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| Stony Brook Harbor with a view towards West Meadow Creek |
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| First Bluefish of the season. |
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| Some thrash so violently they kind of make a mess of their jaws. |
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Singing The Blues
There are many reasons for one to sing the blues, especially when it comes to fishing. The spring run-off might be too high, heat and dry weather may cause stream levels to dip too low, or the the fish just didn't want to bite. I was singing the blues a few weeks back when I decided to try out my Hera rod and some new salt water flies I had just tied only to have my rod tip snap after a few casts. Well I just received a replacement tip for my Hera rod but elected to use my spin rod on several recent trips down to harbor for some saltwater action. Stony Brook Harbor is a great place to do some fishing. With it's tidal creeks and shallow channels it's a productive nursery for bait fish. Where you have bait fish you are sure to have predators come and go with the tide. I did not think much would be going on a hot July afternoon at 4:30pm down at the dock but I thought I would just cast a bucktail a little to get my line wet. Then I started to sing the blues...big time. This time singing the blues was a good thing because it meant....Bluefish! (specifically cocktail blues 15-22").
It's been a while since I last caught a blue, probably because I spend so much time chasing trout, but I had almost forgotten what great fighters they are. After only a half hour I managed to land 7 of them ranging from 15-20". Despite the heat and humidity it was a lot of fun. So for the last few days the tide has been right and I have gone down to the dock after work and landed a bunch more.
All were released safely to fight another day and I hope to meet up with some of them again someday when they get up to the 10-15lb range. As anglers, no matter where, when, and what we fish for there will always be sad tales to tell about how nature conspired against us to prevent the fish from biting or how the big one got away but this is not one of those tales. If I ever have to sing the blues again, this is the way to do it!
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Really cool...looks like a lot of fun!
ReplyDeleteI love those tidal creeks. I fish them several times a year.
ReplyDeleteI fish for what are called Snapper Blues.
I use a 3665A hook,#6 or 8, sometimes I'll wrap some silver tinsel, and strands of crystal flash. When it's right non stop action for a spell. Great fighters.
Love that first photo.
Sanders... It is most definitely fun and I recommend it any chance you get.
ReplyDeleteBrk Trt...I fish for snappers too (~7-12") usually in late Aug to early Sept. when they are everywhere. I use a Hera rod with a small Rapala lure. It's a blast. The cocktail blues are just a snapper blues older and larger brethern. The Alligator blues are the guys who run up to 20lbs or more.
That looks like a great way to cure the summer blues. I have never even heard of Bluefish so thanks for sharing. Great photos and nice fish too. Tight Lines.
ReplyDeleteTrout Magee...Saltwater fishing is one of the benefits to living on Long Island. Actually, it's what it's known for. In the same harbor 40-50" striped bass are not unheard of. I usually catch them in the 20-30" range. They are also great fighters. There are even locations where I can catch saltwater fish alongside trout and yellow perch. It's kind of cool.
ReplyDeleteJust found your blog , and signed up to follow. Bluefish are one of my favorite saltwater species to catch especially on light tackle.
ReplyDeleteEver try a gotcha lure for those? They work great.
Any hints on how to get here?
ReplyDeleteArchaeologyknits....It's the Stony Brook Marina located on Stony Brook Harbor (Long Island, NY)
ReplyDelete