bluefish/porgies

[greybeard]

I took the kayak out this morning hoping for bluefish, but brought porgy gear too.

Adult bunker were all over and being hit , at times, by blues. I snagged bunker and live lined them and had my line cut a couple of times by the teeth of the blues..I had a 50lb. mono leader, but shoulda used wire. The bluefish activity was sporadic so I paddled off to another spot. The tide turned slack so I figured that I'd bide my time catching porgies. I caught and released  over 15 nice ones when the tide started moving and in came the bluefish charging bait and coming out of the water. As they swam along the top I could see their fins and tails out of the water so it would be sight fishing, which I love. I switched to my bluefish setup and chased them around the harbor. I threw poppers at them, but they would crash into them and knocked them out of the water, but wouldn't take them.. I then switched to plastic shads and thin plastics that look similar to sand eels. I got some nice blues to over 9 lbs., and kept 2...They fought so hard that one of them broke the tip of my rod off (I carry 2 rods so it was ok). Hopefully the bigger blues will follow as fall progresses

(The porgies were nice sizes, but not like the New Zealand one that was posted )

 

[turkeyfeathers]

That's all virgin territory for me but sounds like a blast !


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[greybeard]

yes it is. I caught my first  adult bluefish in July 1964 and have been "hooked" ever since.

[dbHunterNY]

i really am not much of a fisherman.  just a redneck who fishes freshwater on occasion.  my parents have a vacation home in FL on the gulf.  hoping to do more saltwater fishing down there.

[Pygmy]

Sounds like  great morning, Greybeard.....There aren't too many fish much more fun to catch than bluefish...

They are not my favorite to eat, however..I much prefer the porgies  !!

I spent this morning on Keuka Lake....Caught yellow perch and smallmouths pretty much non stop until noon when the wind died and our nice drift stopped....Put back the bass, but kept 15 big jack perch and ended up with 3-4 pounds of prime perch filets...

[ATbuckhunter]

Nice blues! I hear the big guys have made their presence known in the north shore. I may go target them one of these days if I have nothing to do. Right now im just ready for salmon fishing and finally go out and fish for blackfish for the first time.

[tommyc50]

nice  i ride my bike over to jamaica bay and i talk to the kayakers all the time they usually  bucktail by jfk . when the blues are running they use 007  jigs . when i retire im getting a yak for sure looks like so much fun and a hell of a lot cheaper than owning a boat

[Pygmy]

Blackfish !!  Now there is some GOOD eating  !!  Good luck, My Friend !!

[ATbuckhunter]

4 minutes ago, Pygmy said:

Blackfish !!  Now there is some GOOD eating  !!  Good luck, My Friend !!

Only ever had it once, but its among my top 5 favorite fish. Never caught one before so im excited to catch a new species. Oct 5th cant get here soon enough! 

[greybeard]

I like eating bluefish especially in the spring. I thought that it was only me who thought spring blues were a little less fishy, but found out other surf casters did also. I bleed out bluefish as soon as I get them and get them on ice quickly. In my kayak I carry a small cooler and paddle to shore after a while , fillet them, remove the red meat and get them in the cooler. I don't usually keep the teen size blues.

I love blackfish, but don't fish for them much. I ate soooo many porgies that I lost my taste for them so it's mostly catch and release for me.

Pygmy.. I love perch, but don't get to fish for them much..

ATbuckhunter hope you get some blackfish and post some pics

[tommyc50]

yeah i like to smoke the bigger blues and grill the cocktails and one thing never freeze them if you ever used frozen bunker for bait you know what i mean they just fall apart,smoked bluefish is on par with salmon 

[ATbuckhunter]

11 minutes ago, greybeard said:

I like eating bluefish especially in the spring. I thought that it was only me who thought spring blues were a little less fishy, but found out other surf casters did also. I bleed out bluefish as soon as I get them and get them on ice quickly. In my kayak I carry a small cooler and paddle to shore after a while , fillet them, remove the red meat and get them in the cooler. I don't usually keep the teen size blues.

