Singing the Blues - New Hampshire Fish and Game Department

© STEVE HICKOFF PHOTO8 WILDLIFE JOURNAL

At daybreak, the deep, calm water just beyondsea-foam breakers on the Atlantic Ocean seemsmachine-gunned in bursts of activity. Rovingand rushing at prey like hungry wolves, it’sschool-feeding bluefish—half teeth, half tail—in a coastal feeding frenzy.BY STEVE HICKOFFWhile striped bass get many a coastal Granite State angler’sattention, saltwater aficionados double the pleasure by targetingblues. The bluefish are out there for saltwater anglers tofind, and the time is NOW. Want fishing excitement? You’vesurely got it with bluefish.Where, Oh Where?Great Bay. Little Bay. The Piscataqua River.Here, there, most everywhere. . . .Along the Atlantic coastline and out to the Isles of Shoals—where baitfish go, bluefish follow. Find the baitfish, andyou’re in business. It’s a matter of being out there in the rightplace when the action commences—which can vary with theserestless fish.New Hampshire surfcasters can try coastal rivermouths andtidal creeks right at the turn of the incoming tide—preferablyat daybreak or during the false dawn, as bluefish seem to feedvoraciously right after the summer sun rises out over theoffshore Shoals. Low-tide situations seem to enhance theblues’ wolfpack instinct to trap baitfish against exposed rockyledges and hard-sand beaches.Study the underwater structure and how the tide moves withit. In time, you’ll acquire an insider’s perspective to targetthese restless, relentless predators.Like stripers, bluefish migrate north in the spring to theselocations. By summer they lurk, feeding and moving inschools. Then both species head south for the winter, sharingthe same coastal waters.Mackerel—a good cut bait for marauding bluefish—sometimeshold at the Piscataqua River mouth, or offshore, whereyou can catch them by jigging, then store them in live wellsfor immediate fishing or freeze them for future use. Sometimessmaller baitfish roam away from land, or upriver into Little Bayand Great Bay. Other times, baitfish activity is hard to comeby. You just have to keep at it—first to find baitfish; then theblues. Using high-tech fishfinders, modern baitfish-seekinganglers might locate schools lurking on offshore humps. Bluescould be nearby.Seasonal Piscataqua River anglers—flanked by the NewHampshire and Maine shorelines—seek out humps, and puttheir bait down toward that bottom structure for stripers. Oftenblues will be right in there with the mix, nailing a live offeringon its way down.By boat, anglers might find bluefish roving offshore by dayafter their early-morning feed, in waters beyond the rockhuggingstripers. You can chum the water and toss cut bait.continued on next pageWILDLIFEWILDLIFEJOURNALJOURNAL9

© ETHAN GORDON PHOTOWhen reeling in or handlinga bluefish, don’t let thoseneedle-sharp teeth anywherenear your fingers! Thissurface popper didn’t stand achance.You can cast big metal lures and even flies. In allhonesty, anglers who enjoy both stripers andblues relish the action both provide. Some boaterswho chum smelly concoctions into the sea toentice striped bass by day, wince at the appearanceof bluefish and the ubiquitous dogfish. Suchanglers might decide to cast big jigs into currentsand let them drift back for fast-action angling. Insuch cases, with oversized lures, wire leadersmight not even be needed as insurance against thesharp-toothed gamesters.Cast When You ou CanYou can catch them as early as springtime, butmid-summer to the post-Labor Day Septemberperiod can be even better as blues go. Last year onthe Seacoast, by mid-August, three- to four-poundblues were all over the fabled Great Bay fishery:the waters off Adam’s Point, locations near theStratham railroad trestle, and so on. Small surfacelures seemed to be the trend on these fish, usuallyat the end of incoming tides until the surge movedout again. As such phases go, watch for gullsworking baitfish schools. Blues should be theretoo.Elsewhere along the coastal shore last summer,Rye and Hampton party boats were reportingsuperb morning fishing for their clients. Southernlocations, such as the Merrimack River on theNew Hampshire and Massachusetts border, heldbluefish blitzes at the rivermouth.I’ve caught bluefish as early as springtime ontheir return to our coastline, but the shore fishingof late August into September is unrivaled—andwhat we New England surfcasters wait for. By lateAugust last year, shoreline feeding frenzies increasedas saltwater fish—both blues andstripers—began their southern migration. In suchsituations, the predatory sportfish push schools ofbaitfish right up into the shallows. Enterprisinganglers greet them.Edge of the MayhemOften this time of the year brings late-summerstorms. The rough weather changes water coloralong the shoreline. Blues (and stripers) begin tolinger in discolored currents along the coast, as ifutilizing the murky water to hide. Onshore winds—into which we cast—push warmer water toward us.Baitfish follow.With these onshore winds moving warm watertoward the beachfront, colder water replaces itoffshore. This may account for why big fish moveinshore, too. The beauty of it for the boatlesssurfcaster is that the roving fish that were targetedall summer by watercraft anglers are now just a castaway.As a result, a great time to nail blues from shoreis September, and even into early October. After10 WILDLIFE JOURNAL

