body of the fish were mesmerizing and only furthered the intrigue surrounding this species.
Doubling up is a common occurence when false albacore have bait balled up in a blitz or are schooled up behind a shrimp boat.
As fall moves in and the water begins to cool off the beaches of North Carolina, these speed demons leave the safety of the shallows to feed on schools of bait. This mixture of bait, sharks, big red drum, and albacore creates a unique display of the food chain in action. The opportunities to put a big bend in a rod and tighten down the drag are constant as schools of aggressive albies are ready to destroy flies. These schools can pop up anywhere, so keeping an eye out for birds, sharks, or any sort of splashing will have your eyes longingly playing tricks on you. Once they are spotted, it is a full on sprint out to their feeding ground. It then quickly becomes a game of whack a mole as the splashing appears, disappears, and reappears on the opposite side of the boat. The ability to make quick, accurate casts is a necessity for these speedy fellas. The chaos on the boat is exciting: anglers run back and forth shouting and false casting, always anticipating the next bust from the schools. If the schools are too inconsistent to target during the early part of the season, trailing behind a trawler provides an extraordinary hot spot for catching these fish. When these