Smaller blues have smaller mouths, so with fish weighing less than approximately 3 pounds, the long shank of your hook often suffices as protection from their razor-sharp teeth when employing natural bait. Whether you’re fishing a minnow under a bobber for snappers or drifting a fat chunk of mackerel offshore, long shank hooks are beneficial. There are, however, more pieces of kit that apply across the entire size range of these extremely toothy fish. They’re tenacious and don’t give up, so even if you’re targeting small ones, make sure your reel has a reliable drag. Regardless of size, bluefish fight very hard. However, they do still exist, and while it’s possible to hook one in the surf or bay, the odds are significantly better offshore. Sadly, true gators are getting harder to come by throughout much of the bluefish’s range because of altered migration patterns, environmental shifts, and overfishing. Regardless of where you find them, a stout rod and reel with a solid drag are required. During the summer months, fish in this size class gravitate to reefs and wrecks offshore. The most likely time to encounter slammer blues with your feet on dry land is during the spring and fall migrations in the Northeast, and during the winter months in the Mid-Atlantic and South. The cooler months of spring and fall will bring these fish into sheltered waters to spawn and feed, though they spend most of their time a few miles offshore. Chopper Blues: 6 to 10 poundsĬhopper bluefish require a stepping up of tackle to medium-heavy gear, as they are significantly stronger than their younger relatives. Like snappers, Taylors spend a lot of time in back bays during the summer months, as well as along oceanfront beaches, inlets, and jetties. Taylor bluefish generally measure between 13 and 20 inches making them great light-tackle sportfish. You can find them feeding in bays around docks, bulkheads, piers, and sod banks until the fall cool-down sends them out the closest inlet to the open ocean. Throughout much of their range, fish from the spring spawn reach a “catchable” size by mid- to late-summer. Juvenile bluefish are great targets for kids and adults alike when chased with light stream-trout-caliber tackle. In every stage of development, bluefish are prime targets. The Mid-Atlantic and Florida, conversely, see a spike in large bluefish during the winter months. Bluefish also migrate seasonally, with many areas of the northern Atlantic Coast experiencing a spring and fall run, though bluefish can be found throughout the summer in these areas as well. Bluefish spawn in bays and estuaries, and they’ll often stick around or hang out just off the oceanfront beaches if the food supply is good. However, unlike pelagic species such as tuna and marlin, bluefish spend a lot of their time close to shore, which allows them to be classified as inshore fish as well. Joe Cermeleīluefish are considered pelagic fish, meaning they thrive in the open ocean far from land. How to Find Bluefish Bluefish are aggressive feeders and worth gamefish. Along the way, we’ll bust and confirm a few myths, and even help you get over the widespread notion that bluefish aren’t fit for dinner. So, let’s breakdown everything you need to know about how to catch bluefish. You can catch them as successfully from a back-bay dock as you can 40 miles offshore. Bluefish are unique in that they’re available to everyone regardless of budget. That’s a shame, because the real benefit of chasing blues is that they don’t require nearly the skill and arsenal of lures you often need to fool the A-listers. However, even here they’re overshadowed by more glamorous targets like striped bass, redfish, and snook. But commercial value aside, nobody puts more emphasis on targeting bluefish recreationally than American anglers, particularly those living on the Atlantic Coast from Maine to Florida. In fact, they’re more coveted on the table in regions like the the Mediterranean and South Africa where consumers gravitate toward “fishy” fish. In Australia and New Zealand, they’re called “tailors.” In Africa they’re known as “shad” or “elves.” In every corner of the globe where bluefish roam, you’ll find them in fish markets. They are the only member of the Pomatomidae family, so they have no relatives. They exist in every temperate and tropical ocean, bay, and estuary on the planet, yet they create little fanfare outside of the United States. Misfits, if you will, in the pantheon of saltwater fish. We may earn revenue from the products available on this page and participate in affiliate programs.
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