Bluefish Blues

Filed in archive Fishing on November 1, 2006

For Eastern U.S. anglers, the time is right for catching bluefish - in fact right now may be the best time you'll get in the next 40 years. According to Todd Lehr:

Population numbers of bluefish have been documented to follow cycles lasting about forty years. A recent disappearance occurred during the 1920s, and anglers are still enjoying a high for the fish which began in the 1970s. They are migratory fish, following schools of baitfish such as menhaden shad and mullet, heading north from Florida in spring, all the way to Maine by the end of the summer.

If the bluefish stay true to form, the end of this decade will signal a slowdown in the snagging in these tenacious thrillers. To learn more about catching the bluefish, read Lehr's article "Fishing for Bluefish."