Amelia Island Fishing Articles

It would be nice, after having fished for over 45 years, to have a log in the computer of all the fish I've caught over the years. It would be interesting to see which kind of fish I'd caught the most of, and which kind the least, and where I'd caught them. I got to thinking about that a while ago, while I was eating a Bluefish sandwich for dinner.

I remember when I was a kid, I caught a lot of large mouth bass, and even a lot more blue gills. When I started fishing in the Chesapeake Bay, I remember I caught a lot of spot. When I got a little older and started fishing the outer banks of North Carolina, I remember catching a lot of trout. But I can't remember any place I've fished up and down the east coast in salt water where I didn't catch Bluefish.

In the last month of fishing around Amelia Island, I'd have to say that Bluefish make up a large percentage of the fish I've caught. All through October, the blues have been biting pretty good, both at the Fort Clinch pier, and in the surf too. There's been a few times that I couldn't keep my bait in the water for two minutes without catching one.

For some reason, why I'm not really sure, the Bluefish around Amelia Island are all small - eleven to fourteen inches or so. Farther up the east coast, they're catching them this time of year that are eleven to fourteen pounds (not inches) and bigger. Blues tend to school up with similar sized fish - if you catch one that's thirteen inches long, chances are the next one you catch will be just about exactly the same size. If you catch one that's thirteen pounds, get your line back in the water because there's a bunch more thirteen pounders where he came from.

I remember one year back in the 80's we were fishing on the beach near Nags Head, North Carolina, and we wound up being the right place at the right time - smack in the middle of a Bluefish blitz. The fish were all around fifteen pounds, and the water was boiling with them and the bait fish they were trying to eat. For over an hour anything you tossed in the water immediately got grabbed - we were using big Hopkins lures on three foot long wire leaders and casting into the surf with surf gear, and I remember that when the Hopkins hit the water I'd get about three cranks on the reel before I had a fish on. The Hopkins I was using had the normal treble hook replaced with a single hook with the barb mashed down, so when I got a fish up on the beach he was easy to release and I had the line back in the water and another one hooked in no time.

Pound for pound, I don't remember catching too many kinds of fish that are stronger than blues other than tuna maybe. Catching a tuna is like hooking a submarine that's going in the other direction. A Bluefish is pretty much the same. I remember it was cold when we were catching those big blues, I had on chest waders and it's good that I did because after a few big blues my arms got so tired I'd have to jamb the butt of the surf rod down the waders and let the fish pull while I took a rest. I don't know how many I caught, maybe a dozen or so before the blitz was over, but there were dozens of fisherman on the beach that day so the total was up in the hundreds I imagine. I was really tired when it was over, but I'll never forget how much fun I had that day.

A week or so ago I was fishing by myself late in the afternoon at the Fort Clinch pier, and had a mini version of my experience in North Carolina. The small blues were thick near the beach, none on the top chasing bait, but as fast as I could put bait in the water I'd hook one, or sometimes two at the same time. With a light weight six foot rod, the little twelve inch blues were fun to fight back to the pier.

Bluefish normally require a wire leader because they have razor sharp teeth, and I'm very careful about getting my fingers near the choppers on any of them, even the little ones. I've accidentally learned another trick this October while catching small blues. I've been fishing with bottom rigs that I make with 40lb test mono; two Owner 2/0 MTU Light circle hooks that I'd normally use for whiting or trout. I leave the bait hanging off the hook instead of burying the hook in the bait; with a chunk of mullet I just run the hook through the skin, which leaves the entire hook exposed. Of the last three dozen small blues I've caught, only one has cut the leader and he did that dancing around on the end of the line after I had him up on the pier. None of the three dozen have been deeply hooked, and I haven't even needed a pair of pliers to unhook any of them because they've all been lipped hooked and the Owner hooks are really easy to get out of the fish. I'm slowly convincing myself that circle hooks for any type of fishing are the best way to go.

A lot of fishermen I've met don't eat Bluefish; I've been subject to a few yucks when I clean them or put one in the cooler. I've also seen a number of fisherman go through the throat slicing, gill cutting "bleeding" ritual with blues they intend to eat (as if other fish didn't have blood). Blues are probably the easiest fish I've ever caught to clean - they are scientifically designed to be perfect for filleting, and they are easy to skin too. With a sharp knife I can whip a bag of Bluefish into skinless fillets in hurry. The small ones are great to eat; any blue less than a couple of pounds is great on the table.

The meat is darker than most fish, even has a bluish tint, which is maybe how they got their name. There's a dark streak in each fillet, but it's not necessary to remove it. One secret I've learned with fish over the years is don't rinse the fillets and leave them wet; pat them dry with a paper towel because leaving them wet makes the meat a bit mealy.

I think the best blues I ever ate were wrapped in tin foil with some onions and tomato slices, seasoned and cooked on a grill. We unwrapped them and introduced the contents of the foil to some really fresh white bread and a jar of mayonnaise. Yummy. That was at the beach at Ocean City, Maryland years ago. Not quite as much fun as the North Carolina Bluefish blitz, but close.

I also cook blues in a microwave. Place the fillets in shallow dish, add some onion slices, a little butter or margarine, and some salt and pepper. Cover and cook them for six to eight minutes. They come back very moist and flaky, just be careful not to overcook them.

My Bluefish sandwich tonight consisted of some fish we had let over from last night's dinner. We cut the fillets into slices and dipped them in Tempura batter, and deep-fried them. Not good for your cholesterol level probably, but they'll make your tongue sit up and take notice. Introduce the left overs to some fresh bread, chopped lettuce and some mayonnaise and they're as good the second time around.

Anyway, blues are fun to catch, and good to eat and if you haven't tried either, I'd highly recommend both.

Article By Amelia-Island-Fishing.Com Staff