The False Albacore are Here

Posted on September 14, 2020 by Ed Mitchell

Finally autumn is here and the false albacore are around. Last year they made a very poor showing in Long Island Sound. And there has been considerable concern all summer that might be the case again this year. Well amigo things are looking good. Keep your fingers crossed.

“Albie” from a my Drift boat

The false albacore is like a career criminal; it lives under several aliases. The correct common name is Little Tunny. But you will also hear this amazing fish called an “albie”,  an “albacore”, a fat albert”, a “spotted tunny”, a “football”, a “hardtail”, or a “little tuna”. And get this in Florida is known as a “bonito”, which it is definitely not. How’s that list? For you scientific types the little tunny’s latin name  is Euthynnus alletteratus. It is a member of the mackerel tribe like all tuna and bonito.

Typical Coloration

The “albie” is both a bluewater and a green water fish – successfully operating both well offshore and in nearshore waters. It is never an ambush style predator. So don’t expect it to be patiently hiding behind a rock waiting to pounce like a striped bass. Rather it lives a blitzkrieg style live, attacking bait at flank speed in broad daylight. Lacking a swim bladder, it can’t simple hover at the surface feeding like say a bluefish. The “albie” is always in motion, often erupting on the surface and then diving only to resurface seconds later.

Release Method

In the pound-for-pound wars,  the “albie” is the clearly the strongest fish in Northeast nearshore waters. It will not jump, but it can race off like a rocket peeling line off your reel at an alarming rate, and then duke it out deep in a powerful prolonged battle. Many a rod and many a line has been broken. Yet for all its power, we must handle the “albie” with care. The correct release method is to drop it back in the water straight down, forcing water through its gills. To learn more read this article I wrote many moons ago.  Amazing Albies: 

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The Fish are Moving

Posted on September 11, 2020 by Ed Mitchell

The Fish are Moving:

Starting to get some reports that the fish are on the move. Hallelujah.  My friend Ted caught an nice albie on a fly over at Point Judith. His friend Jerry Wade did as well. Both of them were out with well-known Captain Ray Stachelek. Ray charters in Narragansett Bay, around Block Island and in Rhode Island Sound.

Ted with an Albie

My son reports schoolie striped bass whacking bait up inside the Connecticut River near Middletown. Not big bass but fun on a light fly rod. This is yet another sign, autumn has arrived and the fish are feeding. Get ready to rock and roll!

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Timber Rattlesnakes in Connecticut

Posted on September 8, 2020 by Ed Mitchell

Timber Rattlesnakes in Connecticut,

Timber Rattlesnakes in Connecticut

Been awhile since I did a post on these critters. In fact it was ten years ago. No I didn’t come across another one, but I did see a sign that reminded me of their presence. As you might imagine their numbers are declining. They are rare in Connecticut. And the decline is  largely due to interaction with people.

At one point in time these snakes were found in 20 Connecticut towns; that’s been cut in half. In part because we are encroaching on their habitat. Timber rattlesnakes like lush, wooded hillsides, the kind of place expensive homes are often built to catch a view. And I bet you know what happens next. Harm, in one fashion or another, comes to the snakes.

Remember that timber rattlesnakes are going to do all they can to avoid you. Yes they prefer to retreat. This snake has quite bit of color variation, especially between juveniles and adults.  Some timber rattlers are a mustard shade. Others brown. Some almost black. If you think you see or hear one, or even a snake you can’t identify, slowly back off. Give it a chance to escape. Don’t try to catch, kill, or handle it.  Let it live.

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Seal Problems on the Pacific coast

Posted on August 23, 2020 by Ed Mitchell

Seal Problems on the Pacific coast

A few posts back I briefly brought up the subject of wildlife management. Wildlife management is a contract between society and wildlife to find an reasonable balance. And in many cases it works well, but all wildlife management has to be adaptive. Which is to say adjustments must be made to reflect changes in wildlife populations. For example this happens regularly in fisheries management. If a species is experiencing decline, fishing regulations are tighten to help that species recover.

www.komonews.com/news/local/us-allows-killing-sea-lions-eating-at-risk-northwest-salmon-08-14-2020-221034499

All of this came up concerning the seal population explosion along Northeast Atlantic  beaches. And how this explosion has indirectly caused human fatalities by attracting great white sharks nearshore. Ironically the Pacific coast has experience a somewhat similar situation for years. No, not human fatalities. In this cases the large number of seals has nearly destroyed salmon runs in some location. Exactly what to do about this issue has been kicked around for year. Hell they even made decoy Orcas made to scare the seals off. No dice. Recently, however, the Pacific Fisheries Management folks are finally taking action, but allowing a culling of the seal population. This type of wildlife management adjustment is much need on our coast as well. Let’s hope it takes place.

www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2019/01/killing-sea-lions-save-salmon/581740/

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A YOY Sand eel Fly

Posted on August 20, 2020 by Ed Mitchell

Recently we took a look at tying sand eel flies. While digging through my fly tying material mess for that post, and believe me it’s a tangled mess,  I came across a young-of-year (YOY) sand eel pattern I used nearly three decades ago. Fun to see the old soldier.  It was made from a QTip. Yes frcm a common cotton swab. Cheap, and easy to tie, it fooled many striped bass so I thought I might share it with you. (More on sand eel flies)

YOY sand eels

As you see in the photo above, YOY sand eels are very small and thin. The photo is helpful as far as size goes, but since these guys are deceased they have lost their color and sheen. In the living flesh their backs have a touch of green and their flanks are more iridescent pearl.

The QT Sand Eel

The fly above has seen its share of battles and was retired long ago. But it gives you the idea. To tie this fly I simply cutting the cotton ball ends off the swab. That left me with a clear plastic shaft of roughly 1/8″ diameter. Perfect. Next I cut one end of the shaft at a 45 degree angle. This end got lashed on top of the hook shank directly behind the eye. But not before sliding small hollow mylar tubing over the shaft. The tubing was left a little long so it dangled loosely over the tail end of the fly for added action. Put a bead of super glue along the top of the shaft and along bottom, where it contacted the hook shank, and presto, done!

This fly is essentially a “stick” bait design. In that fashion it resembles Gartside’s well known Corsair sand eel, although the QT eel predates it by many years. I often added an eye or additional color with laundry markers. And if you sealed the tail end of the shaft, the fly became buoyant. Hell bass would pick this fly up just lying near the surface. But anyway you made it the fly remained simple. And talk about cheap! In any pharmacy, you could buy a huge box of cotton swabs for a song. Amazing, that box might last you a lifetime. Unfortunately, at least from my point of view, clear plastic shafts got phased out and so I eventually switched to a different fly design. Time moves on.

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