Saturday, September 16, 2017

Big Time Albie/Striper Blitz

It was a blitz to remember today as albies and stripers hit the shore in force in a spot I was fishing.  It was all set in motion by some rough water and big schools of peanut bunker. The albies were blitzing out a ways from shore smashing through the schools of bait while the bass were tight to the rocks in the white water just whirling and picking off the small bunker close to the rocks.  This went on for hours.
Meanwhile, a picket fence of fishermen quickly developed, and at times just about everyone was hanging on to a bent rod and a screaming drag.  I must have seen about 150 albies landed today, phenomenal numbers from shore.  I landed 8 of them and had an equal number on and lost.  Add to that six stripers including one keeper that I landed. My sons, Ben and Jon (in photos), also landed a load of albies and stripers.
I was using my float and fly rig  to catch the albies. For the fly I was using a homemade Deceiver with a chartreuse hackle tail and that seemed to be very effective. I also saw a lot of fishermen hooking up with metal like Deadly Dicks and Kastmaster XLs. A real hot number all week has also been the Hogy Epoxy Jigs, which scored a lot of fish today.
I will also tell you that the ocean was very rough today with building seas.  If it gets a bit rougher, it will be unfishable in the location I was fishing.  With the forecast calling for crazy wave heights in the next few days due to Hurricane Jose, the albie fishing will almost certainly be put on hold.

The stripers were running with the albies today.  This keeper was one of a
dozen stripers my sone
 Ben and I landed.