Bluefish the Fierce and Savage Predator

The bluefish is an extremely fierce and savage predator. It’s highly regarded and respected by saltwater anglers as the hardest fighter when hooked. Occasionally, they can be a menace to swimmers and divers. Aggressive attacks on humans by blues in a school do happen with some record. And I think that is how they have a nickname, “marine piranha.”

It scientific name is Pomatomas saltatrix and the only member of the family, Pomotomidae.

Distribution

The distribution of the blue is worldwide, favoring temperate and tropical waters. They’re a highly migratory species. Bluefish can be found in abundant in the Atlantic Ocean, along the African coasts including the Black and Mediterranean Seas. But they’re rarely or totally not to be found in the eastern Pacific.

Characteristics

It has a compressed body with a large head and large mouth with razor sharp, triangular teeth. It has 2 dorsal fins; the first is low and short comprising of 6-8 spines. The second dorsal fin is long with 1 spine and 23-28 soft rays. The anal fin has about 26 soft rays on 2 spines with a deeply forked tail. The scales are small and compact. A visible lateral line runs across the length of the body.

The coloring is greenish-blue on the back, fading to silvery on the sides and belly. There is a dark patch at the base of both pectoral fins.

It can grow to about 45 inches in length and 40 lbs or more in weight. Fish over 20 lbs is quite rare, but fish weighing to 10 lbs is quite common. The average size is about 1-3 ft. weighing around 3-5 lbs.

Habitat

The young or “snappers” as they’re called are often found inshore in estuaries, inlets and bays. Larger fish can be found in all depths from the surface to the bottom, depending on the water temperatures and conditions.

Swimming in big schools sometimes in the thousands, bluefish are voracious feeders foraging on schools of baitfish. Schools of menhaden, anchovy, mackerel and herring are high on their target. They can be very unruly destroying anything eatable in their path, including bathers on the beach. Naked swimmers beware when “marine piranhas” are on the rampage. Quite a number of attacks on swimmers have been recorded. They attack and eat even their own young.

Fishing Methods

Bluefish fishing methods is wide, largely due to their aggressive behavior. When they’re around and in a feeding frenzy mood which they usually do they’ll attack anything put before their nose. Trolling is the most popular choice offshore boat fishing. Live or dead baits can be used so do a wide variety of lures. Spinners or plugs can be cast to fish spotted on the surface. So do fly fishermen using colorful streamer flies and surface poppers. Drifting with dead or live-baits is also employed so do jigging with colorful metal jigs when blues are located somewhere down the water column.

Surf fishing for this predatory game-fish is also very popular in some regions when they ventured up into the surf.

Tackle

Tackle for bluefish fishing range from heavy boat trolling outfits to light spinning tackle. The reel drag including fly reels must be of the highest quality, because blues can fight long and hard with tremendous dogged strength. Anglers using light tackle must be prepared for its repeated jumps as well. Monofilament line from 8-12 lbs. test is sufficient for small fish and 20 lbs. test for the big one. A 4-6 inches length of wire leader is best to prevent against its famous razor-sharp teeth, together with a long-shank hook of size 3/0-6/0.

As a reminder bluefish eat and attack anything you put before their nose, and so do your fingers. Handling and unhook them with great care.

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Saltwater Fishing

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