Stripers & Anglers Education Series: Understanding Bluefish Migration

[DarkSkies]

I have posted it over and over here, but sometimes the posts get lost in the shuffle.

I thought it would be helpful to some of our newer members to understand bluefish migration a little better.
As always, I am deeply indebted to the Senior Members here and some Old-timers I have known for years. We have obsessive discussions about these topics all the time.

It's not enough for us to know the fish are in an area. We want to know WHY they are there (Food or Migration related), and if it's a shift in a pattern, what to recognize to learn how to best use that pattern when fishing....

[DarkSkies]

Bluefish Seasonal Migration:
Bluefish, like striped bass, migrate seasonally.
However there are a few differences.

Let's start with the Spring Migration.
To better understand that, you need to understand what happens to bluefish in the Winter...
Most folks assume bluefish all migrate together with the bass schools.....this is only partially true, here's why....

1. The biggest bluefish, known by various names as gators, gorillas, etc, migrate differently than the smaller classes.
   
2. Generally speaking, the bigger ones are those in the 12# class and above
   
3. These fish traditionally winter offshore of the NJ/NY Coasts, out in the Canyons. The water temp there can be up to 10 degrees or more higher. When it's 43 in the NJ/NY surf, it can be 53 out in the Hudson Canyon.
   
4. These fish feed on a smorgasbord of bait that is there all year.
   
5. The bait types change with the season.
   
6. Generally, the most prevalent types are sandeels and herring, and squid, periodically supplemented by bunker, rainfish, anchovies, and many other types depending on the stage of the season.
   
7. These sandeel, herring, and squid populations have become so abundant that there has been a shift in the behavior of many of these bigger bluefish.
   
8. As of 2011, it was the first year that anglers noticed bigger bluefish seemed to stay offshore and did not all migrate Westward to the bays and inlets.
   
9. If this becomes a permanent pattern, Land-based anglers will surely notice it, and their overall catches will suffer.
   
10. There is further, detailed discussion of this recent phenomenon in the following thread: http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/...riped-Bass-Fis

[DarkSkies]

There is further, detailed discussion of this recent phenomenon in the following thread: http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/...riped-Bass-Fis

For those of you who want to understand the shift and all its implications, I suggest you read the thread above. In this thread I'll try to just touch on the basics of migration, and some of the reasons behind it.

[finchaser]

Lets hear it for Professor Googan

[DarkSkies]

Fin, you and I have talked about this... Our conversations are responsible for a lot of the content I formulate, and I want everyone to know how much credit you and some other friends deserve. I'm just the guy who can put things into nice sounding words and paragraphs, but it's the old-timers like Fin and others here who deserve the real credit....they have conversations like this every day...just go down to Castaways B&T and grab a cup of coffee, and you would be amazed at some of the things that are discussed over the counter down there...



One of the motivations for putting up threads like this was to celebrate the knowledge that the old timers have, which far eclipses that of anyone writing some of the recent books that have come out lately...

I don't mean to detract or criticize any one writer specifically, but some of the younger anglers out there assume the latest in the internet popular writers, are inventing this stuff as they are writing it....and that it is Gospel...not realizing that many of these "New Techniques" and "Cutting Edge Approaches" have been around for years.....

[DarkSkies]

Meanwhile, guys like Fin and others, have been generously dispensing their knowledge, one thread at a time, for the benefit of new and experienced anglers alike....all for free, and doing it unselfishly.....


The stuff contained in this "Fishing the Old Ways" thread that Fin started is priceless, and doesn't cost folks one penny to learn....
It's golden advice that I think is important to preserve, as many new anglers want to focus on the pot of the gold at the end of the rainbow, and not on the path that takes them there....
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/...g-the-old-ways

[DarkSkies]

Another reason I started this S&A continuing education series is that there are respected anglers out there, voices of the communities they are in, who really don't understand migration, striped bass, bluefish, and all other species, to the extent that they are not sure why fish are in a certain area at a certain time of year....

As a result some of of them give out information that is inaccurate. IMO that really doesn't help the guys who are looking to learn. I know many folks just want to catch a fish, and learning for some of them is secondary....but what I have been fortunate to learn is that the conditions about WHY the fish are there, are key to being able to consistently catch fish.....If you truly want to learn, and log your failures as well as your successes, you will be almost be able to predict how the fish will behave, in terms of movement, throughout a season of fishing.

