Massachusetts Kayak Fishing: How to Target Bluefish in Nearshore Waters

Hi sea kayakers and kayak fishermen. Bluefish have a wholly unwarranted reputation for oiliness, whatever that means, and also a reputation for tasting fishy. That reputation isn't wholly undeserved, but not due to any fault of the fish. Let's get that straight, right here, from the outset. A bad tasting bluefish is always the fault of the fisherman.

So if you eat a bluefish that tastes oily, you're eating a spoiled bluefish. And chances are the fish spoiled because the fisherman who caught it didn't bleed and gut it as soon as he caught it. Short and long of the issue: bluefish will taste crummy if you don't take care of them in the boat. As for freezing them, forget it. They don't freeze well.

The keys are to bleed and gut them in the boat, keep them out of the sun, and eat them within a day or two. So now that we've got that out of the way, here's why. Their high fat and oil content - no higher, really, than the more widely-praised salmon - make this fine fighting fish vulnerable to spoilage, and to all sorts of put-downs from anglers who don't know better.

Bluefish are all muscle, from stem to stern, and where you have muscle, you have a latticework of veins, arteries and capillaries. All of those vessels hold blood. And as any fish inspector will tell you, blood in a dead fish oxidizes, leading to spoilage. So, number one key to good-tasting bluefish is to head off oxidization right there in the cockpit, and within an hour or so of capture, by bleeding them. Deer hunters already know how important this is.

To reiterate: drain the blood from them. Do it right there, where you caught them, on the water. Get around to removing the eviscera and gills within an hour or so. This is all pretty easy to do in a kayak provided the water is calm, you have a sharp knife, and you don't mind getting your hands a little bloody.

That said, the easiest way to catch bluefish from a kayak is by trolling a large plastic swimming and diving lure equipped with treble hooks. If you troll you won't have to chase the fish - which is often the case in shallow nearshore waters and in estuarine bays behind barrier beaches, where bluefish usually surface and surge from place to place chasing shoals of baitfish. Use a steel leader to protect your line from bite-offs.

Buefish make short work of monofilament when their teeth nick and scratch fishing line. Steel leader also prevents losing multiple lures. Use a large swimming lure that runs from six to ten feet deep in the water column. You don't really need a rod holder on the foredeck or aft deck. Instead, simply place the rod butt one one knee and lay the rod rod aft, flat towards the stern, by resting the rod against your thigh and hip.

If you set up for trolling this way, place the rod on the side of the cockpit opposite your stronger hand. Come time to land a fish, you'll be stablizing the kayak with your stronger, more coordinated leg and hip, and can reach into the water with your stronger hand to tailgrab your catch. For righties, then, this means setting up on the left, or port side, of the cockpit. For lefties, vice versa.

The rest of the job is simple. Set your drag just tight enough so trolling doesn't pull line from the reel. Cast the lure, set down the rod, and begin trolling. Paddle faster than you would for striped bass. You'll cover more ground that way, and will set the lure deeper. If bluefish are near, they'll detect your lure and it won't be but just a moment before one takes a swift and most decisive whack at it.

Here are a few other pointers. Bring a tackle box with a couple extra lures and leaders in it. If you want to go cheap, and prefer something watertight (a good idea, because gear always gets wet in a kayak), a Tupperware container will keep your lures dry and handy.

You'll want a sharp knife also, for bleeding your fish. A clasp knife with a locking blade is a good choice. Keep the knife closed when you're not using it and you run less risk of getting cut by accident. A locking blade prevents the knife from closing on a finger. Tether the knife to the kayak or to your pfd -- if you drop the knife, you won't lose it overboard. You'll find that a tether two and a half feet long or so gives you working length to spare, yet not so much that the tether gets tangled up with your reel, rod or paddle.

Finally, attach an easy to maintain saltwater spinning or trolling reel to a short casting or boat rod, and you're set. Launch into into bluefish waters and troll a few hundred yards offshore. Keep an eye out for surfaced schools, a commonplace in waters where bluefish show up in mid-summer to feed voraciously until they leave in late fall.

I've always enjoyed bluefishing off a low-lying rock island, comprised of glacial till and covered with seabirds, off the rocky shoreline of northeastern Massachusetts, where I live. The island isn't much, really a flat half moon of rough land about half a mile in square area, surrounded by submerged rocks and boulders and littered with storm-driven commercial fishing gear like fishing kayaks & for more information visit this guide. There isn't much on it: a mouldering swamp that goes dry in summer, cattails, thick stands of staghorn sumac.

The whole jumbled mess is surrounded by ledges slanting down towards rocky seatbottom that often hold striped bass and small scatterings of groundfish. Bluefish gather around this island every year in summer, and often hang around until the end of September. It's not unusual for me to meet the state-regulated ten-bluefish bag limit in the course of a few hours, less often when the fish are deeper and further offshore.

Well that's it for today's installment of Notes from a Local, your online audio and video resource for tips tools and pointers useful to sea kayakers and kayak fishermen around the world. I'm your host, Adam Bolonsky, podcasting and writing on the web from twitter at sea kayak.

Examples Of Fishing Kayak

This short article examines fishing kayak at length:

 - If you're a small boat, you'll want to have a lot of fun
 - The most common way to get a great price on a boat is to buy a kayak that is built from a small shell
 - They have a lot of experience in the kayak hire and they are good at getting the best deal
 - A great way to learn about the land Rover kayak is to have a look at the various types of kayaks available

Search

The next thing to do is to find a good kayak that will be able to provide you with the best possible price. This will allow you to find out what kind of frame parts are needed for the particular boat. The first part of the search for kayaks is the size of the person. This is an useful tool for those who want to have a lot of fun in the boat. The second thing that you will need to do is to find a kit that will fit your boat. You will need to find a place that will be able to provide you with the type of kayak you want.

