by Henry Cowen

Albie Blend
tied by Steve Farrar
Hook: Owner Flyliner, size 2.
Thread: Fine monofilament.
Belly: UV white SF Flash Blend.
Wing: Olive over misty blue SF Flash Blend.
Eyes: 3-D eyes.
Note: Steve Farrar’s Albie Blend is a great little pattern that mimics a number of baitfish commonly available during false albacore season. Tie this pattern in a variety of lengths to match the saltwater hatch from New England to Florida.

FROM NEW ENGLAND TO NORTH CAROLINA, the warmest ocean water temperatures of the year occur sometime around the end of August. It is not uncommon for surface temperatures to push into the low to mid 70’s. This rise in temperature occurs because the Gulfstream moves closer to shore. The warm water attracts false albacore, and we enjoy some of the very best angling of the season.

False albacore first appear in New England—usually around Martha’s Vineyard—and over the next several weeks they work their way south to Wilmington, North Carolina. Why all the excitement, you might ask?

For their size, false albacore are some of the toughest game fish in the ocean. They readily take flies, and you can catch them in great numbers. False albacore go by many names: greenies, apple knockers, bonita, core, fat Albert’s, little tunny, or just plain “albies.” Whatever you call them, false albacore are one of God’s great gifts to saltwater anglers, especially fly rodders.

These Fish Eat Flies

Fishing for false albacore is incredibly fun. First comes the hunt for the fish. Look for terns and seagulls diving on the water’s surface; this is a good sign that albies are tearing through a school of baitfish. A false albacore “blitz” is a memorable experience. It is so visual and exciting that you will relive the event long after the day is over.

Aggressively feeding albies readily take flies. They are so eager, in fact, that sometimes you will look around and see several anglers fighting fish at the same time. And false albacore are also some of the hardest fighting fish in the ocean. While their shape and other characteristics make them look like tuna, they are not; false albacore are in the mackerel family, hence the name false albacore. False albacore meat is mostly red, much like the color of blood, so they have limited value as table fare. This is great news for anglers because most fish are caught and released to live and fight another day.

Craft-Fur Bay Anchovy
tied by Capt. Allen Cain
Hook: Mustad C70SD, size 4.
Thread: White 6/0 (140 denier).
Wing: Root beer craft fur.
Belly: White craft fur.
Eyes: Adhesive eyes.
Glue: Clear Cure Goo.
Note: Capt. Allen Cain designed this wonderful “Surf Candy-like” pattern. Capt. Cain prefers using root beer-colored flies when bay anchovies are the predominant bait.

Hooking and fighting an albie on a fly rod is one of the most memorable angling experiences you will ever have. They run fast, hard, and long. Line will scream off your reel; an albie will put you into your backing in a only a few seconds. And pound for pound, few fish fight as hard as false albacore. If you could tie a rope to the tail of an 8-pound false albacore, and tie the other end to an 8-pound bonefish, the albie would pull the bonefish all over the ocean!

Plenty of Opportunity

Look for false albacore as far north as Cape Cod to as far south as Florida and into the Gulf of Mexico. While their arrival in certain areas varies, when they do show up we enjoy an inshore angling bonanza.

Autumn is prime time for false albacore fishing. The length of their stay is based on the temperature and clarity of the water. Albies do not like dirty water, and they do not like particularly cold water. They may hang around New England for upwards of two months beginning sometime near the end of August, but they usually remain for about four to six weeks.

Look for large schools of false albacore around Cape Cod and Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts to Point Judith and Watch Hill, Rhode Island. Follow their migration as they head south to the waters off New York, New Jersey, and points beyond. Look for big schools of hungry albies around Block Island (Rhode Island), Montauk (New York), and Sandy Hook (New Jersey).

The best false albacore fishing in the country is along the coast of North Carolina. Ground Zero for fly fishing for albies takes place near the sleepy little fishing village of Harkers Island, North Carolina. Located at the southern end of the Outer Banks, Harkers Island draws anglers from across the United States to enjoy the fantastic fishing.

