Harker's Island albies.
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Shhh...
Uhmm ... There is no fish down there... Nah...
Not worth the 8 hr drive.. You might get a hangnail or even a line burn..
Safer to stay at home..
Capt Mike
Uhmm ... There is no fish down there... Nah...
Not worth the 8 hr drive.. You might get a hangnail or even a line burn..
Safer to stay at home..
Capt Mike
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4,910 Posts
I agree! It is 11 hours for me. The hangnail factor is huge.
We are going down Nov 17, mostly for the shopping. There are some great outlets on the way down. We will be there seven days with my boat. Not sure whether we will get to fish or not.
It seem's like the Albie fishing was slow this year. I know Montauk was not like it usually is. For all the Albie addict's you should try fishing the east coast of Florida for them. I say it's the Albie capitol. I went to Harker's for 3 year's & it was very good, i've been doing Montauk since 97 & have to say that Fla. is in a league of it's own. The weather is nicer the fish are big & there's alot of other specie's.
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I've heard a lot about the Florida bite. Supposedly they are almost considered trash fish as few guys chase them but they are readily available all winter, or is it all year.
Fort Pierce, West Palm comes to mind. I know it's further but when you can combine it with a family trip to Disney world, then you're using your noggin.
Plus the shore fishing in Indian river, Sebastian Inlet, Sailfish point,
But I've never been to Harkers. One of these days I guess. Don't forget about the red drum down there. Hear it can almost never be too windy for back bay drumin or surf chunkin. Good luck everyone.
Fort Pierce, West Palm comes to mind. I know it's further but when you can combine it with a family trip to Disney world, then you're using your noggin.
Plus the shore fishing in Indian river, Sebastian Inlet, Sailfish point,
But I've never been to Harkers. One of these days I guess. Don't forget about the red drum down there. Hear it can almost never be too windy for back bay drumin or surf chunkin. Good luck everyone.
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Just got back from Harkers
Fished for 4 days. Most of the fish are being caught from Beaufort Inlet to the "western beaches" as far as the Sheraton Hotel. You'll see it - turn right (west) when you leave the inlet, and run slowly down the beach 200-300 yards offshore. I did visit the Cape Lookout Bight several times, but saw very, very few fish in that direction. If you had a boat, you were better off launching from Beaufort than from Harkers last week.
When I did see fish, pods were popping up and moving very, very quickly. It wasn't blitzes or bait balls hanging out under the boat - it was racing upwind of 4-5 fluttering gulls, bumping the boat into neutral, and firing 1 very quick cast that did the trick. (Incidentally, I saw Sarah Gardner (Fly Girl) and Brian Horsley fairly often along the western beaches. One of the best things about going with a guide is that they have a Plan B -- as the pictures of Kings can attest.) Fish were most active when the tide was strongest. I found them on outgoing tides, mostly, but actually hooked my first three on a strong incoming tide right at the tip of Shackleford, on the east side of Beaufort Inlet. All three fish were hooked within 15 feet of the beach.
There are a lot of bait schools with Pelicans and Terns on them, particularly east toward Lookout. Ignore the Pelicans and Terns, even when they are diving near the beaches - they are sitting on bunker or mullet. It's the small groups of gulls that will point you to the Albacore. Longer gummy minnows worked well (4 inches, brownish backs). I used 9 foot leaders, 20lb, with fluorocarbon tippet. Not really sure whether the fluoro was really necessary, but I caught fish.
Finally, for what it's worth, I learned that it IS possible to land an Albie caught on the fly by yourself, and without snapping the rod. But it's a close-run thing, and more luck went into it than anything else. The one picure I did take, of course, was of a fish caught spinning. (Winds were SW at 20+, with standing 6 foot waves at the inlet on Saturday - handling a boat, casting a fly line 40 feet from the beach proved a little too dangerous). The lure pictured, for those willing to fish with spinning tackle, was a small Deadly Dick.
All in all, a fun week, but you really had to work for Albacore. Get a guide and tell them you are willing to throw 500 grain lines for Amberjack/Kings if that's really necessary. Conventional wisdom says that Albert fishing should improve as the waters cool.
Fished for 4 days. Most of the fish are being caught from Beaufort Inlet to the "western beaches" as far as the Sheraton Hotel. You'll see it - turn right (west) when you leave the inlet, and run slowly down the beach 200-300 yards offshore. I did visit the Cape Lookout Bight several times, but saw very, very few fish in that direction. If you had a boat, you were better off launching from Beaufort than from Harkers last week.
When I did see fish, pods were popping up and moving very, very quickly. It wasn't blitzes or bait balls hanging out under the boat - it was racing upwind of 4-5 fluttering gulls, bumping the boat into neutral, and firing 1 very quick cast that did the trick. (Incidentally, I saw Sarah Gardner (Fly Girl) and Brian Horsley fairly often along the western beaches. One of the best things about going with a guide is that they have a Plan B -- as the pictures of Kings can attest.) Fish were most active when the tide was strongest. I found them on outgoing tides, mostly, but actually hooked my first three on a strong incoming tide right at the tip of Shackleford, on the east side of Beaufort Inlet. All three fish were hooked within 15 feet of the beach.
There are a lot of bait schools with Pelicans and Terns on them, particularly east toward Lookout. Ignore the Pelicans and Terns, even when they are diving near the beaches - they are sitting on bunker or mullet. It's the small groups of gulls that will point you to the Albacore. Longer gummy minnows worked well (4 inches, brownish backs). I used 9 foot leaders, 20lb, with fluorocarbon tippet. Not really sure whether the fluoro was really necessary, but I caught fish.
Finally, for what it's worth, I learned that it IS possible to land an Albie caught on the fly by yourself, and without snapping the rod. But it's a close-run thing, and more luck went into it than anything else. The one picure I did take, of course, was of a fish caught spinning. (Winds were SW at 20+, with standing 6 foot waves at the inlet on Saturday - handling a boat, casting a fly line 40 feet from the beach proved a little too dangerous). The lure pictured, for those willing to fish with spinning tackle, was a small Deadly Dick.
All in all, a fun week, but you really had to work for Albacore. Get a guide and tell them you are willing to throw 500 grain lines for Amberjack/Kings if that's really necessary. Conventional wisdom says that Albert fishing should improve as the waters cool.
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Capt Dino...Could you Bmail me your Email address ?
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Ah Jon, how many do you want to catch, had 20 in the Pass area past weekend, did I mention an occassioal King for your troubles. Good news is it will get better thru December, bad news is the wind gets a little bad as well. Weve been getting the albes and cudas since Sept.
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I've heard theories that as a result of the fishing and boat pressure on albies from Montauk on down to Harkers that the fish have modified their behavior -- more skittish, up and down and in smaller pods as opposed to big schools that stay on the surface for long periods of time, more selective on flies they'll take. That certainly was my experience last year at Harkers. I'm not going down this year but it sounds like folks have been having similiar experiences. Much less easy pickin's and fewer fish but more satisfying catch because of the work put in.
That Florida fishery sounds like it is wide open and virtually unfished. Supposedly a different and larger strain of albie from the northeast/mid-atlantic brand. Would be great to give it a try one day.
That Florida fishery sounds like it is wide open and virtually unfished. Supposedly a different and larger strain of albie from the northeast/mid-atlantic brand. Would be great to give it a try one day.
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Guides here are cancelling trips.
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Nice work congrats on the albies...
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It was good on Wednesday and Thursday this past week. Snowed too. Really windy today. Looks good for Sunday possibly.
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Pretty much dead. Some fish scattered east of the cape today but not what I would call great or even good.
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