November Albies

I rushed out of the house, screen door slamming behind me and jumped in the car. Micheal sat next to me as we sped down the bumpy dirt road. I hopped out of the car as it came to a stop and banged down the metal ramp to our 13′ Whaler filled with leaves from its short stay under an oak tree in the driveway the day before. Bow line, stern and spring undone I hit reverse hard and sped out of the slip away to the Texaco to gas up before heading out for the morning.

It was early November and nearing the end of the false albacore season. 45 degrees and rainy, the conditions were as close to perfect as they were going to get that day for a duck hunt. Perfect for us, because that’s just what we planned to do, with a cast or two for fish on the side. The wind increasing from 10 to 20 knots cancelled our albie hunting plans, or so we thought.
Micheal, seeing my obvious impatience, jogged down the dock and tossed me the Remingtons and our rods. We topped off the tank and pushed off the splintering wood dock. Halfway out of the harbor, I turned around to see white water and green footballs coming out of the water. Albies! We hadn’t even organized the gear and I was lunging for the rods, nearly slipping on the slick, wet surface of the boat and the fall leaves. Rigged with Hogy Epoxy jigs, an albie classic that is known to catch in the toughest conditions, we sped toward the busting fish. Forty yards away, our spirits sank when the fish suddenly disappeared as if they were never even there, like ghosts.
It was late in the season there wasn’t a single boat in the harbor, which allowed us to grab the plastic piping that was attached to the drive on dock. With a hand on the piping to keep us steady, I turned around and there they were again! Huge albies jumping clear out of the water down by the red can. We let go of the piping and the ripping current spun us around like a leaf in the wind. I started the engine and we were off, racing towards them a second time. Once again, the albies went down, just out of casting range.
Even more dejected but encouraged by their fast reappearance, we idled slowly up to the piping again. Micheal called out to me as I was tying up a rope, “They’re up!” I dropped the dock line onto the piping and sped off once again. They were staying up. I was punching it. Salt spray sung our faces as we squinted to see the fish through the rain and whipping wind. Forty yards, still up. Twenty yards, still up. “NOW!” We both launched our lures into them, close enough to see the sandeels being busted all around the school. Both hunched over in what I call the “in the albies” pose, we watched two giants simultaneously launch themselves out of the water in pursuit of our skipping epoxy jigs. Micheal’s rod doubled over, tight! The whirring sound of the clickerless Cabo 40’s drag filled the air. With a final jump, one of the albies following my jig landed on it, engulfing it in its hard mouth. Doubled up!
The fish took off, ripping line from my Penn Spinfisher 3500. Our reels harmonizing and with us seemingly in heaven, I looked over at Micheal who was clearly getting nervous. His Cabo’s spool was dangerously low and his drag was getting very, very sticky even at the light pressure he was forced to keep it at. Our boat and the fish stayed in the (approximately) 4 knot current. It was apparent we soon needed to maneuver out of it into calm water and away from the wooden pilings.
Thankfully, the old Mercury 40 started up quickly and we putted into the calm water of the harbor and safety. Somehow, Micheal had managed to get his fish within 20 feet and we saw deep color. It was definitely not a 5 pounder. This was a big fish. The powerful tail of the fish propelled it on one last run into the current and his drag locked up. POP! The sound of defeat filled the air.
Micheal’s jaw dropped as the fish sped off, free. However, he quickly picked up the camera to video the end of my fight. Thankfully in the calm water, the circling fish below us slowly made its way to the surface. Twenty feet. Ten feet. I thought it was close enough and lunged… Just too far. I stood back up and pumped the rod twice more, reaching into the seemingly frigid water a final time. I felt the bumpy tail between my fingers and palm and gripped with all my strength, swinging the toad into the boat right next to the duck decoys.
We were right. These fish certainly weren’t 5 pounders! I lifted the green bolt up, its swirls dripping wet in the crisp November air. I took the epoxy jig out of its mouth. With one last glance, I looked at what I thought might be my last speedster of the season as Micheal snapped some pictures. With one push, the fish shot back into the water. High fives between us, we looked for the school once again. With no “ghosts” in sight, we turned around and headed to the duck spot. Cast and blast!

