Speaking about the East Coast run of "blues", the fishing moves with them as they migrate up and down the coast. In the late spring and summer, the New England coast line finds the blues preparing for their spawning offshore. As the summer wanes into fall, huge schools of blues begin following the baitfish south looking for warmer water. In the winter months, these schools are found off of South Florida, mixed in with the Spanish Mackerel, both of which follow the same migration ritual. Some Cero Mackerel, the larger cousin to the Spanish, can be found with the winter blues in South Florida, but they do not migrate and will not be found with the summer blues up north.
How can they ruin your day, someone has to be asking about now. Well, friend, if you're fishing for anything other than bluefish, they are going to cut off every line your have until you get rigged for them. Blues and Spanish are both loaded with razor sharp teeth that can cut a line in a heart beat. So if you're going to look for blues, better get prepared. And if you are prepared, they can definitely make your day.
My arsenal of tackle for blues and spanish as well, includes a variety of spoon sizes. You have to, as they say, "match the hatch". you have to be throwing or trolling with a bait that matches the size of the bait fish, whether it is menhaden or glass minnows, that the blues are feeding on. Too large a lure and you will get no strikes. Too small a lure, and it will be ignored by all but the smallest fish.
Hard metal lures also fit in my tackle box for blues. Try a topwater wooden or plastic bait, and you can pretty well retire it after several fish. I also like a short six inch wire leader on whatever lure I am using to protect me from cutoffs. Some would say this reduces strikes, and it probably does. But it sure does save those lure dollars!!
Blues come in a variety of sizes, and I say that for a reason. The schools tend to segregate themselves by size. If you catch one or two 3 pound blues from a school, chances are the rest that you catch from that school will be the same size. The same is true if they are running 10 pounds. And for those of us that have been lucky enough (or skillful enough!!) to get into the 20 pound class fish, our arms still ache at the memory!
Whether fishing from a boat, a jetty, or the surf, the idea surrounding bluefish fishing is the same: look for the baitfish. From the surf, this will be mullet and menhaden migrating up and down the coast. The piers and jetties will provide the same opportunity, but they prevent you from following the school. Following the school is a fun activity (actually it is more like controlled mayhem) that is practiced in particular and at a minimum by Cape Hatteras surf fishermen. I say mayhem, because these fish just tear up anything in the water they think is food, including wader parts and fingers! I have seen flounder, who move with and under a feeding school, actually being run up onto the beach! And the schools can move rather quickly, which makes for a Daytona 500 of sorts by the beach vehicle brigade.
Blues can be great fun. And if you cook them fresh, they can be great eating, although the heavy iodine content, healthy as that might be, is not to everyone's liking. Freezing tends to turn the meat to mush and intensifies the fishy flavor. So catch as many as your arms can stand, but only keep what you are going to eat that night. And make sure they stay good and cold on ice or in an ice brine. The fresher the better!
