| I did not see the specific article but bluefish and PCBs are not
a new topic. In general there have been warnings that pregant women
should not eat them and the general publis should not consumer them
more than on the order of once a week. The heavy metals ect tend to
accumulate in the dark flesh just under the skin. If you stay away
from that this is supposed to lower the risk considerably. Grilling
them dark side down is good way to do it, leaves the dark meat on the
grill. Logic stands to reason smaller/younger fish would have less of
a build up of these toxics.
Personally, 99% of all blues caught on my boat live to fight again.
Anyone that thinks a gaff and billy club are necessary to get your
hooks/lure back from a bluefish let me know and I will help you
out.
Bruce
|
| Having just returned from Martha's Vineyard, I can tell you two things:
1) I caught bunches of 1.5-3 pounders and they are MUCH tastier than
their big brothers/sisters. Much less dark meat (which I tend not to
eat anyway.
2) SEVERAL people mentioned to me while I was knee deep in the surf
that I shouldn't eat these fish due to PCBs. I probably eat a dozen
bluefish meals a year.
Tim
p.s. A good long leader goes a way in lifting a fish into the boat
without a gaff. I usually grab them by the tail and use a hook remover
which resembles a small gaff: Hold the lure with the baby gaff, pull
down on the leader and jerk. Plop goes the fish, back into the drink.
p.p.s. Throw out the trebles and just use singles when using poppers.
It's as much fun watching 4 or 5 blues trying to get the plug as it is
catching them!
p.p.p.s. While on the subject of bluefish, I learned last week that
when they're full, they won't actually bite a lure, but they will smack
it with their tail in an attempt to kill/stun it. They don't often
come back for another strike when they are full, so if you're getting
one smack, you've got some well-fed bluefish on your hands.
|