# chopper blue fall run?



## drum junky (Jan 23, 2008)

I have gotten a few big bluefish the past two years in the spring here in SENC, just curious if they make a run in the fall?


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## Ryan Y (Dec 1, 2005)

Not usually


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## release (Apr 11, 2005)

Actually they used to show up pretty regularly on hatteras in Nov 30 years ago. And i am told they have a 30 year cycle so they just may start showing up in the fall too.


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## Ryan Y (Dec 1, 2005)

Hatteras yes-SENC not usually. We get the skinny ones in the early spring.


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## Drumdum (Jan 6, 2003)

release said:


> Actually they used to show up pretty regularly on hatteras in Nov 30 years ago. And i am told they have a 30 year cycle so they just may start showing up in the fall too.


 Haven't figured out what their "gig" is?? Got into those fish 30yrs ago,and then there were none?? Few yrs back they made a sneek attack on the beaches on a warm and pretty New Years day,reminded me of those days.. Honestly can't figured out what it is with their population,cause there seem to be TONS of them on the wrecks in early spring.. Somehow it seems to be tied in with the stripers,at least in the C Bay.. When the stripers were all but gone we were catching 14lb plus grey trout,and 15lb bluefish at will.. Stripers come back and I don't hear about all the bluefish that used to be in the C bay?? Come to the conclusion,ain't no figuring em...


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## Smally (Jan 16, 2009)

Drumdum said:


> ...TONS of them on the wrecks in early spring.. Somehow it seems to be tied in with the stripers,at least in the C Bay.. When the stripers were all but gone we were catching 14lb plus grey trout,and 15lb bluefish at will.. Stripers come back and I don't hear about all the bluefish that used to be in the C bay?? Come to the conclusion,ain't no figuring em...


I'm wondering how did this spring measure up w/ blues compared to years past drumdum? May was my first trip to OBX & I caught a 33" blue. I would GUESS it went near 12 lbs but I'm a noob so that could be off a bit, I'm just going by what I saw alot of others pulling up on the point that were called 8-10 by others. My 33" seemed longer & also had a bit more meat to it as some of the "8 lb'ers" looked to be a giant head with a body 2 sizes too small attached to it. 

Anyhow I'm wondering was that run of blues in May better than average? less than, or just normal?


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## gilly21 (Feb 15, 2006)

Drumdum said:


> Haven't figured out what their "gig" is?? Got into those fish 30yrs ago,and then there were none?? Few yrs back they made a sneek attack on the beaches on a warm and pretty New Years day,reminded me of those days.. Honestly can't figured out what it is with their population,cause there seem to be TONS of them on the wrecks in early spring.. Somehow it seems to be tied in with the stripers,at least in the C Bay.. When the stripers were all but gone we were catching 14lb plus grey trout,and 15lb bluefish at will.. Stripers come back and I don't hear about all the bluefish that used to be in the C bay?? Come to the conclusion,ain't no figuring em...


Could be this year.
http://www.thebassbarn.com/forum/showthread.php?t=194794


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## Drumdum (Jan 6, 2003)

Smally said:


> I'm wondering how did this spring measure up w/ blues compared to years past drumdum? May was my first trip to OBX & I caught a 33" blue. I would GUESS it went near 12 lbs but I'm a noob so that could be off a bit, I'm just going by what I saw alot of others pulling up on the point that were called 8-10 by others. My 33" seemed longer & also had a bit more meat to it as some of the "8 lb'ers" looked to be a giant head with a body 2 sizes too small attached to it.
> 
> Anyhow I'm wondering was that run of blues in May better than average? less than, or just normal?


 I'm thinking last few springs have been "decent" from the beach,much better than it has been for them.. As far as all head no body,they are always shaped that way in the spring... As far as the wrecks,they've been thick in the spring since I've been fishing wrecks..


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## Drumdum (Jan 6, 2003)

gilly21 said:


> Could be this year.
> http://www.thebassbarn.com/forum/showthread.php?t=194794


 Could be.. It'd be something to do this winter,but could put the hurts on the pups and trout... 

