It must be hard being a sandeel in August. Not to say that everyday in the life of a sandeel isn’t a constant battle to survive, but the August heat invites ferocious pelagic predators into our northern coastal waters who tear through schools of sand eels like a hot knife through butter.
Sandeels emerge from their homes under the seabed and form dense schools over a thousand strong as they forage on zooplankton throughout the summer. The ones that make it to August have spent all summer out-maneuvering striped bass, bluefish, black sea bass, fluke, and almost every other coastal game fish. Yet when the water temperature approaches the seventies, little tunnies and bonito pods come blitzing in from bluewater like packs of little torpedoes.
Upon arrival they spend their days patrolling the inlets, bays, and sounds in search of schooling sandeels-- fueled by their relentless appetites. They corral their prey, pushing them towards the surface to keep them from escaping into the sand. The bait ball grows tighter and albies and bonito breach the surface as they tear through the school. The commotion draws the attention of seabirds who quickly join in on the action, terns diving head first from the air and cormorants slipping in from the water’s surface. There have been plenty of times when the school will be diminished to nothing but silvery scales suspended in the water like dust particles caught in a ray of sunlight. Thankfully enough survive the onslaught in August and September to provide an ample food source for the striped bass fall run, and to reproduce throughout the winter-- allowing the whole process to begin again the following season.
Sandeels are not the only baitfish that bonito and false albacore feed on but they are certainly the most abundant in the areas that I’ve targeted them. In most places along the northeast coast, anglers have the opportunity to catch them from the shore, boat, or kayak from August until the end of September. My favorite way to target these little tuna species is sight fishing with light tackle spinning gear, twenty to twenty-five pound braid, a thirty pound mono leader, and a one ounce or less epoxy jig. Typically I will roam the coast in my center console in search of flocks of feeding terns or breaching fish. Once you’ve found an area where bonito or albies are feeding position your boat up-current or up-wind of the location and shift into neutral, allowing your boat to drift towards the pods of fish. Taking this passive drifting approach, compared to chasing down the blitzing bonito and albies, will minimize the chances of spooking the fish before you get an opportunity to present your lure. You should also avoid the clusters of other boats targeting bonito and albies, and it will be well worth the extra effort of finding a pod of your own. Most of them attack simultaneously and in the same direction like a fighter jet formation, so you will need to place an accurate cast only a foot or so in front of them. Keep your rod tip low and maintain a steady and speedy retrieve, if you aren’t receiving any bites I would suggest retrieving even faster before switching baits. Once on your line, the fight is impressive considering they typically weigh around three to six pounds-- the bigger ones more than capable of making the drag on my 5000 saragosas scream. Once you bring them on board, be prepared for blood to splatter-- even when they are only hooked in the lip they will often bleed like a cut hog.
Both bonito and false albacore have no size limits, yet only bonito are truly fit for table fare and the only thing I’ve found albies to be useful for is shark bait. Not to say that albies don’t put up a phenomenal fight and make for fantastic photos, but bonito are certainly my favorite of the two. Although you can’t eat them raw like most other species of tuna, their dense white meat shares a resemblance to the coloration of swordfish. Bonito have taken my number one spot for best tasting coastal fish that I’ve caught off of Cape Cod and preparing them is as basic as it gets. Bleed them once caught to minimize the blood line that will have to be removed from the fillet later. Also located in the blood-line in the center of every fillet is the pin bones, which will be discarded with the blood-line once removed. From each bonito you will end up with four, long fillets that are ready to be dressed in your favorite seasoning and their collars are a useful ingredient in a variety of stews. These fantastic fish are only around for almost two months out of the year, so next summer make sure you get in on the action while you can.
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