Angling writer Tom Earnhardt helped popularize the false albacore fishing on Harkers Island starting in the early 1990’s. Every year he and Jones Brothers Marine put on what they call the Tuna Melt. At the Tuna Melt, which occurs the first weekend in November, hundreds of anglers come to Harkers to fish, enjoy a pig roast, and commiserate with one other. Anglers trailer boats, hire guides, or take a ferry out to Cape Lookout to fish an area called “the Hook.” False albacore show up along North Carolina starting in September and remain through December if the water remains clean and the temperatures are relatively mild.

Finally, look for false albacore from South Carolina to Florida and into the Gulf Coast. The fish show up at different times in Florida. On the East Coast, the fishing seems best from July through September, while on the Gulf Coast the best fishing is from late winter through early spring.

Gearing Up

Tackle selection for false albacore varies depending upon the size of the fish. A seven- or eight-weight rod is ideal for catching juvenile albies in the four- to six-pound class. For fish in the seven- to 12-pound class, a nine-weight rod is the best choice. When you get into the big boys weighing up to 20 pounds, a 10-weight rod will be fine but might not feel stout enough!

Once you battle with Albzilla, you will realize just how mean and tough these fish can be. The choice of reel is simple: it must be capable of stopping a pickup truck pulling onto the freeway. Select a large-arbor reel with a smooth drag, and it must have the capacity to hold at least 200 yards of backing.

Tutti Fruitti
tied by Henry Cowen
Hook: Tiemco TMC811S, size 1/0.
Thread: Fine monofilament.
Wing: Chartreuse bucktail.
Tail: Hot pink bucktail.
Flash: Pearl Comes Alive.
Eyes: I-Balz or a substitute.
Note: Why false albacore eat a fly tied chartreuse-over-pink is anyone’s guess, but Capt. Brian Horsley, of Harkers Island, North Carolina, says the Tutti Fruitti is his go-to false albacore fly.

I am always prepared with several fly lines. I always take a slow-sinking intermediate line and a fast-sinking integrated shooting head. Today, all the fly line companies make nice lines for false albacore fishing, but the RIO Outbound Short F/I is my go-to line when fishing from a boat or the beach. This line has a floating running line with an intermediate slow-sinking head that allows me to quickly pick up and change casting directions. If you are fishing a beach with a lot of breaking waves, however, a full slow-sinking line might be a better choice; the wave action can pull your line back onto the beach, so a line that is completely underwater can help prevent this.

As for terminal tackle, I always prefer a 9- to 10-foot-long fluorocarbon leader because there are times when the bait is so small and the water is so clear that a stealthier, longer leader yields a few extra strikes. When the fish weigh 12 pounds or less, a 12- to 15-pound-test leader works just fine; if the albies are bigger, I use a 20-pound-test leader

Fly selection is the final piece of the puzzle. Like any other fishery, the available forage determines which patterns work the best. The bait varies from region to region; at times, it can even vary from beach to beach. I remember albies eating tiny bay anchovies at Watch Hill Light, Rhode Island, and the anglers just down the road at Weekapaug Breachway, in Westerly, Rhode Island, were seeing fish tearing into silversides.

Do some research before packing your fly box. Call a local fly shop or do on online search to obtain up-to-date reports. One thing is for certain: false albacore feeding patterns can change on a dime. During one tide the fish might be gorging on glass minnows, and after the change of tide they will be ripping through peanut bunker. Silversides (glass minnows), bay anchovy’s (rain bait), peanut bunker, sardines, small mullet, and even squid are all common foods for albies. These fish are opportunistic feeders, so you might even see them eating small crabs and sand eels. There is even super-small bait in the Carolina’s the locals simply call snot bait.

Using a very fast retrieve is the key to catching false albacore. The water is crystal clear so they can get a very good look at your fly. Long quick strips, short quick strips, or even a two-handed retrieve (with the rod tucked under your arm) work most of the time. Your fly should look like it is fleeing or panicking. Everyone has his favorite flies, but this varies from region to region. Anglers in New England through the mid-Atlantic use smaller flies measuring 1 ½ to 3 inches long. Folks fishing the Carolina Coast carry flies measuring 1 ½ to 5 inches long. Florida anglers, however, prefer larger patterns measuring 3 to 6 inches in length.

