Albies 2025

[Woolly Bugger]

Me: When Should I come down?

Jason: Get in your car NOW!

Me: Can't, I'm 40 minutes from home, and I'm 2 glasses of wine in. (I'd have drive home, pack, and then drive 4 1/2 hours more, arriving after 1 AM. I couldn't face the windshield time)


Next day, Jason: Landed 4, 2 broken off. 2 came unbuttoned. One broken T&T

Me: 


We set up plans for Monday and Possibley tuesday, but that is getting close to turkey day, and I have some stuff to get done. So I drove on down Sunday afternoon and arrived after eating dinner on the road. We all chatted for a while, making plans for an early start the next day.

Jason twisted up some clousers;

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Up at 5:30, downing coffee and a breakfast burrito. Arriving at the ramp at sunup with calm seas we set off to the bight.


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The bight was dead other than an early flurry of activty with no fish caught. Around the corner it was a littly sporty in the SeaPro, but we followed the bigger boats out and ran into some bait balls with pods of redfish, not having and spinning gear we were limited in our opitions and didn't catch any despte them being near the surface and close to the boat.

Trolling through the bait, Jason hooked and albie, the only one to come to the boat.

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A few albies were spotted but they didn't stay up, so we headed back to the shelter of the shackelford banks, and drank a rally beer.

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They we saw Gumby and Brian make way back out at flat out speed.

Jason: I don't want to go back out.

Me: Yes, you do.

So we went and rand to the fish when pods busted but there were 6 or 8 boats all zooming in for a chance. It was a toatl cluster fuck, and we eventually bailed.

Brian and other with gear, got into some big reds, but they were out of our reach.

Back in the bight we stopped and said hello to Sarah on her last scheduled trip of the season. She had stayed in the sheltered waters with her clients and we headed for the barn.

Back at the house I had a decision to make and play the odds. South winds meaning we might not be able to get out of the bight and it would be rough if we did. But the bight could be hot with fish, or not.

It was approaching 4 and if I left I could be home before 9. I bailed.


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Today, as I write this, Jason is sending photos of fish, videos of busting albies, and comments, like, "it's over, I lost count"



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[troutboy_II]

"Some times it just be's that way"

I forget what Chapel City College b ball player that quote is from, but it always stuck with me for some reason. Very zen...   

TB