Hunting down Single Blues

Bluefish caught from the kayak on Friday

Over the past week I have been out fishing a few times. I'll gladly catch anything willing to bite but given the choice, I'd rather catch big blues than the much more common schoolie stripers.  By far one of the best days I've ever had was this spring catching trophy blues from the kayak. I don't know if I've ever had more fun.

I've caught big blues from shore and from the kayak this week. Unlike the huge blitzes of blues in the past, the bluefish do not seem to be concentrating in Narragansett Bay. When I find them I see them in very loose schools feeding as indivduals and not in ravenous blitzes.

 From shore on the east side of the bay and from my kayak on the western side, I've seen plenty of very small peanut bunker.  The bluefish seem to be feeding on it at random. They are not massing their efforts as a coordinated team. Because of this, I  am not picking up huge numbers of fish. It is "fishing" and not "catching". This is just fine with me.

I've been using light tackle to catch the blues. From shore I've been using my seven foot schoolie rod with 10# test line. The reason for this is, there are many more schoolies than bluefish, and it's no fun getting an 18 inch striper on my 8 foot surf rod. On the other hand, gettting a ten pound bluefish on that rod is a hell of a good time.

From the kayak I'm going slightly heavier. Once hooked a big bluefish will take me on a Nantucket Sleigh Ride if given the chance. Also, handling a big blue from the kayak is a bit risky, I want to tire it out. For that reason I use my seven foot inshore medium heavy rod and 30 pound braid. This set up casts a mile and has the streghth to let a bluefish pull me around the bay.

If I get calm weather over the next few weeks, I'm going to spend a lot more time in the kayak chasing down big blues. It is too much fun not to.