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| They were around in late August but since then, their numbers have declined big time. So far, albie fishing overall from shore has been poor here in RI. |
The albie fishing so far in RI has been a big disappointment in 2021. Expectations were high since they appeared much earlier than expected in late August. However, the early arrivals were never plentiful with some schools popping up here and there. Many fishermen thought the numbers would build as we moved into September, but remember you are dealing with an unpredictable fish. Instead of the numbers building, they declined. A series of rough water events (tropical storm, severe rainstorms, thunderstorms) sent a lot of the bait packing, and I believe the albies went with it. With the calendar ticking away, I think it’s unlikely big numbers of albies will all of a sudden appear here in RI.
I know many
fishermen who have put in big time hours to catch a few fish. At this point, a
lot of the albie chasers have given up and turned to stripers which have been
plentiful. I have landed 3 albies so far
this year, and my last one was caught on September 3rd. I’ve been out just about every day/night
chasing stripers and I have not seen a school of albies pop up in weeks. I’ve heard of exactly one fish being caught
from shore in the last three weeks.
Those albie hotspots that played host to dozens of fishermen back in
late August are just about empty now with only a few diehards left.
It’s not
looking good for 2021.
