Just got home from RI. We chartered a boat this morning from 6-12 and went fishing for Albies (false albecore). Winds were gusting to 35 and we stuck close to shore. I went with my father in-law and brother in-law. We boated a today of 14 Albies, I bluefish and one keeper black sea bass. My arms are shot from all the casting and retrieving. We used inshore spinning gear and the fights were amazing. I've never felt a fish pull like these things and they just don't give up. Ever. Got back to the in-law's in time to watch the first half of the Jets game. My wife and I left for home at the half and listened to the second half miracle come back on satellite radio. It was a great day!
Yeah, I like catching them on my small spinners (2500-3000) with a little glass minnow mirrolure..... I have caught a 20lber from my kayak once. that was fun
That must have been insane! They don't get that big up in RI. The state record is 16 pounds and that was set this year. Prior to that it was 13 pounds. I was using a Penn Slammer IV 2500 on a MH rod. It was spooled with 30lb braid and initially I had a 30lb leader. My FG knot came apart and I switched to a 20lb leader. I used a small swivel because I didn't want to try and tie the FG knot with 30 mph winds. The heavy braid made casting tough. If I could have done it all over again I would have went 20 pound braid with a 15 pound leader and no swivel. I would have also brought my own lures now that I know what to use. Captain did a good job with the boat. The one thing that really turned me off is that the first mate fished with us. He got the first fish and also the most. I've never been in a private charter where the first mate was an active participant in the fishing. Granted he was there when we needed him but we paid to fish with a total of 3 guys, not 4. Am I wrong for feeling this way. We'd locate a school and he'd be the first fucking guy to get his bait in the water.
It may not have been 20 (I didnt weigh him) but it was up there.... I was trolling a 6" storm swimbait on 20# conventional tackle..... drag was screaming. I can't tie a FG knot bouncing around the boat either, so I use a double uni knot in those scenarios.... pretty solid and super easy to tie. 20# line max on the 2500.... I think I have 15 on mine. Was the mate hooking fish then handing the rod off? was he fishing to keep the bonito? (they use chunks here for bottom fishing, and belly strips for trolling)
He was fishing for pleasure. He kept saying that Albies are his all time favorite fish to catch for sport and that he caught 40 something the week before. He even told us he caught 6 the day before. He (and us as well) threw all the Albies back. The only fish kept were the black sea bass and the the bluefish I caught. The guy was fishing for fun and I thought that was bullshit. Let the paying customers catch a fish before you start fishing.
Yeah, that's not too cool.... I'll have buddies that do that, but after theyre tired of seeing their charter miss fish... to prove a point that the fish are out there
The guy was kind of an asshole. He knew his shit but his people skills were severely lacking. Fish on your own time. I don't think I'd use them again because of him. To be fair they were a last minute replacement for the trip we originally set up out of Gloucester. The captain got sick and had to cancel.
bickety Know nothing about fishing but your pictures look awesome. One day, take me to fishing. I will drink and you will fish and we will talk Jets. If you drive down, we can have Grandpa Cman join us and we all can hang. @Cman65 - Up for it?
So I ordered up a St. Croix Legend Tournament 7'6" MHF inshore rod and a Daiwa Saltist 4000 spinning reel. The rod I used on Sunday didnt cast as well as I would have liked. And of course I ordered all sorts of epoxy jigs and Albie Snax. The false albacore fishing was just so addicting
If you are interested in seeing some footage from the trip, here it is. I have a nice hookup around the 8:05 mark but end up losing the fish.
@stinkyB @Cman65 When you guys full your inshore reels with line that use braid, do you use a mono backer or do you just fill it all with 300 yards or so of braid? I used just fill my reels with braid but with 13 reels now that is getting expensive. For my reels that use 20# braid I've started using 8# mono until there is about 1/4" left and then I fit 150 yards of 20# braid on. I use an FG knot for the connection. I figure if I hook something that takes line to the mono, I was going to lose it anyway. Thoughts? Again, this is for inshore casting setups.
I don't use nearly as much mono for backing but I do match diameters. 30# braid = 8# mono in diameter. I also use the length of the rod as a measure of my leader (top shot) length as we don't see as many monsters up here as they do down south. Most of my reels take between 400 and 500m of 20# braid so I use enough mono to cover the spool.Maybe 2-3 layers max. I then use back-to-back uni knots for that connection. On the other end, if I'm pre-rigging at home, I use the PR knot. If I'm on the water, I use the FG knot.
Really depends on the reel. Small spinners and big bottom reels (with locked down drags) get more mono backing to save $ Bigger spinners where I may get smoked by a big fish, almost all braid.
BTW, you can rotate your braid and get much longer life out of it. At the end of the season, if your braid is looking "tired" just reel it onto a empty spool. Then take that spool and reel that onto a second empty spool. Then take that second spool and reel that line back to your reel. What happens is the braid closest to the spool never sees any water or stress so effectively, its new unused braid.
Mullet run was on fire here.... (got out monday afternoon)... glad I did because this storm is going to ruin EVERYTHING
