By Debby Knopf
The bluefish is something of a misnomer, as this species is commonly a sea-green color above, fading into a silvery shade on its lower sides and belly. For me, the bluefish is my nemesis. I have tried to catch a bluefish on more trips last year than I can count! Everyone else in our fishing club were frequently reporting catching them. We would go out to the same areas and nothing! Maybe we are unlucky or maybe because they can be found both inshore and offshore, and the young fish often frequent river mouths. They also travel in large schools, which may contain up to several thousand fish. So as two specks in the vast gulf, we move and they move somewhere else. We try to catch bluefish by trolling, casting, and drifting. We use artificial lures, cut baits and shrimp. This year I had given up. I had resigned myself to the fact that my year would end only catching nine of the GOFC targeted ten species.
Two days before the end of the year our friend, Ed Ellet, invited us to go fishing for bluefish in his new boat that he won in the CCA Star Tournament. I was not excited, because it was on the last day of the year and it was going to be very cold! But I knew this was the last chance and maybe Ed would change our luck. At least we were going to have breakfast first.
We stayed in the channel, looking for birds working. We move, we drift, we cast; nothing but some sand trout. Then in the early afternoon, Ed caught a fish that was not behaving like the usual trout, and behold it was a bluefish. He kept it in the water in hopes of a trailer. We cast and finally Ken caught one too. They both began catching bluefish, but I had nothing. After several drifts, Ed announced it was time to leave soon, after all, it was New Year’s Eve and we had places to go. He said we could make another drift, which turned into three more. Still nothing. I had about given up when one more cast had a strike and I had a fish and it was a bluefish. Jumping up and down and yelling, Ed had it in the net but to my horror, it cut right through the net. It was still hooked and thankfully Ken lifted it into the boat. Smiles and happy dances all around!
I still can’t believe the last cast, on the last day of the year, landed the last fish I needed to complete my big ten species. Most days, it is hit or miss, but when you finally land the one fish you were looking for, thanks to the help of friends, it was worth enduring the cold. But that’s just my point of view!