This thumbnail sketch will get you started fishing for false albacore. The fish are spread along almost the entire Atlantic Coast. It is a terrific and exciting way to conclude the fishing season.

Henry Cowen is a regular contributor to this magazine. He is a fine fly designer and expert angler. Henry lives in Georgia.

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A quick and simple, semi realistic pattern to imitate the Mysis shrimp. Ranging from 0.5 to 25 mm long with a slender transparent body. Despite its small size, the Mysis is a very important food item in both lakes and salt water. Heres a few good techniques for getting it right!

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How to video for a quick and easy saltwater fly pattern, Chicone’s 5 Minute Finger Mullet. It’s great on the flats and in the back bays of SW Florida for targeting redfish, snook & sea trout.

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Drew Chicone is an author, award-winning outdoor writer and fly designer, photographer, lecturer, and materials expert, whose passion for teaching the art of fly tying has inspired numerous how-to articles, books, and detailed instructional guides. He has lived and breathed the sport since he was tall enough to sit at the vise, and his fly creations are well known and in high demand among saltwater anglers and guides across the globe.

Drew has been an F.F.F. Certified Casting Instructor and commercial fly tyer for more than a decade. He is a designer for Umpqua Feather Merchants, and his patterns are sold in quality fly shops and have appeared in over 70 U.S. and international publications. He is the winner of the 2016 and 2017 International Fly Tackle Dealer Best in Show Saltwater Fly Pattern Award, as well as the 2014 I.F.T.D. Iron Fly.

Drew is an educator at heart who imparts his wisdom and expertise through his books, monthly newsletters, workshops, and seminars, empowering individuals to create their own fur and feather creations.

At the beginning of 2018, Drew partnered with Wild River Press books to publish three new titles; “Top Saltwater Flies – Bonefish,” “Top Saltwater Flies – Tarpon,” and “Top Saltwater Flies – Permit.” It’s the most extensive tying-instruction series on the subject ever published. The hardcover set is available for sale at www.topsaltwaterflies.com.

In addition to his ongoing work as an educator, Drew ties premium saltwater flies for sale through his company, Salty Fly Tying. He is the Director at Maven Rods U.S.A., the co-founder of Strip Strike University, and frequently hosts destination schools and fishing adventures anywhere saltwater species swim.

Although Drew Chicone is well-known for his expertise in creating saltwater flies, his interests extend far beyond the realm of fly tying. Drew is a versatile individual whose life centers around his love for the great outdoors as well as his commitment to his family. As a modern Renaissance man who values family, Drew knows the importance of creating lasting memories and sharing his enthusiasm for the outdoors with those around him. He also advocates for the preservation of our environment and its creatures, ensuring a sustainable future for generations to come.

For more information about Drew, his latest works, and hosted trips, visit www.saltyflytying.com or follow him @drchicone on Instagram. Chicone lives in Ft. Myers, Florida, with his wife, Susan, and their daughter, Lucy.

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Whether fishing in salt or fresh water, having confidence in your fly is paramount to success. Having even a shred of doubt about a pattern can make a real difference; you will tend to lose focus as your mind wanders to thinking about what fly might work better. For many decades, my number one fly for catching almost all Northeast saltwater species has been a size 2/0, olive-and-white Clouser Minnow with just a hint of gold flash.

Although it is a great pattern, a standard Clouser has some issues, mainly because of the bucktail used for making the back and belly of the fly. Bucktail is a naturally tapering hair that can’t be clipped at the tips, so trimming the material to length after making the fly isn’t an option. Bucktail is not an especially durable material and the sharp teeth of a ravenous bluefish will quickly sheer it off. In addition, bucktail has a tendency to foul around the hook bend, rendering the fly all but useless.

Whether the material is natural or dyed, bucktail is uniformly colored, unlike the baitfish a Clouser Minnow is intended to represent. Bucktail is also rather opaque and doesn’t offer much shimmer or shine.

I certainly don’t mean to beat up on bucktail as a fly-tying ingredient, but it’s always worth exploring substitutions.

