Blues Should Arrive Any Day Now, C. Walsh 5/9/09

The bluefish have arrived on Long Island's North Shore, but not on the Connecticut side. However it is believed "they just haven't turned the corner yet" to get here and no one is quite sure when or where that corner turn is.

Though some anglers are predicting the bluefish will arrive at the West Haven sandbar with the next tide swing due to bunker pods in the harbor. Last year the blues came during the second week of May.

When there are no gulls visible, keep an eye out for the occasional splash of a breaking fish. Cast a popper or some other substantial plug like an Atom or Yo Zuri (soft plastics work, but they rarely survive the teeth of one hit) toward the area of the splash and chances are something nasty will explode behind your offering.

Since Bluefish will attack anything that moves - catching them involves putting a popper infront of them. When feeding on the surface (which attracts gulls & terns from all over) approach the blues from the uptide side with the engine off before hitting the blue school. Driving you're boat over the school will cause the blues to go down and cause other anglers to wish you were following the fish.

If there's a school with no birds working it, throw a big plug (Atom or Yo Zuri) or a soft plastic at any surface splashes you may see and you should hook up.

When June comes and the blues are big (10-18 lbs) your best bet is to jig for them in deep holes. Sometimes these can be found near the buoys just outside the mouth. An unbaited diamond jig or baited with a mackerel or bunker chunk, or a circle hook with a 5 ounce weight are all you need.

[Charles Walsh, Connecticut Post]