To me, being able to track those fish, and the whys and the subtle nuances of what happens during the migrations, is as exciting as the fishing itself....and it's something a few close friends and I have obsessive conversations about.....





As mentioned, I know that most folks just want to catch a fish....
but what if you could increase your odds over time, by focusing on time, tides, bait patterns, migration and weather patterns, to the extent that you could decrease your time not catching by focusing on times and places where the fish were likely to be?


That's what I'm trying to get folks to think about here, when they read threads like this...
And also, as part of the big picture, to try to understand more about fish and bait migration and how it relates to our perceptions of the fish biomass and it's relative health or lack thereof...



** Also, when I or Finchaser posts up a thread, I sometimes think that folks may feel intimidated in responding...remember that there are no "wrong" answers here....we all have opinions, and if you think you have something to contribute, even if you don't agree.... please do....

[hookedonbass]

Bluefish Seasonal Migration:
Bluefish, like striped bass, migrate seasonally.
However there are a few differences.

Let's start with the Spring Migration.
To better understand that, you need to understand what happens to bluefish in the Winter...
Most folks assume bluefish all migrate together with the bass schools.....this is only partially true, here's why....

1. The biggest bluefish, known by various names as gators, gorillas, etc, migrate differently than the smaller classes.
   
2. Generally speaking, the bigger ones are those in the 12# class and above
   
3. These fish traditionally winter offshore of the NJ/NY Coasts, out in the Canyons. The water temp there can be up to 10 degrees or more higher. When it's 43 in the NJ/NY surf, it can be 53 out in the Hudson Canyon.

So if I understand correctly, the smaller bluefish go south with the bass. How far south do thise small blues go and when is a good time for them to hit the beaches? I haven't seen any small or big bluefish in the surf yet.
Thanks for sharing this knowledge as well.

[clamchucker]

hookedonbass, the blues are very lethargic in the early spring. They seek out the back bays because the water is warmer. You could catch some in the ocean as well if you were using bunker chunks. The closer you are to an inlet the better your chances of catching some of the bigger ones. Otherwise you can get them on a flats or sedge bank back bay area where the mud warms up.
According to my logs the smaller bluefish we see in the ocean generally move along the surf areas around the first 2 weeks of May. I believe they swim as far south as Florida so they have a long distance to travel. Good luck.

[rockhopper]

Crazy how that works. We had some great bluefish blitzes all fall right off the rocks at Breezy point. And you joisey guys got none of that?

[DarkSkies]

Crazy how that works. We had some great bluefish blitzes all fall right off the rocks at Breezy point. And you joisey guys got none of that?

Yes Rockhopper, we got none of that and I really missed that insanity...look forward to it every year....

But we did get an early start on that this year....I caught over 96 bluefish the other night to 12#. Fantastic action..I'm still playing those tapes over and over in my head.....

[DarkSkies]

2012 bluefish migration NJ....

The winter Herring presence...

As mentioned, the big bluefish usually show up first, known as racers.....big head and lean bodies....
followed by the smaller ones from the Southern Coast.

This year they are all mixed together.....
A lot of folks may think of them as eating machines...but may not know what draws them to particular areas...in years past it has been the grass shrimp and spearing on the floor of the Raritan Bay flats that has drawn them in and held them in the spots adjacent to the flats.

In 2012, it was the herring....loads and loads of it....so much that it darkened the bay waters at times in the channel areas.....

I have been following those herring since Dec......long before bunker were around.....and tracked the biggest schools, kept tabs on the locations...and waited for conditions to align......

As herring usually don't stay in the bay or harbor areas too long as the water warms up in the Spring,. I knew the window was limited.....

For the last 3 weeks, bigger bass on the migration trail and these bigger bluefish have been gorging on the herring, not only in the bay but in the ocean.....

This made it so the early season bluefish weren't "racers" but instead are fat bellied pigs, spitting up 3 and 4 herring at a time when you bring them in.......

And has made for an incredible, once in years, plug bite as the herring are the same size as bomber type plugs.......

