fluorocarbon tippet.

Fly Fishing Tip & Techniques for Cape Lookout False Albacore >>>

Harry Hall sefly
Guided Fly Fishing