The Author Discovers a New Material

I recently started tying large pike, musky, and golden dorado flies using a relatively new synthetic material from a company called Squimpish Flies. Squimpish Hair is similar to craft fur, but it has some very important differences.

Squimpish Hair comes on fabric backing and in wire-core brushes. The material is available in a variety of lengths, and some is even a good deal longer than almost any craft fur; finding bucktail in similar long lengths is difficult and rather expensive. A pattern tied using longer fibers can have greater action in the water, and because the Squimpish fibers are not tapered, you can easily trim your finished flies into the shapes of baitfish.

Squimpish Hair is somewhat translucent and has a wonderful, lifelike sheen. The company offers this product in a wide range of mixed colors, resulting in very natural-looking flies. Perhaps most important, Squimpish Hair is far more durable than bucktail.

Tying this synthetic Clouser Minnow with Squimpish Hair is a little more complex than making the traditional pattern, but it is worth the extra effort. A hidden skirt made by trimming the butt-end fibers helps prevent the fibers from fouling and keeps the shape of the pattern from totally collapsing when stripping the fly through the water.

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The Abaco Bunny is a very effective pattern, named for the Abaco Islands in The Bahamas. The Abaco Bunny is meant for bonefish and permit, but can also catch tarpon. It’s easy to tie and easy to cast.

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by Barry Clarke

After four years of field testing, tweaking, and more testing, the Hoodlum streamer has passed with flying colors. Now you won’t find me fishing the salt without a gang of Hoodlums!

Although verging on the fanciful, the Hoodlum was inspired by the sparser flat-wing flies that have proved so effective on Scandinavian saltwater sea trout, and a series of saltwater patterns I have been tying the past five years that have been given the handle “saltwater classics.” The saltwater classics combine modern tying techniques and materials with more traditional ingredients to give them a classic look. Making the Hoodlum requires several tying methods and uncommon uses of materials, but once those techniques are mastered, it doesn’t take long to put the fly together.

The heavy-wire, short-shank hook placed in the front of the fly is a very important element of this pattern’s success. It gives the Hoodlum a dynamic, realistic swimming action that seems irresistible to the fish. The extremely strong Mustad Ultra Point 60543NP was originally developed as a carp hook, but it works perfectly for this kind of fly. The wide-but-short gap keeps the fly on an even keel when fished and allows for a full, unrestricted swimming action. (You may substitute a similar-looking hook.)

It has become extremely popular once more to tie articulated flies with tandem or trailing hooks. A trailing hook on this pattern will totally upset the balance of the fly and kill the swimming action. I also feel that it’s unnecessary because 9 times out of 10, an attacking predatory fish will hit the head of the fly, not nip the tail. If you have ever checked the stomach contents of a predatory fish that has been feeding on large baitfish, you may have noticed that the majority were swallowed headfirst.

Seeing Is Believing

There is a lot of discussion regarding ultra-violet-enhanced tying materials and whether or not they work. Let me share what I know about how a fish sees and my experience with those ingredients.

Let us presume that sight is a trout’s most important sense when feeding. Like ours, the fish’s retina is made of both rod and cone cells. The rods collect all information in black-and-white, while the cones are sensitive to color. The density of those cells determines the quality of the image a trout sees: the more the cells, the sharper the image. But the cells are not tightly packed in the trout’s eye; the image the fish sees is poor in comparison to vision of a human eye. Your eye has about 14 times better image quality than a trout’s, and I suspect that if a fish’s eyesight were as good as ours, a whole lot of fly tiers would be very frustrated.

To make up for their mediocre eyesight, trout and salmon are “tetrachromats,” which means they see four primary colors; we see only three. A fish’s eye contains ultraviolet-sensitive cone cells that increase the contrast and definition of prey.

Tying the Hoodlum

It was believed that only alevin and smolts were tetrachromats, and they used UV vision for locating zooplankton. Later, as the fish became larger, the UV-sensitive cells were replaced with normal blue-sensitive cells. According to recent research, those UV-sensitive cells are activated when foraging, and throwing a little UV material into the mix, such as Spirit River’s UV2 bucktail, has yielded very positive results in my saltwater patterns. But I have found that you don’t want to use too much UV-treated material.

