Big Bluefish?

[StriperGirl]

Anyone have any idea why the bigger bluefish aren't in their normal areas this time of year? Smaller blues can be fun, but not nearly as much fun as the big ones IMO

[jmurr711]

Originally Posted by StriperGirl

Anyone have any idea why the bigger bluefish aren't in their normal areas this time of year? Smaller blues can be fun, but not nearly as much fun as the big ones IMO

no idea

[Ol Pedro]

We killed them all and now we are killing their children . There will be no more Bluefish next year . There must be better food offshore this Season.

[vinntastic]

Originally Posted by Ol Pedro

We killed them all and now we are killing their children . There will be no more Bluefish next year . There must be better food offshore this Season.

you got that right,no babys no gators

[jmurr711]

Originally Posted by Ol Pedro

We killed them all and now we are killing their children . There will be no more Bluefish next year . There must be better food offshore this Season.

thats what i thought but it sounds like theres alot of sand eels on th lumps and stuff thought blues loved them???? hope they come in in the fall i havent eaten a bluefish since may & those little ones are bland

[sternline]

O.k., we've got a mystery. Why no big bluefish? And we have another mystery. Dolphins up and down the coast are dying in droves, lots of them sick and/or emaciated. Why? Mystery #3. Why are 70% of the resident stripers in the Chesapeake (the males) emaciated and infected with a kind of fish tuberculosis. Mystery #4. Where are the weakfish?
Clue #1. What's the food that big bluefish need?
Clue #2. What's the food that dolphins need?
Clue #3. What's the food that those resident stripers need?
Clue #4 In the Chesapeake, which is the main nursery for weakfish, what do those young weakfish need to feed on?

So what's the solution to the four mysteries?

[RnK]

Originally Posted by StriperGirl

Anyone have any idea why the bigger bluefish aren't in their normal areas this time of year? Smaller blues can be fun, but not nearly as much fun as the big ones IMO

Does anyone know they are not? See any reports from the Shark River Reef? It held incredible large blues and albies for almost 2 months last year despite being a daily parking lot out there.

The bluefish boats, after a very slow start of their biz season now have big crowds daily, (revenue up) and the blues, albeit pee wees are thick relatively close in (costs down). So why should they do any different? We were having this discussion earlier with fishing bud and on a non blue fish boat. If the pee wees remain, then maybe it will take till after Labor Day when the vacation and school crowds diminish for anything to change.

Mid range tuna, deep wreck guys reporting big blues "a problem." May-June Raritan Bay was loaded with huge blues. Was on a trip at that time living striper, and 135 bunber were annihilated by gator blues - all you could want, except it was a striper trip. 135 baits, 2 stripers caught, 1 keeper. Rest blues.

So there appears there is nothing the matter with big blues. It's just the bluefish boats are not targeting them while they enjoy their cash flow bonanza.

[sternline]

Anybody else see hordes of big blues in Raritan Bay in May-June. I limited out on stripers every trip but one and never saw a single bluefish on these striper trips. And that was on the Sea Hawk.

[Capt Jimmy Elliott]

Originally Posted by RnK

Does anyone know they are not? See any reports from the Shark River Reef? It held incredible large blues and albies for almost 2 months last year despite being a daily parking lot out there.

The bluefish boats, after a very slow start of their biz season now have big crowds daily, (revenue up) and the blues, albeit pee wees are thick relatively close in (costs down). So why should they do any different? We were having this discussion earlier with fishing bud and on a non blue fish boat. If the pee wees remain, then maybe it will take till after Labor Day when the vacation and school crowds diminish for anything to change.

Mid range tuna, deep wreck guys reporting big blues "a problem." May-June Raritan Bay was loaded with huge blues. Was on a trip at that time living striper, and 135 bunber were annihilated by gator blues - all you could want, except it was a striper trip. 135 baits, 2 stripers caught, 1 keeper. Rest blues.

So there appears there is nothing the matter with big blues. It's just the bluefish boats are not targeting them while they enjoy their cash flow bonanza.

Another expert,

First we were catching big blues on may and part of june. 2nd if ya read the reports there were a couple boats that ran the 35 miles in july to catch the big ones . Once it gets passed that point there is just not enough time in a day to go past that find em chum em and get the customers home . I have first hand info of some blues on the Helen H on a Nantucket Trip . That is our of the question .Just have to wait for a fall run
There are boats and we communicate with bottom boats (which fish the reef daily so they would tell us) draggers ( who I know) scallopers ( which I own) daily. If they r in reasonable range we will target them . There haven't been any in the last month in reasonable range. Also yes we are in business to actually turn a profit these aren't non profit organization

This is the worst season fish wise and people carrying wise in the past 10 years. Lots of boats are down 30-40 % and a nite business is almost non exsisting. Last Friday nite we were out with 10 people and before that 9 people. Some nites going down and waisting a couple hours of our time not even to get out Don't get me wrong the next 2 weeks we might carry some tourist because its the last hooray for people to get out.If you think this is a cash cow bonanza maybe you should by a bluefish boat for $500,000 pay $30,000 in dockage $20,000 in insurance $20.000 in advertising $20,000 in maintenance plus a lot of other expenses and pay your mortgage stand in a lot every morning and every nite ( sometimes feeling the a male prostitute to put people on a boat) and show us how its done and what a cash flow bonanza this is .

[darrenflynn]

+1 capt Jim, tough season for you guys, if it was a cash flow bonanza and a easy killing everyone would have a bluefish boat