The water in the mid and upper Bay was running 75-81 degrees this week according to a NOAA site that I visit often. That is warm, really warm, too warm for stripers. However, no problem for the bluefish. So, last night I hit a spot in the mid Bay and came away with the biggest bluefish hit I've experienced in two years. They were everywhere I was fishing and real active as they were chasing silversides and small sandeels. These breaking fish were aggressively hitting poppers, jigs and metal. By the end of the evening I had landed 18 of them and lost at least that many. They were on the small side for the most part, running 12-20 inches. Since there were lots of fish and a pile of bait in front of me, I figured I would stay after dark and try for stripers. I casted for close to an hour and landed just one lone schoolie, my only hit. It's shaping up to be a big bluefish summer. As long as the small bait sticks around, the bluefish action should remain good regardless of the warm water.
