Article by Capt. Lance Smith
Lately, the pages of the Coastal Fisherman have been inundated with pictures of chopper bluefish. I can’t remember the last time I left the dock to specifically target bluefish, but I can remember all of the times which they saved the day and provided some much needed action, some dinner and some bait.
You will often hear anglers targeting flounder or stripers curse the lowly bluefish as they chomp through expensive baits and leaders. Sometimes though, when the birds are diving in the bay or the surf is boiling with bunker, or all 10 trolling rods go off simultaneously, bluefish can absolutely make your day on the water one to remember.
Mother’s Day has typically marked the arrival of bluefish in our local waters. The run this year, especially in Delaware, is reminiscent of decades ago; both in numbers of fish and size. Not many fish in our local waters can put your boat, surf, or shore fishing skills to the test like the bluefish can.
Bluefish are such voracious predators that they have actually been observed to regurgitate their stomach contents so that they can keep feeding. Think about that for a minute...they simply kill for the sake of killing! Any shark fisherman worth their salt can tell you about the times when they have caught a 12 pound bluefish on a 12 pound bluefish fillet!
Perhaps the greatest aspect of bluefish is that they can be caught from the shore, from boats in the bay, from the surf and while trolling up to 30 miles offshore. They provide incredible sport for those who are prepared, and incredible bait for those who know how to prepare them. Contrary to popular belief, they are also absolutely delicious if they are prepared and cooked properly.
Often times, while traversing the Route 50 Bridge, a savvy eye will pick up on the diving bird activity that usually marks a feeding school of bluefish. As these predators push menhaden, shiners or bay anchovies to the surface, the local terns and gulls take advantage of the frothing frenzy. I always keep a few spinning rods with 12 pound test or so at the ready just for these occasions. When bluefish are in such a feeding mode, they will eat just about anything that you can cast to them.
When it comes to tackle for bluefish in the bay, nothing beats a far casting spinning rod with a 1 or 2 ounce bucktail on the end of the line. Bluefish are also suckers for anything shiny, and any spoon that you may have laying around in your tackle box can be an absolute bluefish killer.
When approaching a school of bluefish under diving birds, whether it is near the bridge, on the Thorofare flats or out around the Inlet jetties, it is very important to not drive directly over the action. Not only will you push the fish down, you will most likely upset the other boat anglers who have been patiently approaching from a distance and casting into the foray.
Bluefish can pop up just about anywhere in the bay or Inlet on just about any tide. When you see birds diving, often accompanied by fish splashing, it is time to launch some lures into the mêlée. If you don’t remember at first, you will soon be tying some sort of steel leader ahead of your lure. Bluefish are armed with a very impressive set of teeth and can make quick work of monofilament leaders and expensive tackle. From the Route 50 Bridge, Oceanic Pier, the bulkhead from 2nd through 4th street and the 9th Street Pier, bluefish can be caught during both the day and night and provide anglers with action when often nothing else is biting. Gotcha Plugs, swim shads, Hopkins spoons, bucktails and spec rigs are some of the most productive bluefish lures.
When casting to a school of feeding bluefish, you cannot retrieve your lure too quickly. In fact, if you slow down or stop your retrieve after a missed bite, bluefish will lose interest and discontinue the chase. Even when there is no bird activity, blues can be caught by blind casting around the supports of the Route 50 Bridge and at both the North and South Jetty. Try varying the depth of your retrieve as bluefish can be found throughout the water column during various stages of the tide.
In the surf, bluefish are most often caught on cut bait intended for other species such as striped bass. Bluefish are not shy of steel leaders and most tackle shops sell surf rigs with brightly colored floats above the hooks. Not only do these floats serve to attract bluefish, they also keep your bait above the sand and out of the reach of pesky crabs. Chunks of fresh bunker or spot, when they become available, are superb baits. Mullet can also be a terrific bait if they can be found.
Bluefish are notorious for slicing off a baitfish right behind the head and leaving you with nothing to wind in but a fish skull. Mullet rigs, which consist of a double hook on a short piece of steel leader, are meant to be threaded through a bait while leaving the hooks exposed toward the tail where bluefish most often strike.
While bird activity may not be obvious in the surf this time of year, there are stretches of beach that produce more than others. Look for areas where sandbars meet deeper troughs close to the beach and concentrate near the drop offs.
If you have a boat capable of venturing a few miles offshore, trolling for bluefish around areas such as the Bass Grounds, and various artificial reef sites, can provide terrific action with bluefish from 2 to 15 pounds. If you troll for stripers in the Chesapeake Bay or off the beach during the winter, you already have the perfect gear for blues. Smaller tuna trolling rods will also work. Popular lures for trolling include various diving plugs such as the Rapala CD series, drone spoons, Stretch 25’s and just about any small lure you may troll for tuna. Keep your trolling speed at around 6 knots or less and remember to use wire leader ahead of your lures. Try to use lures that you are not afraid of never using again. After a couple of savage bluefish strikes, a perfectly rigged green machine will look like you ran it through a blender!
Many of the areas offshore charter boats offer trolling trips for bluefish this time of year.
Perhaps the most popular offshore trolling location for big bluefish is the Jackspot. This lump, or rise in the seafloor, some 20 miles off the beach attracts hordes of hungry blues. This is a great trip to take children on to introduce them to the world of offshore sportfishing. The run to the fishing grounds is only a third of that for the typical summer tuna charter and action is almost guaranteed. These fish are also the perfect size for junior anglers who can usually handle them all by themselves on typical trolling gear.
Once offshore water temperatures begin hovering around the 64-degree mark, these bluefish become prey for the high flying and highly prized mako shark. Often times, boats venturing offshore for a day of sharking will make an early morning pit stop at the Jackspot to load up on fresh bluefish to use for bait.
Bay charter boats such as the Get Sum, Lucky Break, and Whatever Guide Services offer full and half-day charters for a multitude of species and will certainly take advantage of a hot bluefish bite. Blues are also commonly caught on baits intended for flounder by patrons aboard the many flounder boats that advertise here in the Coastal Fisherman. If you are on one of these boats and someone else catches a bluefish, try tossing a bucktail or spec rig out to get one for yourself. Fresh strips of bluefish, cut and rigged in the same fashion as squid, make excellent bait for big flounders.
When the flounder bite is slow, or the wind is blowing too hard to run to the wrecks, try some prospecting around the bay and Inlet for some bluefish action. If you are keeping bluefish for the table, it is wise to immediately cut the fish’s throat under the gill plates and place the fish headfirst into a five gallon bucket of saltwater. This will allow the fish to “bleed out” and will take away the fishy taste that some folks complain about. Also, remember to allow the fish to calm down before attempting to remove your hook and do not allow children to try unhooking them. There are more than a few old salts around these days with missing fingertips or deep scars from these toothy predators.
Lance Smith is an outdoor writer and Captain of his family’s boat, the “Longfin”.