Hide and Go Seek Bluefish

[Billfish715]

On Saturday, the bluefish boats from Pt. Pleasant, Brielle, and Belmar were all fishing in Raritan Bay off Keansburg. That's a long run by anyone's standards. Weren't there any bluefish between Pt. Pleasant and Keansburg? That long run can't leave much time for fishing. It just leaves me with questions. Were the blues just focusing on the bunker schools? Are there no other bait fish around for them to stay with? Have sand eels disappeared from our waters completely? is the water just too cold? It's just hard for me to grasp the idea that a fish that was so plentiful in our waters all summer for decades has just vanished! Things have to be tough to make the southern bluefish boats run into Raritan Bay to find fish instead of running to the traditional Mud Hole spots. Forget about the inshore ridges like the Klondike, Augies, Manasquan Ridge, Barnegate Ridge, Tolten, Annex, Mud Buoy, Shark River Reef, yada, yada, yada. I hope that run of monster slammers a few weeks ago was not it for the season.

[Capt Joe]

That's a long run by anyone's standards. Weren't there any bluefish between Pt. Pleasant and Keansburg?

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[tjd24]

They've been making that run pretty consistently for several weeks. Two weeks ago, I had 6 PB's from the south fishing around me in that same spot.

[tombanjo]

But it's so pleasant fishing all the way back there in 9 feet of water on a sweltering windless day. Why would we want to be anywhere else?

[Billfish715]

Capt. Joe,
No duh! Obviously there were no bluefish between Manasquan and Keansburg. That wasn't my point. Are bluefish in that much of decline that they aren't around? I admire you all for making the run up that far but is this becoming a trend? It's gotta take its toll in fuel charges. What ideas or answers do any of the professionals have about the bluefish stocks? Will bluefish be the next victim of federal regulations?

[tombanjo]

They're not in any decline. It's their usual pattern. This year was a great spring for bigger fish and it's lasted longer then most even if the boats have to chase them down in the back of the bay. So good in fact that the AH boats wisely delayed their fluke start to give their people an extended shot at the action.

You'll soon see the smaller 1/2lb to 3lb blues take over for the next month or so as the larger ones spawn. Same as it ever was, same as it ever was.