Albie Day by Ed Valitutto

Posted on October 13, 2022 by VHFC

When Larry Leary asked me to join him on The Jen-Jen for a day of fishing along with his son Brian and grandson Tyler, I quickly said yes. What a great experience fishing with very knowledgeable anglers who really fish hard and long and try many different approaches to catch fish.

We headed north out of Barnegat Inlet and quickly spotted albies (False Albacore) crashing schools of rainfish. Getting close enough to throw a small glass minnow without spooking them is a bit tricky. Since the surface action and overhead diving birds are clearly visible to all, boats drive into the schools which quickly scatter. With enough persistence, Tyler landed two nice fish. These are strong fighters and really fun to catch and release!

We then traveled to “The Wheel” where schools of bunker were easy to snag and drop. We fished close to the beach and then drifted with the schools out to 40’. Unfortunately, the only bunker predators were many whales and schools of dolphin. Nonetheless, a magnificent sight to behold made even more memorable by the flat seas and beautiful weather!

We then traveled out to fish several wrecks near the range buoy. The action was fast and furious, but all were undersized tog and seabass. Our last stop was the Bone wreck where after several short tog, Larry landed a keeper. Not much to clean but still a wonderful day on the water! Many thanks to Larry, Brian and Tyler!

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Fishing Facts

Of the fifty United States, thirty-eight have a striped-bass record. New Jersey has the largest striped-bass record—a 78-pound 8·ounce whopper that was caught in 1982. The state with the smallest striped-bass record is Iowa. That landlocked striper weighed only 9 pounds 4 ounces and was caught in 1983.

There’s something fishy about beer these days. Fish Tail Ale is popular as ever, and New Jersey’s Flying Fish Brewery is one of the state’s largest specialty breweries. There’s also Washington’s Wild Salmon Organic Pale Ale, Florida’s Land Shark beer, Delaware’s Dogfish Head beer, and two versions of Stingray beer—a lighter version from the Cayman Islands and a dark beer from Canada.

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