3wt7X
Active member
- Joined
- Nov 19, 2008
- Messages
- 704
It has been over five years since I have made the trip down to Florida for some False Albacore (bonito) on the fly. This year we planned a family trip to attend my college roommate's wedding in Disney and to visit family in the Boca area, so it was time again to get beat up by these handsome looking speedsters.
Captain Scott Hamilton (Fly Fishing Extremes) was booked up for the week, but he was very gracious and helpful in suggesting Captain Quintin Hall (TKF Charters) as another option for the trip. Captain Hall was amazing and a great suggestion. He worked very hard to put us in position to catch rather picky false albacore all day, and he was much more open to allowing my cousin to using spinning rod, which made the trip more enjoyable all around. Captain Hall had to make constant moves throughout the day, as the weekend crowd proved to be a little of a hardship.
The conditions overall seemed to be stacked against us. We were fishing a couple days after a full moon, which usually translates into fish feeding all night, and not being as receptive during the day. There were huge, football field sized balls of bait, which were covered by boats, putting the fish down. The schools of albacore that we live chummed up were quick to ambush and drop, and on several occasion, we had a brief single blowup and then they retreated to deep water. The dolphin (porpoise) seemed to follow us around every time the fish got going, which is never good as they make the fish nervous, and one made my catch a meal on the way in. Despite all that, Captain Hall stayed positive and worked very hard all day to put us in position to catch fish.
The results show in the pictures. My cousin really put the hurting on the bonito and blue runners with the spin rod, and he brought some stud 15 plus lb alberts to the boat. I was able to get into several, landing two and having one eaten, with several other hookups. For a half day trip, it was great. Some observations of note, the large bait schools were a sight to behold. We had a couple shots at bullet sized blackfin tuna, which was really neat to see. We had flying fish and sea turtles at all the locations we fished. The first fat albert that I landed was the coolest take that I have ever witnessed, as I fast stripped the fly in, I was about to lift and recast, and the fly got destroyed about 12 feet in front of me by a fish that showed up like a bolt of lightning. I cannot wait to get down there and do it again!!!
Captain Scott Hamilton (Fly Fishing Extremes) was booked up for the week, but he was very gracious and helpful in suggesting Captain Quintin Hall (TKF Charters) as another option for the trip. Captain Hall was amazing and a great suggestion. He worked very hard to put us in position to catch rather picky false albacore all day, and he was much more open to allowing my cousin to using spinning rod, which made the trip more enjoyable all around. Captain Hall had to make constant moves throughout the day, as the weekend crowd proved to be a little of a hardship.
The conditions overall seemed to be stacked against us. We were fishing a couple days after a full moon, which usually translates into fish feeding all night, and not being as receptive during the day. There were huge, football field sized balls of bait, which were covered by boats, putting the fish down. The schools of albacore that we live chummed up were quick to ambush and drop, and on several occasion, we had a brief single blowup and then they retreated to deep water. The dolphin (porpoise) seemed to follow us around every time the fish got going, which is never good as they make the fish nervous, and one made my catch a meal on the way in. Despite all that, Captain Hall stayed positive and worked very hard all day to put us in position to catch fish.
The results show in the pictures. My cousin really put the hurting on the bonito and blue runners with the spin rod, and he brought some stud 15 plus lb alberts to the boat. I was able to get into several, landing two and having one eaten, with several other hookups. For a half day trip, it was great. Some observations of note, the large bait schools were a sight to behold. We had a couple shots at bullet sized blackfin tuna, which was really neat to see. We had flying fish and sea turtles at all the locations we fished. The first fat albert that I landed was the coolest take that I have ever witnessed, as I fast stripped the fly in, I was about to lift and recast, and the fly got destroyed about 12 feet in front of me by a fish that showed up like a bolt of lightning. I cannot wait to get down there and do it again!!!