I love blackfish, but don't fish for them much. I ate soooo many porgies that I lost my taste for them so it's mostly catch and release for me.

Pygmy.. I love perch, but don't get to fish for them much..

ATbuckhunter hope you get some blackfish and post some pics

Appreciate it and will do! Ill be shore bound and not exactly sure what spots will be holding them, so i'm doubting if ill catch any keepers. I hear Jones beach has some decent spots so ill be checking that out for sure. 

[greybeard]

ATbuckhunter.. This may not be the case anymore so it may no longer be accurate.

A number of years ago I went over to Robert Moses  to the fishing pier. I had some clams and a small rod in the car so I figured I'd kill time...I caught a number of smal bottom fish and a keeper blackfish. Another guy came down who fished with green crabs and started getting nice blacks. I left and bought some  crabs and returned to  limit out..  I returned a couple of other days and caught more. I know that there are some guys that would go there every year and get them, but I haven't kept up with it so I don't know if it's still good. Maybe it's worth a shot if you don't have a spot...I just can't say for sure if it's still good.(the bait station at Captree, or  The Field 10 Bait Station may know.

The pier that I got them at was the 1st one as you drive in. I fished the west pier at the east end of that pier which required getting around a rail. They say that there's a mussel bed there. (there are newer piers there now, but I haven't ever fished them.)

You will need a daily permit  for the Robert Moses Pier which is free. Park your car in the dirt lot and go into the Admin bldg. and get the permit to put in your car.

They also get blackfish at Jones inlet near the construction dock. I go there a lot, but go for blues,  and sometimes for shad , bass, or herring  so I don't pay attention to the blackfish guys. I hear that they do well. The Pier 10 bait station should know...

You need a parking permit  to park  at the Construction Dock, or you get a fine of over $100...If you're not familiar with that .I can explain it to you  if you pm me..... It's different than the daily pass at Moses.

 

[ATbuckhunter]

19 minutes ago, greybeard said:

ATbuckhunter.. This may not be the case anymore so it may no longer be accurate.

A number of years ago I went over to Robert Moses  to the fishing pier. I had some clams and a small rod in the car so I figured I'd kill time...I caught a number of smal bottom fish and a keeper blackfish. Another guy came down who fished with green crabs and started getting nice blacks. I left and bought some  crabs and returned to  limit out..  I returned a couple of other days and caught more. I know that there are some guys that would go there every year and get them, but I haven't kept up with it so I don't know if it's still good. Maybe it's worth a shot if you don't have a spot...I just can't say for sure if it's still good.(the bait station at Captree, or  The Field 10 Bait Station may know.

The pier that I got them at was the 1st one as you drive in. I fished the west pier at the east end of that pier which required getting around a rail. They say that there's a mussel bed there. (there are newer piers there now, but I haven't ever fished them.)

You will need a daily permit  for the Robert Moses Pier which is free. Park your car in the dirt lot and go into the Admin bldg. and get the permit to put in your car.

They also get blackfish at Jones inlet near the construction dock. I go there a lot, but go for blues,  and sometimes for shad , bass, or herring  so I don't pay attention to the blackfish guys. I hear that they do well. The Pier 10 bait station should know...

You need a parking permit  to park  at the Construction Dock, or you get a fine of over $100...If you're not familiar with that .I can explain it to you  if you pm me..... It's different than the daily pass at Moses.

 

Thank you so much I really appreciate it! I also was told field 10, the construction docks and the jetty at west end II are good. No way im going to walk that again with all the blackfish gear. I was thinking of parking by the coast guard station and walking to the construction dock. If that's no good, ill move to field 10. Really appreciate the tips and if you want to head out for blackies on October 5th, your more then welcome to join me...ill bring all the crabs we'll need.

[First-light]

Soak those filets in Gin overnight. Really cuts the oil in the Blues makes the meat taste great. Old salt from Nantucket taught me this. 

[crappyice]

Soak those filets in Gin overnight. Really cuts the oil in the Blues makes the meat taste great. Old salt from Nantucket taught me this. 

Then toss the fish and drink the gin?!?!? Really tough fish for me to stomach unless they are small and super fresh.


