Catching a 20-pound bluefish has been thought of by many angers as being the equivalent of catching a 50-pound striper, but the frequency with which these monsters are being caught may be threatening that status. The past two seasons there have been an inordinate number of these giant choppers finding their way into fishing reports, along with many others not being reported.
Last November 6, four members of the Gateway Striper Club participated in a bluefish blitz of epic proportions in the Atlantic Beach surf. That insane bite not only produced a potential New York State record bluefish of 25.25 pounds for Chris Vorhees, but the four anglers also lost count of the number of giant blues they beached between 18 and the low 20-pound class. All had a number of blues hitting the 20-pound mark, according to Frank Mackney, one of the four club members. Last fall also saw a stretch where a number of 20-plus pound blues were caught by boatmen trolling bunker spoons and live lining bunker in New York Bight. Giant blues also showed up in reports from Long Island Sound.
Last week, the open boat Captree Pride pounded on a body of giant blues for four days, catching fish to 20 pounds each day, two of the fish stood out. A 23 pounder topped a catch made early in the week, and then on Thursday, a gargantuan 26 pounder hit the deck. Both fish were weighed on non-certified scales making the 26 pounder ineligible for a state or IGFA line class record. Also last week, Capt. John Paduano managed to land several beasts hitting the 20-pound mark during a blitz in the East End surf. On the weekend, Mark McGowan of Cow Harbor Bait & tackle in Northport fell just short of the 20-pound mark this past Saturday. A 19 pounder topped his catch of huge blues during an epic day-long blitz inside Northport Harbor.
So what’s up with all of these outsize blues making their mark the past two seasons? All signs point to the preponderance of bunker in our waters in recent years, and the yellow eyes are taking full advantage of this overflowing food source. I’ve seen 18 pounders that should have weighed 14 or 15 pounds if it wasn’t for belies stuffed full of adult bunker. One would also think that the protein-rich menhaden must also be giving the growth rate of bluefish a boost.
Whatever is behind this proliferation of monster blues, I have no doubt that a new state record is looming on the horizon. It’s just a matter of time before such a fish finds its way to a certified scale.
