The N.J. Surface Iron

[Billy V]

This is a good N.J. surf fishing video. It looks like the shallows near Sandy Hook close to my old house.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...--gLS6q8k&NR=1

Bluefish.
Like yellowtail with teeth, these nasty critters could bite off a finger. They taste like sh^t so you did not eat them, but they were fun to fish.

When fishing for the larger models using chunk bait and chum, you absolutely had to use wire to the hook or they would bite through the mono every time.

[mtnbykr2]

Great video for a crappy rainy day at work...thanks for sharin...made me smile, I would loveto get into some of that

[wade]

Powerful oily s.o.b.'s.
(When I lived there, we used the Striper/Blues Diamond jigs tipped with a eel tube.)
Those plugs look fun too!......

[JKay]

I fish that area and there is nothing more fun than catching gorilla blues on topwater. I don't fish it from the shore like those guys, but in a kayak. The flats in that area turn on in May/June. I can't wait.

[The Kid]

Man watching that vid gives me the itch for a good surface iron bite. It just needs to happen a lot sooner! Maybe Billy, you can start a blue fish hatchery fully funded by the DFG. LOL! I'm sure the science involved in a study to support blue fish stocks will work in your favor.

DFG

[taggermike]

I always heard blues were pretty bad ass. When I moved to the east coast I found they were way worse than I ever thought they could be. Honey Badgers of the sea. Bluefish just don't give a shit. I did fish samples in the local, Outer Banks, fish buying houses and it was fairly common to inspect a catch of croaker or flounder and find 10-20% of the catch had chunks missing from blues attacking them in the nets. You also find blues with other blue fish bites out of them. I cleaned a blue fish and found a head, a body, and a tail in it's stomach. No big deal right? Except all 3 pieces were from different species of fish. There is a big commercial fishery for them so some body must eat them. Plastics and gulps work great back there but thanks to the blues I compleatly stopped using plastics. I used live bait and super cheap hooks. The reds, trout, and flounder would stay hooked and the blues would bite off. Mike

[Croaker Dave]

I've eaten plenty of blues and the young ones are delicious. I don't think it's a real fish fry in the Outer Banks without a barrel of fresh-caught bluefish. Fried blues, hushpuppies, coleslaw, and fresh-baked pie are the staff of life. Good memories.

[Billy V]

SNAPPERS

Baby blue fish - like piranha they were. lol.

We used a small silver Hippy Lure to catch them, similar to a Kastmaster.
I caught thousands of these things.

They were good if you floured and pan fried them in a cast iron frying pan, then added a dash of red wine vinegar before you ate them.

Like vinegar french fries with bones.

[CurtyL]

wow a discussion on NJ surface lures an no mention of the vaunted Hopkins?

also you need wire leader for blues. even then it only lasts a few fish before it needs a change. in a blitz you could be changing it 5 or 6 times.

30 fish at 15-25 lbs a pop- you don't have too many of those kinds of days on LJ.