We had a tremendous fishing in May since returning from the EWF Fly Fishing Show, the biggest fly fishing show in Central Europe. Giant jack crevalle on poppers near the beaches, tarpon and snook in the river on sight, what else can you wish for?
What about false albacore, also known as little tunny? June is bringing more and bigger schools of them, which will increase the fishing until fall. False albacore, in my opinion, are the most underrated fish next to the jack crevalle in Florida. They are so much fun on the fly rod and they always give a nice backing run.
I like to fish for them with my eight-weight or ten-weight rods and floating lines. I usually use a straight 6-to7-foot, mono in 30-pound, Ande pink or clear, and put on a 2-or-3-foot Seaguar Fluorocarbon in 25-pound as the tippet.
Little slim white flies in size 2–1/0 depending on the situation are the money. You can cast into the school and strip as fast as you can and it certainly helps if you put your rod under your arm so that you can strip the line with two hands. The other method is the opposite. Cast into the school, make sure that the line and leader is straight so that you are connected to the fly. When you feel the hit, pull or tug, just strip strike and enjoy the explosive run, which can end deep in your backing!
When I tell my friends up north about the size of our Florida false albacore, you can tell they are super jealous! A good fish up north is probably half of our big butter balls in the 10-to-20-pound range.
Enjoy the fishing, fight for our environment and share our passion. Peace!
The Fly Fishing Column is written by Capt. Michael Mauri, www.mauriflyfishing.com, michael@mauriflyfishing.com, (772) 485-3321.