I last remember a bite this robust about 8 years ago when hooked and landed over 100 bluefish one adrenalin filled afternoon at Sandy Hook....only a few others in on the action,...it was a bite that you always think back to and wonder if if will ever repeat itself....

And this week, it did.....

[DarkSkies]

Bunker can be a problem....
"Bunker suck all the Big Fish out of an area like a Vacuum"



Finchaser has made the above statement over and over, and his wisdom is sometimes lost on people....
So I'll break it down and show how it worked in this situation......

There have been herring in the Raritan Bay since December...
Fish have been feeding on these herring since that time....

In the last 3 weeks the bay has become filled with bunker schools. They were there before but scattered...and moving around.

Many boaters were not aware of this, travelling all the way to Staten Island to net bunker, when in fact they were a short hop from most Raritan Bay marinas.

I was out in my kayak April 15 and came across an area of bunker a mile in circumference. Most boaters marked them but could not get a visual. Every time they would motor close to where I was the bunker sounded.....Most who piloted by where I was saw no activity when in reality the water beneath them was teeming with these schools.....


Bunker naturally feed into the wind....
In general... a N/NW wind will cause some of them to swim to the NY side of the Bight.....When they swim the predators swim with them...

This week, Jamaica Bay and the NY side of the Bight got a fresh influx of bluefish, bass, and bunker....right around Wed and Thur, which is when the NJ action slowed down a bit......and the N/NW winds built up...








It might be fair to make the assumption that some of the fish that were on the NJ side, gravitated to the NY side...as this is part of the natural Spring migration for bass AND bluefish anyway...







This furthers Finchaser's statement that bunker suck all the bass out of an area like a vacuum.
Thanks for trying to educate others, Fin, even when they don't want to listen.....



There are more bunker out there than the bass could ever possibly eat...
If folks put as much effort to saving and conserving bass as they did bunker, we would have less "gaps" in YOY stats....food for thought, people....

[hookedonbass]

Good read, thanks.

[DarkSkies]

The bluefish action in the bays is shaping up to be some of the best inshore and surf action he have had in years. I'm very excited about this. Hope other folks are as well.
...good luck out there, people....

This really is turning out to be an exceptional year for bluefish. Over the last 2 weeks, the bluefish bite on artificials has been somewhat inconsistent. Throwing bunker chunks brought more consistency. The assessment from that is that the water is a little cold and they were sluggish..all true.

And although I have been doing well on them at night, if there is not a lot of bait present in the water they can be very picky. I don't think people who say "you can catch bluefish with a spoon and a hook" have ever seriously targeted them with artificials at night....because it ain't that easy in colder water......

However, with the warming of the water, the last few days things have ramped up a bit. Coupled with the sunny and hotter forecast for the next 5 days, look for the bluefish action to explode during this time in more places instead of the usual traditional back-bay areas.

They are truly a lot of fun to catch, especially the bigger ones, at least to me they are....get out there and get some before they leave...








**Jamaica Bay is now heating up as the region's premier area they are drawn to because of food and water temps.....so while they are still in our area as well, try to get out there soon....

[VSdreams]

That is very informative. You could write a book on what you posted here or at least an article for on the water. Thanks for posting that.

[VSdreams]

"Blues migrate south in winter. They migrate offshore late June/early July to spawn"


I read this on the internet today and was going to ask if someone had any different ideas? I read page 1 of this thread and don't see how this can be true. Do they all migrate south in the winter?

[DarkSkies]

^ VS, sorry I didn't see this until now....I believe this was stated earlier in this thread...in case it wasn't...

Big bluefish migrate offshore, and stay there for the harsh winter, feeding on the abundant bait....squid, sea herring, butterfish, mackerel, etc......whatever is there at the time....
Other bluefish, most of the smaller ones, migrate along the coast as far South as Florida, and in general follow bait and moderate temperatures at each part of their migrational stage.






There have been some incredibly large bluefish caught in the last week. It does seem the reports of the largest ones are declining a bit.....and it seems some small blues have moved in...we weren't seeing many under 7# a few days ago.....
But make no mistake......the weights you see being reported are real.....

