Blues Clues
 

Keeper size rock have been hard to come by recently in our area.

But the blues have picked up the slack . They have been around 16"

Mixed in with dink rock and a mack here and there.

Rain minnows are every where and the blues wear them out at times.

Smoked some recently..

As you can see I ate some off the smoker...

It has been a banner year for blues. You are correct, 16-18 inches are normal size we have been seeing. Two days ago, we were catching an occasional 21 inch blue. Love the fight, just wish I liked the taste better.
Captain John deep fries them at South County Cafe and they are delicious. My fried blues in Crisco just don't measure up to the way he cooks them:mad:

We spent a considerable amount of time Wed. chasing birds and jigging them at several hot spots. When they leave, it will be nice to know Rock are under the birds:D
5th

I caught most of mine casting with the flat style sting silver green feather from Martys what

have you been Jigging them with Marty??

I hope you are right that the rock will be under the birds later..
My question is where are those keeper fish going to come from??

It's mid September and the majority of rock under the birds are dinks..
Please tell me I'm wrong.. but I don't see it being like 4 or so years ago

Here's the recipe Capt. Harry Carter (original builder, owner of the Breezin' Thru) gave me years ago for that size bluefish.

Filet and skin
Cut the blood line out (the dark red section down the middle of the filet)
Soak the filets in heavily salted ice water for 1/2 to 1 hr. Replenish the ice if needed to keep it cold. (this firms the meat and draws the oil out)
Rinse in fresh water to remove most of the salt
Dredge in egg wash and Italian Bread crumbs (cut the filets into 3 or 4 pieces if you want)
Fry, either in deep fryer or pan fry in oil until golden

This is absolutely the best way I've had this size of bluefish. Makes a great cold snack with beer from any leftovers.

It's early, the blues will be gone in Oct and 22-25 inch rock will take their place. My best lure has been a silver and blue back sting silver.
5th

Does anyone soak their blues, or any other fish in milk? It takes away the fishy taste. I have used this method from time to time, and it seems to work.

Joe