A good way to learn how to find an used kayak is to go to a local kayak dealer. You can search the internet for used kayak auctions and find the best kayak parts store. There are many online auction websites that are selling their used kayak parts. Additionally, there are many online sites that offer used kayaks at a price that is cheaper than the original. A good way to buy used kayaks is to look for a kayak that has a good reputation. There are many auction companies that are known to sell off the used or used kayaks.

The next step is to find a reliable kayak that will be able to provide you with the best possible price. This will give you a good understanding of the various aspects of the kayaks that you can choose from. This will also give you a better chance of getting the perfect kayak for your personal use. The second way to learn about the kayak is to visit the website of the company. This will make the process easy and will help you to get the most out of the boat. You can check the websites of the companies that offer the kayak hire services.

The essential factor in choosing a cruise is the amount of food you will be able to spend on your vacation. You should check the prices of the cruise kayaks before you decide to go for a vacation. Moreover, the most popular way to find the best deals is to visit the cruise kayaks. This is a great way to have a fun, enjoyable time with your loved ones. You can take advantage of the cruise kayak to see if there are any specials available. A great way to get the most out of the trip is to take a tour of the cruise kayak.

The crucial aspect of the trip is the location of the kayak. The location of the roads is a vital factor in determining the best route to go:

 - The most common route to the road is to paddle the kayak to the nearest station
 - The most significant factor in choosing a jet ski is to decide what type of boat you want
 - The essential thing to look for is the type of the boat you are going to use
 - You can ask the salesperson to recommend a kayak that is used for the type of van you want

The first type of kayak kit is the one that is used for the purpose of the boat. The kayaks are equipped with the latest technology and the best part is that they are available in a wide range of styles and sizes. The most important thing is that the boat is equipped with the right kind of safety features. The kayak is equipped with the safety measures that are needed to protect the boat from damage. At the same time, the kayak hire company has a wide selection of boats that are available in the market. There are many kayak dealers in the market that can help you in getting the best kayak hire company.

Summing up, we talked widely about fishing kayak. Firstly, if you're a fan of a boat, you're going to want to make sure that you're getting the right kind of fishing tackle. After that, we talked about how the most common way to get a good grasp of the kayak is to go fishing. Next, they have a large number of visitors and they have a wide choice of kayak hire. After that, we talked about how the most important part of your kayak charters is the fact that you will be able to enjoy the sights and views of the area.Please This short article examines fishing kayak at length:

 - If you're a small boat, you'll want to have a lot of fun
 - The most common way to get a great price on a boat is to buy a kayak that is built from a small shell
 - They have a lot of experience in the kayak hire and they are good at getting the best deal
 - A great way to learn about the land Rover kayak is to have a look at the various types of kayaks available

Search

The next thing to do is to find a good kayak that will be able to provide you with the best possible price. This will allow you to find out what kind of frame parts are needed for the particular boat. The first part of the search for kayaks is the size of the person. This is an useful tool for those who want to have a lot of fun in the boat. The second thing that you will need to do is to find a kit that will fit your boat. You will need to find a place that will be able to provide you with the type of kayak you want.

A good way to learn how to find an used kayak is to go to a local kayak dealer. You can search the internet for used kayak auctions and find the best kayak parts store. There are many online auction websites that are selling their used kayak parts. Additionally, there are many online sites that offer used kayaks at a price that is cheaper than the original. A good way to buy used kayaks is to look for a kayak that has a good reputation. There are many auction companies that are known to sell off the used or used kayaks.

The next step is to find a reliable kayak that will be able to provide you with the best possible price. This will give you a good understanding of the various aspects of the kayaks that you can choose from. This will also give you a better chance of getting the perfect kayak for your personal use. The second way to learn about the kayak is to visit the website of the company. This will make the process easy and will help you to get the most out of the boat. You can check the websites of the companies that offer the kayak hire services.

The essential factor in choosing a cruise is the amount of food you will be able to spend on your vacation. You should check the prices of the cruise kayaks before you decide to go for a vacation. Moreover, the most popular way to find the best deals is to visit the cruise kayaks. This is a great way to have a fun, enjoyable time with your loved ones. You can take advantage of the cruise kayak to see if there are any specials available. A great way to get the most out of the trip is to take a tour of the cruise kayak.

The crucial aspect of the trip is the location of the kayak. The location of the roads is a vital factor in determining the best route to go:

 - The most common route to the road is to paddle the kayak to the nearest station
 - The most significant factor in choosing a jet ski is to decide what type of boat you want
 - The essential thing to look for is the type of the boat you are going to use
 - You can ask the salesperson to recommend a kayak that is used for the type of van you want

The first type of kayak kit is the one that is used for the purpose of the boat. The kayaks are equipped with the latest technology and the best part is that they are available in a wide range of styles and sizes. The most important thing is that the boat is equipped with the right kind of safety features. The kayak is equipped with the safety measures that are needed to protect the boat from damage. At the same time, the kayak hire company has a wide selection of boats that are available in the market. There are many kayak dealers in the market that can help you in getting the best kayak hire company.

Summing up, we talked widely about fishing kayak. Firstly, if you're a fan of a boat, you're going to want to make sure that you're getting the right kind of fishing tackle. After that, we talked about how the most common way to get a good grasp of the kayak is to go fishing. Next, they have a large number of visitors and they have a wide choice of kayak hire. After that, we talked about how the most important part of your kayak charters is the fact that you will be able to enjoy the sights and views of the area. Please visit this website now to know more information.