Bluefish on the Queen Mary 9/20/07

[Bucktail]

Finally got out to try my new Butterfly set-up. Got on the Queen Mary out of Point for bluefish. (A good fish to practice on.)  Took a loooooong ride up to the hook.  When we finally got there we anchored in with the Brooklyn VI and Miss Belmar Princess. 

Almost immediately, everyone that had a jig tied on switched over to bait (which really kind of boxed me in as far as jigging).  I got off to a slow start but stayed with the jig the whole trip.  This prompted the captain to ask sarcastically, "Is somebody paying you to use that stuff or are you just stubborn?"

We moved a few times, and finally got on a really good bite towards the end of the trip and left them biting.  (Ain't that always the way?)

Bottom line was everyone went home with fish.  High hook was in the 20s (I guess).  Most fish were on bait.  I wound up with about a dozen blues up to 10 or 12 lbs. 

The mates Eric and Mark were great!  I watched as Eric patiently coached a newbie couple, with rental rods, on how to catch 'em.  And despite a few tangles, the paying folks all got along well!

As far as the Butterfly system, catching them on the Butterfly gear was a blast!  It took a little while to get the right jigging motion (pull up, reel down) since I'm not the most coordinated guy.



I've got blisters on my right hand, my left hand is cramped up, and my ribs on the left side are a bit sore. But after a full day of Butterfly jigging I can say that I'm definitely hooked on this method!

Can't wait for striper season and the Big Cows! 

-Bob

[ped579]

Great report Bob.  I know how excited you were to get the rig.  So bottom line is it what you expected?

Happy Catching

Paul

[hareball]

Glad to hear you had a good trip

[Bucktail]

Great report Bob.  I know how excited you were to get the rig.  So bottom line is it what you expected?

Happy Catching

Paul

Yeah, pretty much.  I learned a lot today.  I definitely need more practice.  But it is a lot of fun!

-Bob

[ped579]

Great keep us posted on how it all works out.  Maybe more guys will try it and by next season you will be an expert on it. 

Happy Catching

Paul

[SPEEDRUG]

Good report and nice catch.. The group guys I fish with has decide to travel up north more the next time we go bluefishing because that 2hours+ trip on the boat is long...travel up north more = longer fishing time..

[Luna Sea 5]

nice catch

[jozwirk]

did you have any problems with fish biting off lures? and what size lures

[Bucktail]

Speedrug,
 
Definitely worth it to drive to a boat that's closer to the action.  Only problem is, you don't always know where the captain thinks the best action is.   What if you drive to a boat in the Highlands that winds up fishing just outside of Manasquan Inlet?   Most of the AH boats don't do that, but you never know.

jozwirk,

I did lose one jig, but minimized my losses by using a short trace of tieable wire above the jig.
The main problem I had was that the hooks themselves were getting bit (or broken) off of the wire leaders!  Even though I recognized that blues are "tail biters"  I wanted to rig the jigs as "true butterflies" (hooks on the nose).  So I crimped some nylon coated wire to the hooks and rigged them on the top.  Apparently the 45 lb. wire wasn't enough, since I lost four hooks doing it that way. 

After that I just gave in and attached a hook on the bottom with a split ring(the traditional way).  Lesson learned.

-Bob