There is a story of a well-known Scandinavian fly tier doing an experiment with UV materials. He and three friends fished an entire day for sea trout. They all used two-fly rigs: one fly as a dropper and the other on the point. Both flies were the same pattern, color, and size; the only difference was that one was tied with normal materials and the other with UV ingredients. Every time one of them caught a fish, they switched the position of the flies on the leader. By the end of the day, they had caught a total of 28 fish, 24 of which took the UV-enhanced pattern!

You can tie Hoodlums in countless color combinations. Although in my experience blue and white, orange and white, and olive, are the most effective when fishing, let your imagination go wild and create your own favorite colors.

Barry Clarke is a brilliant fly designer and photographer. A regular contributor to this magazine, he comes to us from far-off Norway.

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Flip’s Glades Deceiver pattern is a purposely thought-out variation of Lefty’s original Deceiver pattern. Upon first glance, the differences might not jump out to a novice angler; however, once you fish it, the alterations become quite apparent. Flip’s pattern was first introduced to me by my friend and mentor, Capt. Steve Bailey. Flip and Steve fished together quite frequently, and back when Steve was a commercial tyer, he reproduced many of Flip’s patterns for him. 

“Lefty Kreh introduced me to Steve Bailey and his family,” Flip said. “I was searching for an excellent tyer for fly samples that I was sending offshore for manufacture.” 

A tyer being recommended by Lefty is high praise indeed . . . and Steve did not disappoint! Since that introduction, Steve and I have shared skiffs, canoes, fly patterns, and secret Rocky Mountain trout streams. In the bargain, he has been kind enough to let me get to know his family as well! 

No one, having seen Steve’s flies, would fail to recognize his talent in general . . . but it is Steve’s incredible perception of proportion that separates him from other genius tyers. 

Without even trying, Steve can make anyone’s patterns (including my own) look good enough to eat!” ~ Flip

Capt. Bailey was kind enough to share this pattern with me and shed some light on why it is so effective. Steve explained that the original “Lefty’s Deceiver” pattern is most effective when the fish are floating higher in the water column and feeding closer to the surface. If the fish are deeper in the water column, Flip’s Glades Deceiver has proven to be more effective due to the calf tail collar. The hair found on calf tail is solid, which makes it sink, as opposed to the porous nature of deer hair which traps air and makes it more buoyant. The other difference that causes the Glades Deceiver to sink quicker and ride deeper in the water column is the sparseness in which is dressed. This is very important for casting to cruising fish in deeper water. Lefty’s Deceiver, which utilizes a thick deer hair collar and peacock hurl over-wing, is much more robust and descends through the water column at a much slower pace. 

Much like squirrel and bear hair, calf tail is a solid hair that is very slick. It tends to slip out or pull free if it is not tied in securely or glued into place. This quality makes it a little more difficult to work with than softer hairs; however, it’s much more durable, and therefore your flies will withstand the abuse of several fish. 

The key to this fly is finding the right feathers. Most of the feathers available in fly shops today are intended to be used for tying trout flies. The birds have been specifically bred to have feathers with thinner richuses, or quills so that they are less brittle and easier to palmer. The best feathers for tying larger saltwater flies are completely opposite of this. The “old barn birds” plumage had very thick and rigid richuses, and they were almost triangular. This made it much easier to stack them up and keep them from rolling on the hook. 

About Flip Pallot 
He’s been there. Done that. And not only gotten all of the t-shirts, he’s been on a bunch of them, too. That’s what happens when you’re a fishing legend, and there’s no other way to describe Flip Pallot.

Flip was born and raised in the middle of a triangle, smack dab between Biscayne Bay, the Florida Everglades, and the Florida Keys. His folks were born there as well and were early pioneers of Dade County.

It was a wonderful place for a young man to grow up (to whatever extent Flip has grown up). It was the perfect crucible in which to form a total outdoorsman … and form that man, it did! Flip’s life indeed took shape in the swirling tides of those mysterious estuaries as he studied the patterns of migratory waterfowl, deer, hogs, turkeys, and all manner of fish (this was all accomplished while he might have been studying his lessons in school).

