In a surprise twist, the bluefish have arrived in BIG numbers. In many areas of the oceanfront as well as the Bay, they have driven the stripers out and taken over. They are big and they are aggressive.
Last evening I was out from shore in the Bay in a well known striper haunt. I didn't find any stripers but, the place was crawling with marauding bluefish. Using a Jumpin' Minnow, I landed 10 of them from 6 to 10 lbs. In the last hour I fished, I had a hit or a fish on every single cast. At one point I even saw fish breaking here and there in front of me. Many of the blues I landed were puking up squid, a sure sign that the squid are around the lower Bay in numbers.
The bluefish generally make a run into Narragansett Bay every spring in late May for about two weeks. This, however, is earlier than expected. In addition, we usually see small bluefish in the 2 to 4 lb. range. These are much bigger than expected.
On the negative side of all this, the striper fishing for the most part continues to be way off. It was fair at best to begin with, but I fear this will only make is worse. Geez, these blues are big enough to eat the schoolies that have been around!