Been there when we were catching stripers and drum together,and big bluefish and drum together,be cool to catch all three at the same time in late fall...


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## LEADDRAFT (Oct 9, 2001)

*from the thread...*



> I was there, it is true- Big Big blues I put 4 in the box all over 34" My cooler is 32" and Most of the heads and most of the tail was hanging over - all over 15# 1 at 20#-- they were hitting anything Metal or plugs got 2 on a swimmer then 4 on a big 8' pencil popper. Tore up my brand new swimmer. Lots of guys lost plugs and metal - These slammers were big enuf to inhale the whole 4 to 6 " lures and cut the line- I was lucky I probably should have put on a wire leader.
> 
> Most intense hour of fishing I have had -other than Montauk last Oct.- But even those at Montauk 5 to 10# were not as much fun as these biguns. But Montauk was on and off all day. these big ones were in and out in about 2 hours, about 9:30 to 11:30




Horry chit!

Check the video-->! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdYekZwenXw

opcorn:


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## Peixaria (Dec 31, 2008)

Drumdum, When I was a rook on Ocracoke, maybe 95-96 We were fishing the north end one day and a guy showed up with a citation pink for a 41 inch 17 lb. bluefish That he claimed he had caught the previous day at the point. My crew immediately caught the ferry and turned up to find hundreds of carcasses of huge bluefish with eyes as big as quarters. I couldn't believe what I was looking at. I spoke to a few who had been there the day before and said they came in like dark torpedos first on the outside, then crashing into shallow water running everything else up on the beach. Angler mayhem ensued with broken equipment and a few emergency room visitors that were in need of 4 oz. Hopkins removal from their ear and forehead. When you hear this kind of tale you wonder if its true. Cape Point, the day after showed the clues, numerous skeltons of 40 inch blues with heads like small baseball mitts.

May bluefish have definitely recovered in the last few years me thinks because of warming waters and a better supply of food at that time. The are skinny and meek compared to the winter monsters that visited in the past. The scarcity of the true Chopper Blues and Stripers as well, probably is due to warming water trend, The fact that they are competing for the same food sources, and the crazy Menhaden fishery that happens outside Chesapeake Bay every winter. IMO


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## Drumdum (Jan 6, 2003)

Peixaria said:


> Drumdum, When I was a rook on Ocracoke, maybe 95-96 We were fishing the north end one day and a guy showed up with a citation pink for a 41 inch 17 lb. bluefish That he claimed he had caught the previous day at the point. My crew immediately caught the ferry and turned up to find hundreds of carcasses of huge bluefish with eyes as big as quarters. I couldn't believe what I was looking at. I spoke to a few who had been there the day before and said they came in like dark torpedos first on the outside, then crashing into shallow water running everything else up on the beach. Angler mayhem ensued with broken equipment and a few emergency room visitors that were in need of 4 oz. Hopkins removal from their ear and forehead. When you hear this kind of tale you wonder if its true. Cape Point, the day after showed the clues, numerous skeltons of 40 inch blues with heads like small baseball mitts.
> 
> May bluefish have definitely recovered in the last few years me thinks because of warming waters and a better supply of food at that time. The are skinny and meek compared to the winter monsters that visited in the past. The scarcity of the true Chopper Blues and Stripers as well, probably is due to warming water trend, The fact that they are competing for the same food sources, and the crazy Menhaden fishery that happens outside Chesapeake Bay every winter. IMO



Yeap.. IF the fatback make it down here,could be "gameon"... Course me speck feesh'n will suffer...  What am I say'n? If I'm on the beach at the right time,could just walk along and pick up my limit off the shore...


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## AL_N_VB (Apr 3, 2002)

Drumdum said:


> Yeap.. IF the fatback make it down here,could be "gameon"... Course me speck feesh'n will suffer...  What am I say'n? If I'm on the beach at the right time,could just walk along and pick up my limit off the shore...



Bucket fishin is the best!