In the middle 1950s, his constant companions were John Emery (who he’d been in first grade with), Norman Duncan (the Duncan Loop), and Chico Fernandez (everyone knows Chico). These four inseparable could be found along the shores of the Bay and down throughout the Keys or stalking the banks of the Tamiami Trail Canal most days after work. All four finished school during the evenings at the University of Miami (a whole other story!!!!). 

From 1963-1967, Flip was in the jungles of Panama as a linguist with the U.S. Army. Fishing there and throughout Central America was wonderful, offering a preview of a fishing life in exotic destinations to come.

After returning from service, Flips’s career as a banker began … and lasted, “Way too long,” according to him. As he says it best, “Every day I’d put on a coat and tie, go to the bank and lend folks money to go chase their dream, and at the end of the day, I was still there, in my coat and tie, with my dream unfulfilled.”

He finally got the courage to leave the bank … which led to his second career as a fishing and hunting guide; a career that lasted 12 wonderful years and morphed into his third career … television!

Perhaps “morphed” is not the right word. His career as a guide was actually ended by Hurricane Andrew. Flip and his wife Diane (he calls her D.B.) lived in Homestead, Florida, when Andrew whirled in one evening, destroying their home and scattering their property. Pretty much everything was lost. Friends like John “Dozer” Donnell, “Lefty” Kreh, Ted Jurascik, Joe Lunsford, Randy Miller, Glenn Lau, Mike Ehlers, and Ron Hinman showed up immediately and pulled Flip and Diane’s spirits out of the wreckage. But with his skiff, airboat, truck, and tackle all gone, Flip was out of the guide business.

Diane and Flip left South Florida and relocated in Mims … in Central Florida … between the St. John’s River and the Mosquito Lagoon. Yet more fertile ground for the total outdoorsman! The production of outdoor television became his third career.

Episodes of the ABC American Sportsman and the Outdoor Life series are where it all began (with the help of Stu Apte and Glenn Lau). His first series, on his own, was the Saltwater Angler, which aired for two years on TBS. Following that, the Walkers Cay Chronicles was born and aired original programming for 16 seasons on ESPN. Along the way, a couple of seasons with Mr. Glenn Lau filming Quest for Adventure, which aired on OLN. Finally, 2007-2008, found him hosting Fishing the Keys on the VERSUS network. He is currently working on several projects, including bringing the Walkers Cay Chronicles back as an online “e-zine.” 

Flip has written a book called Mangroves, Memories, and Magic and has just completed a two-DVD set entitled All the Best: A Conversation with Flip and Lefty Kreh. A few years back, his latest book, A Biography of Lefty Kreh, hit the stands.

Flip still lives in Mims with his best fishing buddy D.B. His daughter, Brooke, and granddaughter, Sora, are keeping an eye on his native Dade County.

Rest assured, that along every step of the way, Flip’s good humor, great insight, and unparalleled passion for fishing and the outdoors have defined his success. 

Materials
Hook: Mustad 34007 Size 1/0 or similar saltwater hook 
Thread:Red Danville 6/0 or 210 Flat Waxed Nylon
Flash: PearlFlashabou
Tail:Grizzly Saddle Hackle – American Rooster Cape
Body:Silver Diamond Braid
Collar:White Calf Tail
Throat:Red Calf Tail
Weed Guard:Coffee Colored #4 Stainless Steel Wire
Adhesive:Solarez Thin Hard Formula
Misc.: WhiteMicro Chenille

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This video explains how to use rhea when tying streamers used for a variety of species in either fresh or saltwater.

***This video is not intended to show how to tie one specific pattern, rather it is to demonstrate several different applications and how/why they’re done.

We recommend using rhea in flies of all sizes, and encourage anglers to use them in patterns that use heron, marabou, faux hair, ostrich, and anything else that is used for length/movement. While rhea is famed for its length, remember that small, short and sparse flies can sometimes be even more appealing to fish, and so we encourage anglers to try using rhea in smaller, more traditional patterns as well.

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