Bluefish
General Characteristics and Habitat
Bluefish are stone cold killing machines! Bluefish teeth can be dangerous to new anglers. Put simply, they fight like hell once they are hooked, so hang on tight! They are not as blue as their name suggests, rather their long bodies are sea green at the top, gradually fading to a silver / white belly. It has yellow eyes which do little to soften its image! 
It has a broad, forked tail and can swim up to 9 miles per hour. The lower jaw is under slung while its mouth has several rows of sharp conical teeth which must be respected. Please let the Captains handle these fish once they hit the deck.
Blues are able to fight so hard due to the fact that more water flows across their gills when their mouth is held open by a hook, jig, etc. They hunt primarily by sight, generally attacking their prey by making a sudden 90 to 180 degree turn in order to get behind their victim before either swallowing it whole or simply ripping off a mouthful. It is not unusual for a blue to eat the back half of whatever other fish you are reeling up. If you are left with half of a porgy with a perfectly circular bite out it then there are bluefish on patrol.
Bluefish eat at every opportunity, even if it means puking up its already full belly. Their diet consists mostly of other fish, squid and eels. Cannabalism is common as well.
These fish school by size, often with thousands of other individuals. When a school of these killing machines locates large pods of smaller baitfish then a “blitz” is common. The water will appear to be boiling as the prey gets torn to pieces. Scavenger birds are drawn to this slaughter to pick up the pieces. Striped bass will often park themselves under the blitz, waiting for chunks of fish to sink to the bottom. A “slick” of fish oil on the surface marks the spot of a recent blitz. The smell is also distinctive, but not “fishy” as one would expect. Rather it smells “fruity” to most people. Go figure.
Breeding and Migration
Spawning takes place in the ocean. The fry are carried north by the Gulfstream, then current and winds deposit the snappers into bays and harbors where they feed on tiny crustaceans until they can fend for themselves in the ocean.
These are migratory fish, the larger fish spend the winter off the Carolinas, while the smaller ones go as far south as Florida. In the spring, the larger ones return first, typically in late April to early May. By Memorial Day, the smaller ones will have arrived as well.
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How to Catch Them
They range in size from just an inch or two up to about 40 inches, so it is important to match the gear to the size of fish in the area. Snappers can be caught on cane poles or even “toy” fishing rods sold in discount stores.
Both spinning and conventional reels work well. Lures work well due to the hyper aggressive nature of these fish. If your lure is tied to monofilament fishing line, then there is a good chance of losing it due to other bluefish cutting the line. It is a common sight to see multiple fish pursuing the same lure.
All it takes is one set of bluefish teeth to cut your line. A thin steel leader is often used to prevent line cutting. However, this leader is easily seen by other species of fish that are “line shy”, so unless you only want to catch blues, then it may be worth using monofilament leader and hope for the best.
The lures are the usual stuff: diamond jigs, bucktails, jig heads threaded through plastic lures, etc. However, bluefish teeth will take a toll on your supply of lures and bait setups! They are found anywhere in the water column. It is quite exciting to see a fish attack a surface lure. Sometimes they rocket out of the water like a submarine launched missile! Bluefish are typically found in fast moving water and are not “structure bound” like porgy, for example. Unlike striped bass, there are pelagic blues, these are typically huge.
Eating
This is a controversial subject! Some people trash talk these fish to the point of looking down on someone who would eat one. I think most of the people who bad-mouth these fish are simply repeating what others say.
IMO, it is similar to the dark meat / white meat preference for turkey or chicken. Bluefish is the “dark meat: for sure. Its taste is “fishy”, but so what… did you expect it to taste like a pork chop? How to broil a bluefish fillet.
Generally speaking, the bigger the fish the stronger the taste will be. I enjoy blues up to 24 inches or so. It is important to bleed fish you want to eat and get them on ice as soon as they bleed out. This fish does not keep well or freeze well, so you should eat it within 12 hours of catching it. I have caught them off my dock then had the fillets under a broiler five minutes later!
The Lingo
Snapper: Any juvenile fish up to about 12 inches. Young fish are typically found in the bays, needing to hunt and grow before venturing into the ocean.
Cocktail Blue: Fish between 12 and 18 inches
Nice Fish!: 22 to 28 inches, more or less.
Alligator or Chopper: Any fish over 30 inches. 15 pounds is a huge one.