Nov 4 Great Albacore Fishing

Today was a good one for me. I went by myself and Albacore Fishing was great. My Fisherman today (ME) had no problem fishing for what was the obvious #1 target. Here's how it went. My first cast after leaving the boat ramp got slammed by an Albacore east of Bft Inlet in Back Sound. Then I ran to the west and caught 6 Albacore between the Sheraton and Salter Path. All these fish came off small, fast moving pods that were smashing schools of bait in 20 feet of water. I also caught an oddball 15" Sea Mullet on a gulp right up against a Stop Net. Then I ran back up to Cape Lookout and found the best fishing of the morning. The Albacore inside the Bight were tearing it up and staying in one place for 30+ seconds. This makes for great fishing. In about 75 minutes, I caught 10 Albacore on 10# spin and 8# spin. I also caught 3 Albacore on a 9wt flyrod including a 34" NC Citation Albacore that bottomed out my 15# Bogagrip. My next cast hooked a bigger Albacore, but my fly line got tangled in my motor and I was unable to clear my line. I held on to the fly line for 45 seconds as the Giant Albacore bulldozed in circles under my stern. Finally, he popped the leader. Damn! After that I moved out front and caught 3 more Albacore on my trout rod with 6# test. Very testy battles and great fun. These Albacores weighed from 8 pounds to an estimated 18 pounds. Total Catch for the Day: 23 Albacore and 1 Gulf Sea Mullet