Fishing Tips for Bluefishing

[Gerry Zagorski]

Bluefish

Bluefish are almost everywhere in the state, along the beaches , open ocean, bays and tidal rivers. Many party boats fish for them exclusively and will run trips during the day and night. They can run as small as 1-2 lb (Cocktails) or close to 20 lb. They are the most prolific fish in the area and for that reason are the most popular species to fish for. If you want to catch lots of fish Blues provide the best opportunity. It is not uncommon for you to catch 20+ fish per person.
Blues are noted for their great fight and fierce appetites. When a blitz occurs they will hit almost anything. Make sure to use a heavy mono or wire leader. These fish have sharp teeth that will make short order of 10 to 15 lb mono or your hand. Watch yourself when getting the hook out of the fish. It's best to use pliers or some type of hook remover.
Time of Year
Blues usually arrive in late spring and will stay around well into October. Most of the larger fish are caught in the fall.
How to :
- Diving birds are a sure sign there are Bluefish in the area. Cast a diamond jig or plug into a pack of working birds and your almost sure to get a Bluefish.
- Chumming from an anchored boat is the most popular way to fish for Blues. Pay out Bunker chum to attract fish while dropping back pieces of cut bunker on your hook.
- Trolling tubes, jigs, Bunker spoons, plugs or umbrella rigs work great. This method is highly effective for locating fish. Some sharpies will troll to locate the fish and then anchor or drift in the area with bait. In order to keep your trolling lures down at the right depth it is usually necessary to troll with heavy drail sinkers or wire line. Wire line trolling is the most effective. Some sharpies also use down riggers.
- Jigging for blues works well when there is a large body of fish concentrated in an area. Diamond jigs tipped with surgical tubes are dropped to the bottom and reeled up quickly. They can sometimes be bounced off the bottom as well. Best thing to do is try and find out at what depth they are picking up the jigs and concentrate your jigging there. Many times larger fish will be underneath the smaller ones or at the edge of the school. When approaching a school of breaking fish in a boat slow down and let you boat drift into the school with the engine off. Running over the fish under power will send the fish down and break up the schools of bait they are foraging on.
Best Places
Party boat fleets fishing for Bluefish are very popular all along the coast . From north to south the most popular areas are Atlantic Highlands, Shark River/Belmar, Brielle/Point Pleasent, Barnegat Light and Cape May.
If you have your own boat popular areas are as follows:
Sandy Hook : 17 Fathoms
Schrewsbury Rocks, Mud Hole
Barnegat Light : Barnegat Lumps
Tips
- Use fresh rather then frozen Bunker if you can get it.
When chumming be sure not to be too generous or skimpy with the chum. It's a good idea to release chum at 2 to 3 minute intervals to keep a consistent chum slick and hold fish. Too much chum and the fish will hang back for the easy meal and not bother to move up into the slick for your baits. Too little chum and your not going to hold or attract fish.
- Trolling speed is not too critical for bluefish. Between 2.5 and 4 knots is good although they will also hit at Tuna Trolling speeds of up to 6 knots. When trolling bunker spoons slow it down until you see your pole pulsing in an erratic side to side and bobbing motion. When trolling other lures like tubes,jigs, and umbrella rigs try and stay close to the bottom without hanging up. Pay line out until you feel contact with the bottom and then reel in just enough line to keep your lure from hanging bottom. If you have a fish finder and can determine a consistent depth where your marking fish try and keep the lures at that depth. A usual rule of thumb for wire line is 10 feet of line usually equates to 1 foot of depth. As an example you would let out 90 feet of wire line if you want your lures to run at 9 feet. Every once and a while take the boat out of gear and let the lures free fall then engage the engine again. This change in motion is often times enough to entice a fish to strike.
- Always try and keep the boat in gear when fighting a fish. This allows you to keep constant pressure on the fish and results in less thrown hooks .
- When party boat fishing try to stay on the side where the chum is drifting. The trick is to use just enough weight to keep your hooked bait floating along with the chum/chunks. Manually pay out line until you feel a hit. If you run out of line or hit bottom. Then reel up and do it again. Be careful to pay attention to how much line is payed out when you catch a fish so you can let the same amount of line out the next time. These fish will usually suspend at a certain depth and stay there.
- When fishing from shore with bait it's best to use a float rig. It keeps the bait off the bottom and away from crabs. You can purchase one from almost any tackle store.