Where are the Bluefish? Hmmm... Usually, Bluefish find their way into the
Great Bay shortly after the Mackerel pass by. A couple of Bluefish were
caught on Pebble Beach(the end of Radio Road/left on Ohio Drive...fishing
the sod bank) back on April 22nd and 23rd, and not too many since then.
What can we expect this season? The good news is that there is some fantastic Bluefishing stories coming from areas south of us, like Cape May and Wildwood. The good Bluefishing usually is in high gear here in Great Bay by May 10th. After that, several methods are used to catch 'em. The surf fishing at Graveling Point and Pebble Beach becomes very active. The best time to fish these areas is during the evening. It seems that the bluefish move out of the shallower water during the bright sun of the day. Fishing by boat has its advantages. During the day, anchor the boat off Graveling Point and fish Mackerel strips on long leader monofilament 5/0 hook float rigs. Yes, the Bluefish bite through the mono rigs now and then, but it increases the activity and the productivity of your fishing time. In the fall, when the Blues are really active, it is more necessary to have wire to prevent bite-offs. Again though, it will interfere with the productivity unless the Blues are really biting aggressively. Putting out a chum pot with a quart of bunker chum can improve fishing. It's not a necessity, but any time you can catch more fish than the boat anchored next to you it's well worth it. Anchoring the boat and chumming is also very effective means for catching Bluefish in Grassy Channel and in the area of clam stakes on the North West side of the Fish Factory. Trolling for blues is also very popular, the best fishing is during the first couple of hours after high tide.
There are many places to look for the spring Blues. Look for sea gulls circling an area; this is a sure sign of feeding bluefish. As the tide drops, the creeks that drain back into the bay, (Big Creek, Oyster Creek, Motts Creek) act as natural chum slicks by flowing grass shrimp, spearing, minnows, etc. into the bay. The Bluefish know this and show up for feeding time. Troll the mouth of these creeks, or stop the boat and drift while casting and retrieving light metal lures(#3 Clarke Spoon, or small hopkins and ava jigs) or plastics (Bombers and Rebel lures).
Striped Bass
Lets get back to what's happening now. The best bet this weekend (weather permitting) would be to chase the small Striped Bass around. I hear of an occasional keeper being caught here and there but with no regularity and not in any particular place. As the water warmed up, the Striped Bass seemed to scatter. Anglers this week reported catching small Bass from the Mullica River, Grassy Channel, the 5th Bridge on Great Bay Boulevard as well as Graveling Point and Pebble Beach. The best bet is to fish in the Grassy Channel area or in the Inland Waterway from 134 to 139 marker buoys. Drift while working 3/8 ounce bucktails tipped with long slender mackerel strips. If your not so energetic, or the wind will not allow fishing in the bay, anchor off Graveling Point and drown some more bloodworms.Fluke
The only other fish worth mentioning is Fluke. The wind has made fishing difficult in the past few days which hampered any honest attempt to catch Fluke. Early season Fluke are most likely to be caught in the back shallower parts of the bay. Concentrating your fishing efforts in the area of 134 to 139 buoys(under the Stripers) could boat you a couple of fish for dinner. I don't believe that anyone will have to worry about the quantity limit yet. There were several reports of some 15 to 17 inch fish this week, so there is really some hope. Size regulation on Fluke are 14 1/2 inches and a bag limit of 10 fish per angler....I think.I called Nacote Creek Division of Fish, Game and Wildlife on Thursday and they had the new Fish Digests with all the current rules and regs. We will be getting our copies early next week....I hope.
Good luck to all the anglers in the First Annual Italian American Club of L.E.H. Spring Striper Tournament. I will post the results in next weeks news as well as on the Internet.