By most accounts, the spring striper run is off to a slow start. The cold winter, as many suspected, delayed the striped bass migration, and just now are quality fish starting to be caught with regularity in New Jersey, New York and parts of New England.
If there’s any silver lining to the slow striper fishing, it’s that it has given more fishermen the opportunity to enjoy what’s looking like one of the best bluefish runs in years. Guys who would otherwise be too preoccupied with finding stripers have been having a blast watching bluefish demolish poppers, metals and live bunker.
Kevin Blinkoff and I have been trying to get these blues on the fly, and since neither of us can cast a fly rod far enough to reach the blues from shore, we’ve been fishing from our kayaks.
I know in a couple weeks, we’ll be focused on getting lures and baits under the blues, and instead of cheering at each explosive, teeth-gnashing hit, we’ll be cursing it for chopping up eels and soft plastics, but for a few days this week, there was nothing better than letting the blues thin the ranks of my overfilled fly box.
I watch your show all the time can you seen me plastic you use and plugs there names ty
I would be interested in the names of the lures and plastics as well.
Where on earth are you that blue fish are available BEFORE stripers?
Cape cod canal has blues and not too many stripers
Looks like a wings neck castle in the background lol
3 savages bit in half the other day at the canal – good thing they come with a spare tail
I got 6 keeper stripers so far compared to 16 bluefish in Narragansett Bay. Seems like the bluefish are in first with good numbers here in Narragansett Bay. Looks like this is going to be a good yr for the blues.
Doesn’t that spinning rod sticking up behind you get in the way of your back cast? Or, maybe thats what you really used to first hook that blue……