Catch Big Bluefish by Kayak – On The Water

If the early spring was any indicator, this year is going to be a good one for bluefish.  Reports of quality fish from New Jersey to southern New England are usually a sign of what’s to come for the summer, and I suspect we will see more blues this year than last year.  Their numbers have definitely increased over the last few years, especially for those of us who live north of Cape Cod.

Fishing around Boston, it has been evident that bluefish were scarce.  Twenty years ago, there was a predictable bite starting around July 4 and lasting through the summer.  Tossing plastics for stripers was a risky endeavor—most nights, one or two tails were neatly chopped off.  Last fall was the first in a long time when plastics were regularly cut off, but it didn’t happen on a nightly basis.

Throughout New England, blues have always been a local bite.  In some areas, they show up early in the season chasing squid; in other areas, they follow schools of bunker into the bays and harbors.   They also vary in size from jumbos chasing bunker to the snappers targeting spearing.  Over the last couple of seasons, it seems that bigger fish are making a comeback, but it is still fun to catch blues of any size.

Bluefish have a reputation as being easy to catch, but since I’ve been running side imaging on my kayak, I’ve realized that they are often nearby, but not biting.  Recognizing that they are around is helpful for dialing in on the fish.  Blues usually look very different from stripers on side-scanning and down-scanning sonar.  They are typically on the move and higher in the water column than striped bass.  Bluefish usually show as elongated streaks on side-scanning sonar because they are swimming through the water rather than slowly hovering as bass often do.

Blues on the flats are always the most exciting to catch.  They can sometimes be spotted cruising, and sight-casting always gets my heart pumping.  Plus, when these fish move in to the shallows, they are usually going to feed because they are actively chasing baitfish. Poppers and walk-the-dog-style lures are especially fun to fish in shallow because the hits can be spectacular.  An ultra-high-speed retrieve will usually result in fewer bites, but may bring some crazy hits with fish launching themselves out of the water.  When the fish are picky, an extra-slow retrieve will produce when nothing else does.

Last year, I found bluefish in deep water.  I was jigging for cod in 60 feet and started picking blues off the bottom.  It didn’t take long to realize that I could watch the side-scan for fish and yo-yo jigs for them.  It was a really good chance to break out some heavy West Coast-style jigs and get bites on the fast crank.  There’s nothing like the thud of a fish on your jig when you rip it through the water column.

Blues really like to chase mackerel, so if you have some favorite mack spots, it’s worth checking them as the season moves on.

Trolling is a great way to find bluefish close to shore, where they often cruise and move quickly. Trolling helps you bump into these schools and identify where the fish are.  A wide variety of lures work on the troll, but one of my go-to baits is the SP Minnow.  Blues love the flash and vibration of lipped baits, and plastic-body minnows hold up well to their teeth.  I don’t usually use a wire leader, but a Tactical Angler clip on the front will help prevent some bite-offs, especially if I remove the front hook.

A tube and worm is also a good trolling bait for blues, with an added benefit of catching an occasional large striper.  If you don’t have worms when chasing blues, a Fat Cow strip, especially in white, is all you need.  The strips are really durable and will stand up to multiple fish.  Another advantage of the tube is that you won’t get bitten off since a through-wired tube is very durable.  The only way they will be able to bite it off is if a second fish hits the front of the tube.

Bluefish are generally thought of as daytime fish, but they can be targeted at night.  Last year, I found some big schools in deeper water along the beaches.  It was a really fun bite because the blues were not mixing in with the stripers.  I could go after stripers close to shore, then move to deeper water for blues. I found the fish by using side-scan and caught the most fish on sub-surface lures like swimmers.  Those fish consistently hung out in the same areas at night.  In the morning, they moved along the beach chasing baitfish.

Removing the front hook on lures allows you to use it as a handle for landing a fish.  Blues are always challenging to handle, especially getting a large one into the kayak.  I’ve seen more than one kayaker ruin his favorite fluke net with a big bluefish.  Instead, I tail-grab the fish and drag it into the kayak with its teeth and the lure facing away from me.  More than once, I’ve had a blue jump into the kayak as it was leaping boatside.  That’s always a bit unnerving!

With the increased number of large blues, keep your eyes open for opportunities this season.  Bluefish can be caught from July to October in every New England state.   It is also an opportunity to use some of those beat-up striper lures that you don’t mind losing.  I always keep something in my tackle box just in case they show up and it really paid off last year.

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