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[greybeard]

I don't know if Field 10 has good blackfishing. I never saw any quality blacks come from there, but it's worth a shot.

I was gonna tell you about the parking by the Coast Guard Station, glad you know about it. You can also park at West End 2 and walk the sand trails to the Construction Dock, but it's a bit of a hike.

You're gonna lose a bit of tackle at the Construction Pier so bring a few rigs.

Thanx for the invite, but the 1st week or 2 of October I am heavy into blues/bass on the north shore in the kayak..I'm addicted to those things, but if I'm not out there I'll let you know...Last year the blues were insane where I fish and were  up to the teen size , and there were some good stripers there too. I wait all year for this..... My time is limited this year because I'm heading out of state with my wife and also to hunt during the prime blue/bass time.  Last year I got it in exactly, but things changed this year.

I never heard of soaking blues in gin. I'll try it thanx

I'm heading back  to hunt for more blues early tomorrow

[greybeard]

crappyice....My father used to eat bluefish of any size and cooked every crazy way. He made bluefish soup and I almost puked when I smelled it. We all laugh about it these days. He made some crazy concoctions. good memories

[ATbuckhunter]

28 minutes ago, greybeard said:

I don't know if Field 10 has good blackfishing. I never saw any quality blacks come from there, but it's worth a shot.

I was gonna tell you about the parking by the Coast Guard Station, glad you know about it. You can also park at West End 2 and walk the sand trails to the Construction Dock, but it's a bit of a hike.

You're gonna lose a bit of tackle at the Construction Pier so bring a few rigs.

Thanx for the invite, but the 1st week or 2 of October I am heavy into blues/bass on the north shore in the kayak..I'm addicted to those things, but if I'm not out there I'll let you know...Last year the blues were insane where I fish and were  up to the teen size , and there were some good stripers there too. I wait all year for this..... My time is limited this year because I'm heading out of state with my wife and also to hunt during the prime blue/bass time.  Last year I got it in exactly, but things changed this year.

I never heard of soaking blues in gin. I'll try it thanx

I'm heading back  to hunt for more blues early tomorrow

Ive heard that there are a ton of snags, so I was planning on going to buy a bunch of weights and tying a bunch of new rigs. Blues on poppers is hard to resist though...especially compared to bottom fishing in a snaggy area. Hopefully they really start coming in soon for you. And after doing the walk from the parking lot to the jetty, ill elect to doing the shorter walk to the construction dock. 

[tommyc50]

4 hours ago, ATbuckhunter said:

 

1.  

4 hours ago, ATbuckhunter said:

 

 

4 hours ago, ATbuckhunter said:

 

 

4 hours ago, ATbuckhunter said:

 

yeah you want blackfish from shore fish the jetties, if you dont mind taking a ride for the best blackfishing on the east coast grab a boat in orient pt. im  very parcial to the brooklyn girl they run as a party boat and as a charter and montyman as a six pack charter but any boat out of there is good. right now its seabass the best eating fish there is

[greybeard]

AT... There is a guy that used to fish bottom at the Construction Dock . He used nuts, etc.for sinkers because he lost so many.

I went out at dark this morning because I had to be home before noon. I had planned on being there at change of tide, but didn't have the time. The spot where I got fish yesterday is a LONG paddle so I couldn't make the timing work for me.

There were small bass before daylight and the few bluefish that I saw were too picky...There were no bluefish, or bass on the many bunker schools that are out there... What a difference a day makes,   and .....that's fishing..

[ATbuckhunter]

Well greybeard your going to like this one. My organic chem class was cancelled today so I had nothing to do all day so I decided to go fishing. Started off with bottom fishing and picked up a bunch of sea robins and one small fluke. I saw some bunker pods move in so I decided to walk to my car and take out my surf rod that had a popper on it.
It's a long walk so by the time I got back the bunker pods were a little too far to reach.

