Enter the albie
Here’s a brief yet perfectly accurate glimpse into the mind of the author…
Unstimulated by the world of fake science and inept higher-ups, my itinerant brain expends untold energies reliving epic angling adventures, of which I’ve been privileged to my fair share. This is all well and good as I’ve invested an absurd proportion of my existence into the ephemeral thrills of catching - and then releasing - fish. This morning was brisk but bright as I got in the car, in eager anticipation of another mundane fake science experience, and despite all efforts succumbed to a rush of memories from one such epic flyfishing adventure that happened no less than 5 weeks ago.
Bluebird skies and 38 degrees were the appetizers for what turned out to be a top-five-all-time trip. My wife and I joined a friend from Richmond down in Atlantic Beach, NC, for a crack at the false albacore that populate the Crystal Coast from mid-October through December. We hired Danny Adams, owner of Old Yeller Guide Services, to put us on these little rocket ships and were treated to a display of lightning quickness and sheer strength that left my arms and back absolutely burning after 8 hours on the water. Basically Danny would spot the birds hovering over the baitballs, or we’d see the albies busting bait on the surface of the mirror-calm water, and he’d blast over there in the center-console. ‘Non-stop’ would barely suffice to describe the action that morning…within a half-mile of the beach or less, we aimed our 9 and 10wts loaded with clousers, deceivers and crease flies at the schools of albies and watched 200 feet of flyline and backing disappear within seconds. It’s been said that bonefish hit your fly and then take off at 30 mph, but the albie HITS your fly at 30 mph. Dead right.
Since I’m under a strict self-imposed work limit, I got back home at 5:30 and spent a half-hour looking through a hundred cerebrum-blowing photos we snapped during that insanity.
And still most people wonder why I’d rather be fishin…better to keep them guessing I suppose.
