WOW! New York bight fishing was filled with screaming drags & aerial acrobatics!

MORE TO COME!!!

My guest today was vacationing in NYC from Europe and really showed his world-wide angling skills! We really put a hurtin on some monster, I mean, MONSTER Bluefish! Right out of the gate, FISH ON, and once we got this 15-lb bluefish to the boat we spotted another fish, which resembled a giant 30-lb bass, which was chasing down the big bluefish already on the hook and under siege!!! Sure wish we could have gotten a closer look at whatever fish that was!!!!

When I grabbed the tail of this bluefish, it spit out the whole bunker, all in one piece! Upon closer inspection this ancient bluefish had literally no teeth!

International Angler Zyed battles monster bluefish in NY Bight

After witnessing this event unfold before my very eyes today, it certainly supports the idea that these two species of fish will swim side-by-side and compete head to head for food flushing out of Jamaica Bay! The silver-sides and bay anchovies are getting hammered as well. Find the birds and you will find the cocktail bluefish… Remember to have fun and keep switching up lures or flies until you find the fish that eats! It is also a good idea to remove any front end trebles on plugs, swimmers and other casting lures. Single hooks simply make for safer landing and de-hooking so you can get that plug back in the water! Plus, it tears up the fish so much less that there is no reason not to reduce the total number of hook points on your lures. WinWin for the angler, and the fish!

Pre-shaped haywire twists were a good finisher to the day after using up all the 50-lb mono on the boat! I prefer large test mono instead of wire because it is easier on the hands when landing fish and it doesn’t kink after a few fish. Nonetheless, it is a good idea to wear a fish glove when handling the bluefish too! It allows for better leader control which aids in better protection for your hands from line cuts to the fingers or palms. For convenience I only use one glove on my non-dominant hand, which handles the leader until the fish is under control and while handling the fish for quick pics and the release.

Freebird

SO! Like a bird, get out there with your light-weight tins, heavy metals (yeah!), and small 2-inch to 5-inch cream colored flies with a silver stripe down each side and even throw in some live bait if you can keep it alive. It is a good thing the bunker are still in town. Until next time, keep your hooks & your wits sharp! Change is good and so is the challenge in cracking the code of finding huge fish that are no where near the birds!