| As far as tackle goes, blues will eat just about anything that
moves. What you can try are Kastmasters, Hopkins (both metal) about
3 oz. ought to do it. Another good top lure is the Atom Popper.
About 7 or 8 inches long. Most shops near the ocean sell this stuff.
The most important thing is to use wire leader. You'll know why
when you catch one, take a look at those teeth.
A lot of people club blues to kill them because they don't want
to put their fingers too close. As soon as a blue dies it starts
to go bad, they are very oily fish and when they die the oil starts
to seep into the meat from the bones. So it is a good idea to keep
them alive until you can filet them. they usually run for a short
period at tide changes if you're surf fishing, so just use pliers
to take the hooks out and let them lay on the beach, DON"T club
them to remove the hooks, unless you're going to clean them
immediately. That's why a lot of people don't like blues, because
they don't know how to take care of them after they catch them.
If you can try catching them with fresh water rods. Use 15-20lb
line. You'll never have a fight like a bluefish on light tackle.
Good Luck
Denny
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| Hi Gerry,
How'd you like the joke I sent you ? If your just going
for a day or two you may want to check out the half day bluefishing
trips. They have them out of Newburyport, Hampton, Plum Island,
Glouster, and probably a few other places. They provide all the
tackle and bait as well as removing the fish from the hook. They'll
even clean and bag them for you for a nominal fee ($.25 each ?). You
definitely want to be careful here as a good sized blue could probably
take a finger or two off if you don't watch out. In other words,
don't forget the pliers.
If you just want to hit the beach, a small surf rod (7-7� feet)
with a heavy freshwater to light salt water spinning reel with 15
lb. test should be fine. If your going to Plum Island you want to
stop at Surfland. It's on the right hand side just before you hit
the hairpin turn (about 1 mi. after the bridge). They can usually
tell you what's running where (i.e. you should'a been here yesterday).
They usually have new and used outfits here and at the Captn's fishing
fleet building at the end of the Island. These are fully rigged
and ready to fish for about $40 and up (as I remember, it's been
a while though). You'll see some big (9' and up) outfits but they
are a pain to cast for a couple hours straight.
You can use cut bait (usually mackerel), plugs, or big metal
spoons. A lot of people out there don't fish till they see someone
else catch one, then everyone starts fishing. These will usually
be the people with the big outfits resting their arms. You may want
to bring a regular fresh water spinning outfit and put half a sand/blood
worm on it and bottom fish for flounder/skate/pollack/stripers/what
ever until the blues start hitting. When/if the blues are running
heavy, you can literally catch them on a cigarette butt.
If fishing from shore, try the jetty either at Plum Island or
the Salisbury reservation. You don't have to go way out on the rocks
but the fishing *seems* to be better further out. There is a section
of the Plum Island jetty that is under water at high tide so watch
the tides. Also the rocks are *very* slippery when wet so if you
bring the wife/kids, it's best not to go out to far.
Hope this helps and good luck.
RAYJ
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