Labor Day, beach anglers can roam the coastline,watching for schools of blues and stripers. A goodpair of binoculars helps, if you like to scout fromyour vehicle in “run-and-fish” mode. You canalso just watch for gulls hovering above the frenzy.Move fast, though, and keep your gear at theready. Once there, fish the edges of the mass ofsportfish and baitfish. Back when I was learningthis game, I’d cast right in the middle of it, andsometimes spook the entire school.Boaters can work the edges of this mayhem thesame way.Know too, that while we are talking blues here,stripers will be in the mix—often beneath theroving blues, chowing on the falling bits of bluefish-chompedbaitfish. So, if you just want blues,fish with topwater plugs and retrieve them fast.Consider wire leaders to avoid cut-offs—or not.Classic Rapala offerings still work. If you want amixed-bag of stripers, too, fish fast-sinking luresor weighted baits. It’s all good.Fly Fishing for Fanatics“Are you crazy? Bluefish on flies?!”Fly-fishing rods and reels need to be matchedfor durability and balance, as casting to bluesmust be done quick-off-the-mark when blitzes arespotted, and once the fish is on, your tackle willbe tested.Weight-forward lines will let you cast into theteeth of an onshore wind. Presentations aren’tnearly as delicate as freshwater offerings on smalltrout streams. Want to fish on top? Fish poppingbugs on floating lines. Sinking tips can be used onbaitfish-mimicking patterns. True sinking linescan work for blues (but more likely stripers), andforce you to tote many options in your sagging flyvest.Where reels are concerned, backing rules—lots of it. A football field of it will do. Blues loveto run and muscle you during the ensuing fight,and you have to be ready.continued on next pageGluttonous blues willbite at almostanything whenthey’re in a feedingfrenzy. Some lures totry (from left): big jigwith attractor/spinner; floatingminnow bait toimitate local foragefish or baitfish;crankbait, pogiestyle.Length: 39 inchesWeight: 21 poundsWhen: August 23, 1975Where: Great Bay, DurhamAngler: Henry KrookA.K.A.Tailer, slammer, chopper●●●●●Live eelsMackerel (chunks)Pogies (menhaden)SquidHerringBluefish sport a nasty setof needle-sharp teeth. Wireleaders are an important part ofthe angler’s arsenal.The Atlantic silverside is one ofseveral species of schooling fish thatthe bluefish targets for a feeding frenzy.© VICTOR YOUNG ILLUSTRATIONSWILDLIFE JOURNAL 11

Fishing for bluesfrom shore is best inSeptember and eveninto early October.Get out early andcast often.© NHF&G PHOTORods can range from 8 1 /2- to9-foot offerings paired with 8-Finding Baitweight line to 9- or 9 1 /2-foot surfTwo places along the N.H. seacoast provide live bait with reliability: sticks matched with 9- to 10-Suds-n-Soda in Greenland (603-431-6320), and Taylor’s Trading Postweight line.in Madbury (603-742-5931).My basement and closet areAs the season wanes, bait becomes tougher to find. Some coastalfull of a range of fly rods, manyanglers freeze theirs as mid-September arrives, attempting to extendcoastline angling into October.of the old-school type; some—S.H.that I’ve used for three decades(seriously). Sea-lashed tackletakes a beating, and I try toscour gear with soapy suds aftereach trip to the coastline. Dothat, and your gear—fly tackleor spinning—will last longer.Bluefish tend to strike fromthe rear, accounting for why youcan catch them on flies—often after they’ve repeatedlynipped at your offering. Apply tensionwhen you feel it on the other end. Sometimes,yeah, they’ll part with your pattern, their teethslicing away at the fly.Wire shock tippets (say three or four incheslong) can offer insurance, but can hinder casting.Baitfish along the New Hampshire coastlinerange from silversides to sand eels, as well asherring and menhaden. Fly anglers (and indeedlure casters) can try to match these based on sizeand color estimates, along with a good sense ofavailable patterns out there, of which there aremany.The Blitz Is OnStripers run big, fight hard. A bluefish doesboth, including some breathtaking tailwalkingand jumping that’s unrivaled in this part of theworld. Some guys, I swear, claim boated or beachedblues intentionally size them up, and bite themwith the intent to inflict harm. Mythmaking ornot, blues don’t take it sitting down.How do you recognize that the blitz is on? Youmay first notice a sweet watermelon smell —familiar to all saltwater anglers — that indicatesbaitfish are nearby and being targeted by predatoryfish. Visual evidence then appears: a blue ortwo may sweep by the boat, or a mob of them mayappear near a breakwater or ledge, hammering thesmaller baitfish in question.Friends, bluefish tend to get your anglingblood up just a little. Get out there and enjoy it.© ETHAN GORDON PHOTOA longtime N.H. Wildlife Journal contributor,Foster’s Sunday Citizen newspaper columnist,outdoor photographer and flyfishing bookauthor, Steve Hickoff (hickoff@comcast.net)makes his home in Kittery, Maine.12 WILDLIFE JOURNAL