How To: Inshore Mahi Fishing the North East

Late in the summer, usually August but sometimes as early as late July, mahi mahi arrive close to shore off the coast of New York, Massachusetts and other New England states. These fish are usually left alone as anglers don’t even realize they have delicious sandwiches within reach of their bay boats. Personally, I have caught mahi out of boats as small as a 13′ whaler. South of Martha’s Vineyard, where I am typically fishing, we get them as close as 5 miles from shore. Now hold on, before you grab your buddies and hop in the boat you have to understand that inshore mahi fishing isn’t as easy as mahi fishing in the canyons. These fish can be picky, annoying and downright frustrating. Before I had “the mahi game” cracked, I spent frustrating hours targeting the green streaks I could see 20 feet from the boat.
Location– First and most importantly, you have to know where to fish. You can typically find mahi in waters upwards of 65 degrees. For your best bet at a thing these fish, target areas that you know hold bait. Mahi are structure oriented fish, so find the structure and you typically find the fish. We almost always find fish under anything a couple square feet or bigger. High flyers are your best bet. We have never found them under balloons before. If they aren’t at the first flyer you pull up to, don’t worry. Sometimes it takes 10 buoys before we find one loaded with them. Usually, we target waters 6-10 miles off land.

 

Lures– I have had days where we throw absolutely everything at mahi. Ballyhoo, eels, herring, bluefish chunks, you name it, without a bite. Before I let you in on the best lures in my opinion, I have to talk about bait fish. Usually, these mahi are targeting halfbeaks and sand eels. I have had the most success with natural colors and have found that the most effective lures (for me) have been…

Pictured above: Hogy Epoxy Jig in olive next to a large sand eel. (Source: http://www.fishingreportsnow.com/images/product.reviews.2014/Hogy.Epoxy.Jigs.Sand.Eel.jpg)

The Hogy Epoxy Jig in 7/8oz in blue (to mimic a halfbeak), olive (to mimic a sand eel) and nuclear chicken. On the clearest, most flat days I have had very good luck with the nuclear chicken, a crazy color, for whatever reason.

Pictured above: Bimini Bay Glass Minnow Jigs. (Source: http://www.biminibayoutfitters.com/images/buccaneer/glass_minnow.jpg)

Bimini Bay Glass Minnow Jigs in the blue color. This was my most productive lure in all 2016.

Pictured above: Spro Mini Bucktail Jigs in white, pink and black/white.  (Source: http://thumbs.ebaystatic.com/images/g/StoAAOSwOdpX1yFV/s-l225.jpg)

Spro Mini Bucktail Jig (1/16oz) in pink and white. This lure is incredibly light and I found the best success with this lure when the mahi were extremely picky.

 

Gear: You really don’t need more than two (possibly 3) setups for mahi. As far as rods go, keep it light and you will have far more fun. Don’t underestimate freshwater rods, many of which can catch mahi up to twenty pounds! My first rod is what I am holding when we pull up to a flyer. It is a St Croix 7ft, 6-12lb test, 1/4-5/8 oz. rod paired with a Shimano Stradic 2500 loaded with 15lb braid. For leader I use 15lb Seaguar Blue Label Fluorocarbon. I have found that light leader is, at times, the key to success on tough days.
My second rod is a heavier rod for flyers holding bigger fish. It is also my rod for casting to white marlin that we frequently come across in the same area. On this rod, I use a Fin Nor Lethal 40, a fantastic reel for a very low price with a sweet, smooth drag system, loaded with 40lb braid mainline and 30lb Seaguar Blue Label Fluorocarbon. This reel is on a custom Dick’s Bait and Tackle rod.
The third (optional) rod is a fly rod. I prefer an intermediate line on a 6 to 8 weight rod. For flys, most little clousers are very effective.
Remember, these fish can be very spooky, so if you notice that you’re spooking fish, try to use any wind or current to drift within casting range of them. Good luck this coming summer and enjoy the mahi tacos!

Inshore Mahi Fishing

We pulled up to the flyer, letting the slow current carry us down through the blue-green inshore water, which suddenly lit up with the bright colors of an easily recognizable fish, the mahi mahi. After searching leagues of lines of flyers, we had found them thirteen miles offshore. I whipped my Hogy Epoxy Jig twenty yards, closed the bail and ripped it across the surface with an albie speed retrieve, my hand whirring in circles on my Shimano 2500.
A “meehee” (baby mahi) sped after it, shimmering with electric colors of blue and green. “Eat it! Eat it!” said Bob, my fishing partner for the trip, as he watched the green dart swing and miss the lure. The mahi shot back to the safety of the flyer. We both took a deep breath and laughed before he took a cast with his 8 weight fly rod. Bob let the 3″ blue surf candy sink down 10 or so feet before beginning his speedy-stripped retrieve. I watched the fly disappear as another green streak shot over. Tight! He set the hook and a beautiful aerial show began.
The mahi took off with surprising power for such a small fish. Launching itself into the air, the fish thrashed its head as it sacked back down to the waters surface, fly landing next to it. It was gone! We both looked up at one another, smiling ear to ear. He stripped up his line to cast again. It was going to be a good day!