why are bonito and false albacore lumped into one catagory

[bigbonita]

i've read many publications inwhich they lump bonito and false albacore into one catagory, expecially in terms of techniques. i'm not sure i understand why. to me they are 2 completely different animals with one being an easy catch (false abacore) and the being quite elusive (bonito). at least that's how it is with me. i even find their level of line shyness to be quite different. when i watch guys plugging with heavy gear for stipers in the canal, they pick up quite a few albies while they're running...even on poppers tied on 30-40lb gear. it happens often enough to disregard any notion of it being a fluke. furthermore, although they both hit similar type lures, i find that albies are prone to hitting lures/flies larger than what a bonito would (although they both become equally as stupid when thrown a live tinker mack or juvi herring). i guess bottom line is that i rarely have the same kind of trouble/frustration with albies than i do with bonito. btw, one of the things i liked about your book, tom, is that you seemed to make the distinction between the two. anyway. i'm not sure if this is a rant or a question that i've throw out there. in any regard, take care.
rich

[Slamdance]

I'm not sure your hypothesis is true. Bonito and False albacore are small tunas and their feeding behaviors can be very similar. I often catch bonito on large plugs and flies, often times with 30-40 pound shock tippets/leaders. I do believe Bonito have better eyesight than false albacore, but if you present a bait to them that's remotely close to what they are looking for, I think you'll have luck. One of the tricks is to find places where large concentrations on bonito are known to hang.

http://users.erols.com/saltfish/bomber.jpg

[Bob Parsons]

There are some thoughts that bonito tend to be a bit "leader shy" when we see them around our inland shore waters. Farther out they are frequently caught on the same gear as stripers ie tube and worm trolled on wire. I think I know the What Capt Moore is referring to when he speaks of areas of large concentrations. Such an area I have had my best luck with flies and good sized crystal minnows.

[mctrout]

I just think there is 10,000 times more Albies than Bonito, so the game is different in that respect. less competion for bait, and less frenzy. good thing Bonefish, Tarpon and Albies taste like crap, cause in 10 years that is all that might be around to fish for!!!

[Tom G.]

i've read many publications inwhich they lump bonito and false albacore into one catagory, expecially in terms of techniques. i'm not sure i understand why. to me they are 2 completely different animals with one being an easy catch (false abacore) and the being quite elusive (bonito). at least that's how it is with me. i even find their level of line shyness to be quite different. when i watch guys plugging with heavy gear for stipers in the canal, they pick up quite a few albies while they're running...even on poppers tied on 30-40lb gear. it happens often enough to disregard any notion of it being a fluke. furthermore, although they both hit similar type lures, i find that albies are prone to hitting lures/flies larger than what a bonito would (although they both become equally as stupid when thrown a live tinker mack or juvi herring). i guess bottom line is that i rarely have the same kind of trouble/frustration with albies than i do with bonito. btw, one of the things i liked about your book, tom, is that you seemed to make the distinction between the two. anyway. i'm not sure if this is a rant or a question that i've throw out there. in any regard, take care.
rich

Rich, you raise a number of good points. In doing the research for "False Albacore," I was looking for the "right" answer to many questions. I have concluded that their are no totally "right" or totally "wrong" answers when fishing for false albacore and bonito, only trends.

As Captain Steve Moore points out you can catch bonito on large plugs and 40-pound mono.

Generally, when I compare bonito to false albacore I find the following:

Bonito tend to be more leadershy and more selective.

They have smaller mouths and tend to feed on smaller baits.

Their mouths are tougher, making them harder too hook, sharpe hooks are a necessity.

They grab bait with their teeth, they tend to short-strike or nip at the back of the fly. Flies should have very short tails, I have found that long-shanked hooks will outperform standard hooks. False albacore have little in the way of teeth so they take their bait whole, making them easier to hook. (See photo on page 54.)

Bonito fight more erracticly than false albacore. They change direction and come back toward the angler more frequently often causing your line to go slack. My hook to landing percentage for bonito is much lower than on false albacore. Check the story on page 103 about the angler who landed his first bonito. He had fished over breaking fish for more than two hours with no results. Then, on one cast, he hooked three bonito, losing the first two before he landed the third fish of the cast. Do you agree with my conclusion?

Thanks for your question.

Tom

[bigbonita]

Bonito fight more erracticly than false albacore. They change direction and come back toward the angler more frequently often causing your line to go slack. My hook to landing percentage for bonito is much lower than on false albacore. Check the story on page 103 about the angler who landed his first bonito. He had fished over breaking fish for more than two hours with no results. Then, on one cast, he hooked three bonito, losing the first two before he landed the third fish of the cast. Do you agree with my conclusion?

Tom

not only do i agree with that. i've lived it. that guy more than likely had one fish on the entire time. my story is a little different but up the same alley. the very first bonito i caught was from the oaks bluff jetty (the one on the same side as the beach that leads over to the ferry dock). fish were breaking over near the end of the opposite jetti. but they were small splashes and i wasn't sure if they were bones or not. i cast into them and hooked something right away. however, i thought i had a little snapper on as i could feel 'something' but with no weight as i reeled the fish in. as i reeled this fish in, he started to angle just a bit from his original course (which was straight at me) and he started to feel a little more 'weighty', but still not too unlike a larger, nearly foot long snapper. i got him close to the point where i could see him. well actually, we saw each other at the same time. as soon as i registered that i had my long awaited for bonito on my line, he dumped something like 50-60 yards off my spool. my knees were buckled from both the shock of the run and the realization of what i had on. i landed that fish and as it turned out, it was the smallest bonito i've ever caught (not counting the 7" snapper sized one i caught in the charlestown breachway in rhode island). the fish probably weighed 4 or 5 pounds. however, i had never landed a fish with that speed and strength before and i was hooked. when i read the story on pg 103, the story i just told was the first thing to come to mind when related your stories to my own experiences.
rich n

[Tom G.]

not only do i agree with that. i've lived it. that guy more than likely had one fish on the entire time. my story is a little different but up the same alley. the very first bonito i caught was from the oaks bluff jetty (the one on the same side as the beach that leads over to the ferry dock). fish were breaking over near the end of the opposite jetti. but they were small splashes and i wasn't sure if they were bones or not. i cast into them and hooked something right away. however, i thought i had a little snapper on as i could feel 'something' but with no weight as i reeled the fish in. as i reeled this fish in, he started to angle just a bit from his original course (which was straight at me) and he started to feel a little more 'weighty', but still not too unlike a larger, nearly foot long snapper. i got him close to the point where i could see him. well actually, we saw each other at the same time. as soon as i registered that i had my long awaited for bonito on my line, he dumped something like 50-60 yards off my spool. my knees were buckled from both the shock of the run and the realization of what i had on. i landed that fish and as it turned out, it was the smallest bonito i've ever caught (not counting the 7" snapper sized one i caught in the charlestown breachway in rhode island). the fish probably weighed 4 or 5 pounds. however, i had never landed a fish with that speed and strength before and i was hooked. when i read the story on pg 103, the story i just told was the first thing to come to mind when related your stories to my own experiences.
rich n

Rich, thanks for the confirmation and good story. Any bonito from shore is a great fish!

Tom

[bigbonita]

Rich, thanks for the confirmation and good story. Any bonito from shore is a great fish!

Tom

i should be thanking you. btw, that story was from 1991. although i've had a number of them turn and swim at me at points during the fight (as we all know they can do), that is still the only bonito that swam at me from the moment i hooked him until he was nearly at my feet. kind of a weird intro into that kind of fishing.
rich