If you have never felt a false albacore dump a hundred yards of line in one run, put it on your list. Every fall, albies and their better-eating cousins the bonito pour into the waters around Cape Cod and the Islands to chase bait, and for a few electric weeks they are the most exciting fish inshore.
Where the fish are
Look for the funny fish around harbor mouths, inlets, points and rips where current concentrates bait, the Hedge Fence and Middle Ground shoals, the Vineyard shore, and the open water off the south side of the Cape and the Islands. They are fast and mobile, so you hunt the feeds.
When it is best
The run builds in August (bonito usually first), peaks from early September into early October, and can hang on later in warm years. This is the marquee window of the season, and it books up first. See the seasonal calendar.
How to catch them
Albies and bonito key on tiny bay anchovies and silversides, and they are famously selective. The formula: small profiles, long casts, a fast retrieve and light fluorocarbon. Throw light spinning gear with small epoxy jigs and metals, or a fast-stripped fly on a 9- or 10-weight.
Tip Never run the boat through a feeding school, it puts them down for everyone. Ease up-wind of the feed, cut the engine, and cast to the edges and ahead of the fish.
Fish the fall run with a guide
The fall run rewards being in the right place at the right time, exactly what a guide is for. Book a Cape Cod fall-run charter, see the trips and pricing, and reserve early, these are the most-requested dates of the year.