The false albacore run-and-gun fishery is a niche in the wider fishing world.
While Euthynnus alletteratus has a nearly global range, the annual pandemic known as “albie fever” is concentrated on the coastal waters from North Carolina to Cape Cod. It seems that the anglers of the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic—either by their superior intellect or lack of angling options—have figured out what the rest of the fishing world has not: albies make great game fish.
Therefore, our run-and-gun fishery for these small pelagics represents an especially small place in the wider angling world. So, when the Japanese lure company Maria ceased production of a regional favorite, a small casting jig that featured a foiled lead insert coated in resin, the collective groan of the albie fishing community went largely unnoticed.
That’s long been an issue for Northeast fisheries. It doesn’t make sense for national and international tackle companies to produce lures for niche fisheries that have little use elsewhere. While tackle shops on Long Island might be selling out of a lure soon after getting a shipment in, if that same lure isn’t selling in Florida, California, or Texas, it may end up on the chopping block.
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Homegrown Epoxies
Thank goodness for local tackle companies. After the Maria jig ceased production around 2008, fishermen reverted back to full metal lures for a couple of seasons. Albies continued to be caught, but the heavier metals had to be worked faster to stay in the strike zone and looked less realistic than the Marias. Seeing the void, there was an arms race among Northeast-based tackle companies (that were less beholden to sales figures in Florida) to create the next, better Maria. With that, the epoxy jig lure category was born.
My opinion is that the effectiveness of these lures led to a boom in albie popularity. These fish, known for being cagey and difficult to hook, were being caught by experts and beginners alike, and many fishermen, upon feeling the burn of that first drag-searing albie run, declared “albie season” their favorite time of the year.
Epoxy Jig Rundown
Today’s albie anglers are presented with an embarrassment of riches when it comes to effective epoxy-style jigs. While Hogy was the first to market its Epoxy jig, JoeBaggs followed with the Resin jig, then Game On with the EXO jig, and Fish Snax Lures with the Hard Snax. Fishermen all have their favorites, convinced that one style works better than the others, but aside from some differences in swimming action and durability, all follow the same formula: a lead or tin core with a flashy mylar or foil finish sealed under a clear, hard resin coating. However, shore fishermen may find better success with the JoeBaggs Resin jigs and the Game On EXO jigs, as these are more durable and less prone to cracking if they inadvertently contact rocks during the retrieve.
That clear outer coating is the key to the epoxy jig’s effectiveness. Look at the albie’s favorite foods—silversides and bay anchovies. These small baitfish are translucent through their bodies and the clear shell of an epoxy-style jig captures that look while adding action and cutting weight to the lure, allowing fishermen to keep it near the surface, and in front of feeding fish, longer.
Epoxy jigs are available in a wide range of sizes, including some designed for tuna, but for false albacore, ½- to 1-ounce jigs are the most effective. Shore-based fishermen, seeking distance, use lures at the upper end of this range, while boat fishermen may often scale down to smaller sizes to match small baitfish.
An entire spectrum of epoxy jig colors is available to albie anglers, with manufacturers creating new “must-have” colors every season; however, a supply of silver, bone, amber, electric chicken (pink over chartreuse), and pink will cover nearly all albie encounters.
Rigging Up with Epoxy Jigs
The ideal epoxy jig setup begins with a 7’ to 7’6” spinning rod matched with a 3000- or 4000-size reel spooled with 15- or 20-pound-test braided line. The thinner line aids in casting distance and improves an angler’s odds of reaching a distant feed. Fluorocarbon leader material of 15- or 20-pound-test is the standard, though anglers have been known to drop to 12-pound-test when the fish are especially finicky. Many fishermen use clips to facilitate quick lure changes and catch plenty of albies, but most epoxy jig manufacturers recommend skipping the unnecessary hardware and attaching the jigs with a nonslip mono loop, which is plenty strong to handle albies and allows full range of movement.
The Retrieve
Getting the jig in front of a fast-moving albie is the tricky part. Once you’ve made a good cast, leading the fish (or right through the blitz), the presentation is simple. Most fishermen employ a straight retrieve, with the rod kept still and the tip held low to the water. This keeps the jigs kicking just under the surface without skipping or flying out of the water. An epoxy jig has plenty of inherent action, especially when attached with the aforementioned loop knot, and no rod movement is required to attract an albie’s interest.
Vary retrieve speeds based on the mood of the fish. In general, the best retrieve is fast, but not as fast as you’d think based on the violence of the typical albie blitz.
Epoxies Beyond Albies
Because they are such a close match to small baitfish, epoxy jigs work on a wide range of species, including but not limited to, striped bass, bluefish, bonito, Spanish mackerel, black sea bass, and weakfish. While designed for casting and retrieving, they can be vertically jigged with great results.
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