Sunday, July 26, 2015

Tons of Small Bait, Blues Invade South Shore

Tons of small bait has attracted good numbers of small
bluefish to the south shore oceanfront.  The Kastmaster XL
was the hot producer tonight.
Suddenly, things are looking up, especially if you are a fan of bluefish.  Earlier than expected, a ton of small bait, bay anchovies I assume, has invaded the south shore.  I saw it yesterday moving along the shoreline like a continuous black winding road.  It was also way out as terns were in a vast area diving here and there for the bait.  This bait was tiny, probably about a half inch long.
The sudden influx of bait has attracted schools of small bluefish.  I landed several on a Kastmaster XL and lost a bunch more.  The blues went up to about 3 lbs. Yes, small stuff, but, hey, it's action that I have not seen in weeks.  Unfortunately, I saw and caught no schoolies along the beach that I was fishing and that includes working it after dark.
The big amount of bait is welcome news.  If it sticks around, it might just set up an earlier than expected run of albies (late August, maybe).  It might also get an early striper run going once the water cools a bit. Things are looking up!