BLUEFISH: TROPHY SPECIES, HOTLY PURSUED
The bluefish, a trophy species that is hotly pursued by anglers due to it's reputation as a champion fighter and voracious predator. The bluefish is abundant from Argentina to Massachusetts and is occasionally seen as far north as Nova Scotia.
Bluefish is something of a misnomer, as this species is most often a sea green color above, fading into a silvery shade on it's lower sides and belly. The adult bluefish has a stout body and a large mouth that extends posteriorly below and beyond the eye. The lower jaw juts out noticeable. Both the upper and lower jaws are armed with large, conically shaped canine teeth. The dorsal fin is divided into two sections. The first section, about half as long and high as the second, has a series of stiff spines supporting the soft tissue of the fins. The second section or posterior dorsal fin is equal in length to the anal fin.
Bluefish rarely exceed 20 pounds and 40 inches in length. The North American record bluefish was caught in North Carolina and weighed greater than 31 pounds. The Massachusetts record caught at Graves Light weighed better than 27 pounds. The largest bluefish caught during a given year will run close to 20 pounds with the average fish weighing between 10 and 15 pounds. Both male and female bluefish reach maturity by the time they reach 2 years of age.
HABITS
Bluefish inhabit both inshore and offshore areas of coastal regions, with young-of-the-year fish, called snappers, often frequenting estuaries and river mouths. This species normally travels in large schools, which may contain up to several thousand individuals.
Bluefish display an annual migration pattern that is key to the seasonal warming and cooling of coastal waters. They begin arriving along the southern coast of New England during April and May. The earliest catches in southern Massachusetts occur in mid May, but substantial numbers of fish typically do not arrive before Memorial Day. Two to four pound fish are generally the first to arrive in Massachusetts waters, moving into harbors and estuaries in great numbers. Larger fish arrive somewhat later in the season, initially inhabiting deeper waters but moving progressively into shallower waters as the summer progresses. Adult bluefish typically disappear from the coastal waters of southern New England by October as water temperatures fall tp 60 degrees. Although adult bluefish do move southward, their major migratory movement appears to be offshore towards the warmer, deeper waters of the continental shelf.
Bluefish occurring between Cape Hatteras, North Carolina and New England spawn between June and August. Spawning occurs primarily offshore, over the continental shelf when water temperatures warm to between 64 and 72 degrees. After hatching, larvae inhabit surface waters and are swept along the continental shelf by prevailing currents. The numbers of offspring that survive each year and enter the bluefish population is largely dependant upon the circulation patterns of currents on the continental shelf. If larvae move shoreward to suitable habitat, many survive.
Snappers eat a variety of small bodied animals, such as copepods, shrimp, small lobsters and crabs, larval fish, and larval mollusks. Adult bluefish are opportunistic feeders, commonly focusing on schooling fish such as menhaden, squid, sand eels, herring, mackerel and alewives, as well as scup, butterfish and cunners.
Bluefish generally feed in schools, actively pursuing prey in tidal rips or in inshore shallows where food is easier to catch. The feeding behavior of this species is legendary. Bluefish are reputed to dash wildly about within schools of prey species, biting, crippling and killing numerous small fish that do not get eaten. They frequently drive schools of prey species into shallow inshore areas where it becomes easier to cripple or catch fish that are trying to escape. Occasional, during particularly frenzied feeding activity, schooling fish such as menhaden will literally be driven to shore, leaving a number of fish beached along the wave line. Although this occurs relatively infrequently, an occasional beach littered with dead fish has given rise to the bluefish's exaggerated reputation as a voracious predator.
ANGLING AND HANDLING TIPS
The greatest angling success for snappers occurs during August thru September. Fishing for adult bluefish generally improves thru the summer as more fish start moving inshore and extends thru October, after which waters cool and fish migrate offshore and southward.
Snappers are caught in estuaries and bays, and adults are caught along rocky and sandy shores and from boats. Many anglers prefer light spinning gear, rigged with 8 pound test line when fishing for snappers. When fishing for adults the type and weight of the preferred combo will vary with the degree of experience the angler has developed. When fishing for adults a wide range of plugs, both swimming and diving, eel type jigs and squid like lures are used. Pogies, mackerel and eels are generally the preferred baits. When these are not available, many types of bait can be successfully substituted. Wire leaders are a must when bait fishing, in order to prevent a hooked fish from cutting the line with it's sharp teeth.
Bluefish anglers fish from boats or shore along nearly every harbor entrance, town dock, beach and jetty in the state. Cape Cod and the Islands, the Boston Harbor Islands, Marblehead, Manchester, Cape Ann up to Salisbury, Plum Island, and the mouth of the Merrimack River all attract a large number of anglers.
As with most fish, the quality of the flesh will be best preserved when the fish is cleaned and iced as soon as it is captured. The soft textured flesh of the bluefish has a high oil content. When concentrated, fish oil can create a strong flavor that is not favored by many people. Bluefish fillets can be marinated in acidic foods such as vinegar, lemon or lime juice, wine or they can be cooked with fresh vegetables such as tomatoes or onions. These methods will lessen the strong flavor as well as retain the oils that confer the full health benefits associated with eating fish.