Bluefish? They Don’t Mean Much To My Striper Math

I’ve heard it said time and again that bluefish are a sign of many things in the surf. They are a sign of very high bait concentrations is often one statement I hear or read a lot. It’s often stated that they are also a sign of specific baits, like squid or bunker. From there, I’ve also been told or read that they are a good thing for stripers- they are chopping up bait and a sign of life that will attract stripers. I’ve also heard they’re a bad thing- they out compete the striper and generally turn stripers off and push them out of a spot. And as the sharkpocalypse continues, I will also add I’ve heard it said numerous times they draw sharks- from browns and sand tigers, to bull sharks and black tips.

I’m on the fence about all of this. I’m not saying I have a pile of evidence to support anything, or refute any of it, but in my experience- in my spots- bluefish seem to simply show up when there is something to eat. I’ve found them on every “bait bite” imaginable, and even over huge spectrums of bait species in single spots (I’ve found them destroying schools of just about anything you can think of at singular spots- not across different ones). For example, I was at a spot last night that I’ve fished hundreds of times- over 450, according to my sleep-deprived mental calculations last night. There were cocktail blues at the spot, as there often are in the last summer into the late-late summer and early-early fall. These nasty, 3-pound bandits were munching on monstrous spearing in stained water (though interestingly the only ones I landed were on a large, three-plus-ounce darter). Yet, they did not forbode anything bad, or signal any triumphant good. They were just…there. 

I had no greater or lesser expectation of catching a 30-pound bass last night after catching a few. Even after all those trips and meticulous logging, they just don’t mean anything to my success, and I see no pattern- the only thing their presence say is there is something there they want to eat. Maybe it’s something the stripers want, maybe it’s not. I did not have high hopes once it was apparent that they were chomping down minnows last night, but it did signal to me that we’re at a certain time in the season- right on time, and without any surprise.

You might ask, “but Jerry, a three-pound blue- isn’t that perfect bait for a 40-pound striper?” To which I would reply- yes, maybe, and no. It’s the dreaded “it depends” answer I default to all the time. In this spot in particular, for a bass to stalk, ambush, or pin a feisty, fast, devilish cocktail blue would be very difficult (I imagine). It’s just too flat with too many escape routes. There isn’t any deep water for a striper to lurk in and attack. The blues aren’t stacked up by the dozens and distracted by a blitz either. They’re roaming around in single digits.

Anyways, the point of the rambling post is that you need to (again) always filter blank, ubiquitous, statements you read or hear through your own experiences at your specific spots. For me, blues are an interesting wild card that I don’t focus on, try to pattern, or really pay much attention to because they’ve never really meant anything to me at the spots they pop up. This might be different for you, by a dramatic factor, and that doesn’t mean I’m wrong and you’re right: it just means your spot has a specific pattern attached to blues.

So what do you think? Other than patterning snappers as bait, do adult blues help you zero in on something special about your spot or pattern?

And don’t put in angry comments about how great blues are as sportfish- I totally, absolutely agree. I love bluefish, I think they’re amazing and no question if they go to be 40-plus-pounds and I could pin them down with more regularity at night, I would only fish for them. I ain’t a blue hater, I’m a blue lover!

Breaking the fourth-wall, there’s really not any episodes that match up with this post- so why not go listen to Dave Anderson, because that’s always amazing.