The actual 18# bluefish may be few and far between...
However, at the end of every day, I'm getting a pic or text that someone has landed one.....17....18...16....lbs....we haven't seen bluefish this size from land in some time.....
Now is the time to get out there and fish for bluefish.......if you consider yourself a true fisherman.....
1. The fight
2. The bulldogging
3. The drag screaming runs of the bigger ones.....
4. The unholy demonic stare those yellow eyes can give you, even when they are spent and exhausted from the battle...yet still ready to chomp one of your fingers off should you be so foolish to take them for granted....
5. Pound for pound, one of the most aggressive and best fighting fish we have on our shores.....a worthy adversary in the arena of battle, for sure......
6. Compare the fight of a 15# bluefish to a 15# bass.....to me, there is no comparison...the giant bluefish wins, hands down.


As mentioned, it seems like the overall numbers and sizes were consistently bigger just a few short days ago....but if you understand tides,

feeding windows,
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/...feeding+window
(post #39)

and are wiling to work for them, an experienced fisherman can catch 100 in a day of fishing...
If you want a shot at one of these 16-18# giants....now is the time to try....there is no guarantee they will be here tomorrow........

Good times, to all who are out there, and having a blast catching....

[DarkSkies]

I think the week of May 12, 2014 should be recorded in folks' logs as when these giant blues from offshore started showing in numbers at more than one place.....(historically about a month later than usual)




Weekend report.....
Fri 5-16 AM....Fri 5-16 PM
18 hour Monty Marathon
Started at 3 Am, finished at 9PM .....



Kept moving around, managed 7 big bluefish before dawn, on bucktails and rubber.
Bluefish are a lot harder to catch on artificials at night...In my experience.they are much less aggressive.... and picky.....unless there is a lot of bait in the area....


I took the day off to fish, as I felt the action would be getting better.
Managed another 27 bluefish to 14# during the day....none under 7#.....at least half were 10# or better.....the runs and fight filled me with adrenaline.....

At one point I was fishing next to a noted old-timer......we had fish every cast or so...Realistically, that action usually only lasts a short while, and changes with the tide....but we had a blast fishing next to each other anyway.....provided some running commentary entertainment, and helped some new guys get into their first monster bluefish, teaching them how to throw metal effectively.... (one of the new guys got his biggest ever bluefish from land, 13#)

Only managed one nice blue around 12# on crocodile spoon....getting discouraged and ready to leave...
Very windy the whole time, steady 20mph, pending rain........
Around 6:30pm rain started coming down...not bad at first....

Eventually I was in the middle of the storm, winds up to 35mph...rain blowing sideways in my face...had to assume a 3 point football stance while casting to stabilize and get my presentation out there.......

Decided to throw a Madcaster short needlefish to punch out further into the wind....in the 40 minutes before dark I caught 8 nice sized blues on that madcaster needlefish. They were rolling on it in that rough water and would come back to hit it multiple times....it completely energized me....I had that needlefish previously swimming at least 3x during my fishing trip, and not a touch....now they were all over it.....
Managed 8 bluefish on that needle until it got inhaled by a big blue and I lost it.

Switched to bucktail and grub and managed 4 more.

Finally quit when the rain and winds approached 35mph with no signs of letting up....
What kept me out there was the memory of an early season trip years ago with Monty when we chased all over the bay in 25mph winds for 3# bluefish. These bluefish on Fri night were up to 5 times larger.....so addictive I did not want to leave despite having to re-ty my rigs in the dark with no full moon in the cloudy sky........


Total for the trip....
46 bluefish to 15#....
If the conditions were better I believe I could have broke 100 that trip...but hey, that's fishin'.








Sun 5-18
Pebbles and I were OTW at 6:00 AM
The fish were sluggish.....lethargically hitting at first, you really had to work for them.
Most of the original crew left, and the bite turned on a bit more at a different tide stage....
Although most of the later fish were a lot smaller.....


Pebbles, I'm proud to say, kicked my A**....
I managed 13 fish total to 10# for the day...some of the old timers managing substantially more....
Pebbles got less fish, but also the biggest fish on the beach that day.....a bluefish of around 13#..and another nice one around 10#...along with a few others....working metal near the bottom.... ...very proud of her and her persistence......

[lostatsea]

I read on here that the bluefish migrate offshore to spawn iin june after being in close in april and may. Well they are still in close off moriches and wondered if any of you gents here can explain why? There were a lot of bunker around so maybe that had something to do with it? thanks