I looked behind me after watching blues come up and hit the bunker and saw another school of bunker forming between the pier and shore. This time they were close and coming even closer to shore. One cast and a nice blue came yo and smashed my popper a couple times. Man I forgot how fun it is to watch them fly of the water when hitting a popper. I'd say it's my best blue, but to be honest I'm not sure exactly how much it weighs. I'm thinking around 8-10 pounds but correct me if I'm wrong.

For some reason my hair was all messed up when j was taking a pic, but to be honest I was so thrilled to catch it I didn't care. I'll be back there tomorrow afternoon if the weather isn't too bad



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[ATbuckhunter]

7 hours ago, greybeard said:

AT... There is a guy that used to fish bottom at the Construction Dock . He used nuts, etc.for sinkers because he lost so many.

I went out at dark this morning because I had to be home before noon. I had planned on being there at change of tide, but didn't have the time. The spot where I got fish yesterday is a LONG paddle so I couldn't make the timing work for me.

There were small bass before daylight and the few bluefish that I saw were too picky...There were no bluefish, or bass on the many bunker schools that are out there... What a difference a day makes,   and .....that's fishing..

Appreciate the tip. Didn't think id loose that many rigs so i guess ill have to be creative with what I use for a sinker. 

[greybeard]

Nice fish !!! Congrats...You're correct I did like the story.

I'm really glad that you had that thrill with the bluefish.. They don't know what it means to quit...That's why I love those yellow eyed devils.

It's hard to tell about weight even looking at one when you get it...I surf fish as well as kayak fish and chase blues a lot so I hear lots of tales about weights, and many are questionable.. There's some good stories about bluefish weight estimates among my friends...Last year we got gorillas, everyday for a few weeks. Some were weighed on a calibrated scale, but , when asked, I'd say that the fish were up to ..lbs., or over ... lbs.  Then I figured I was pretty accurate.  No matter what the weight of your fish was , it's a big 'un and you had fun.. You can't beat that.

What do you tip the bucktail with ?? pork rind ? soft plastic ??? I had a good  discussion with a surf fisherman last night about choices... I'm curious about what you use. .. I still tip with soft plastic, usually with 4 inch twister tails, but found a better plastic and I use it with plain lead heads too, and unweighted in freshwater. If you're interested I can pm you the info...It's REALLY effective.

As far as your hair.. I'd pay for that on my head.. Mine went into the drain.

I hope you post another story tomorrow, I'm very interested..good luck

[ATbuckhunter]

35 minutes ago, greybeard said:

Nice fish !!! Congrats...You're correct I did like the story.

I'm really glad that you had that thrill with the bluefish.. They don't know what it means to quit...That's why I love those yellow eyed devils.

It's hard to tell about weight even looking at one when you get it...I surf fish as well as kayak fish and chase blues a lot so I hear lots of tales about weights, and many are questionable.. There's some good stories about bluefish weight estimates among my friends...Last year we got gorillas, everyday for a few weeks. Some were weighed on a calibrated scale, but , when asked, I'd say that the fish were up to ..lbs., or over ... lbs.  Then I figured I was pretty accurate.  No matter what the weight of your fish was , it's a big 'un and you had fun.. You can't beat that.

What do you tip the bucktail with ?? pork rind ? soft plastic ??? I had a good  discussion with a surf fisherman last night about choices... I'm curious about what you use. .. I still tip with soft plastic, usually with 4 inch twister tails, but found a better plastic and I use it with plain lead heads too, and unweighted in freshwater. If you're interested I can pm you the info...It's REALLY effective.

As far as your hair.. I'd pay for that on my head.. Mine went into the drain.

I hope you post another story tomorrow, I'm very interested..good luck

Your right they fight right up to the very end! Im all catch and release on any blues bigger than 2 pounds, but Ill be targeting them until i get to busy with school and hunting. Ill probably only use a popper since I love watching them strike so much! And your right as long as your having fun, size and weight are not important. 

I tip it with a gulp 4" swimming mullet, but i've heard of people tipping it with a pork rind and they do great on fluke and sea bass. I would love to hear what works for you though! Also a novice fluke fisherman so Ill take all the advice I can. 

Ill be getting a haircut tomorrow or Friday thankfully.