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## rsqchief5 (Jan 5, 2009)

I will have to get a pic to verify this (the fish is on his wall) but here is the story.

1971, my father, his 3 brothers and his father go fishing off Montauk Point, NY. they were fishing for blues and rightfuly were using heavy wire leaders. Other than catching fish, they also all caught a hell of a buzz. Dad hooks a monster blue fish that goes in the fish box. When they get back to the dock, they unload the fish and a guy working at the dock flips out over Dads bluefish. They weigh it and it ended up being a tad over 28lbs. They werent sure of the current record so they contacted some local that apparently was able to certify and authenticate world records. They start doing paperwork on the fish. The guy asks dad about his tackle and finds out that he used a wire leader. At the time (and maybe still) IGFA says it has to be straight mono to the hook, no steel leaders. Fish was disqualified. As it turns out, fish ended up being a few ounces short of the current record anyway. Dad decides to get the fish mounted and gets a reciept for the deposit he paid to send the fish to Pfleuger's in Florida. He goes home without the fish. Between the time they leave Montauk and get home in Rockaway Point on the other end of Long Island, he and his brothers are ripped out of their minds on beer and liquer. Dad starts telling everyone about this MONSTER bluefish he caught, but do to the overpowering aroma and lack of fish nobody believes him. He pulls out the receipt to find it says "Bluefish 100.00" in someones handwriting. He has nothing to prove his story. For months, he was ridiculed by all his buddies about his "monster" 8 months after the trip, a huge wooden crate shows up at the house. Inside it.....his mounted "monster". 2 days later there appeard a picture in the local paper of dad and his very "stiff and unatural looking" bluefish. He never heard anything else from his buddies.


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## Timmay (May 2, 2009)

Caught me an 8.3 pounder last weekend; on a drum rig; will have pictures when my bro emails em to me. Ran out 3 fish heads on a 3 drop hand made rig with 10/0 circle hooks at night hoping to get a drum or blacktip. Yakked it out to get it past the sand bar. Saw my rod tip go nuts and pulled it in; thought it was a drum until I got close enough to see it was a big blue; definately wasn't expecting that this time of year.


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## zztopsail (Jul 23, 2009)

*Fresh Water Strippers take toll on Rainbow Trout too*



Drumdum said:


> Haven't figured out what their "gig" is?? Got into those fish 30yrs ago,and then there were none?? Few yrs back they made a sneek attack on the beaches on a warm and pretty New Years day,reminded me of those days.. Honestly can't figured out what it is with their population,cause there seem to be TONS of them on the wrecks in early spring.. Somehow it seems to be tied in with the stripers,at least in the C Bay.. When the stripers were all but gone we were catching 14lb plus grey trout,and 15lb bluefish at will.. Stripers come back and I don't hear about all the bluefish that used to be in the C bay?? Come to the conclusion,ain't no figuring em...


Could very well be the strippers as the strippers are a major factor in the trout fishing in the Saluda River tail race behind Lake Murray in SC. Those strippers are descendants of the land locked freshies that were caught up stream over 70 years ago when they built the Santee-Wateree Dams between Columbia and Charleston. (and where all fresh water strippers orignially came from by the way)

In the early spring the strippers make a migration up stream and make their way up through the Congaree River and into the Saluda only to be stopped by the Lake Murray Dam where the water is so cold coming out of the bottom of the lake through the turbines that the SC DNR stocks rainbows and brown trout. You can almost predict how good or bad the trout fishing will be in the summer and fall by looking at the reports of the numbers and size of strippers caught in the river during that spring migration as Trout are caviar to the strippers and they can decimate the trout, which unlike the strippers do not reproduce in that area.

Stripper fishermen know this also and will catch the trout and use them as bait (against the law by the way).:--|

Trout fishermen have tried to get SC DNR to build a weir at the conjunction of the Saluda and Congaree to stop the strippers at that point but so far no success, which is a shame as it would really make that Saluda Tail race a major trout stream in the middle of SC and would bring a lot tourism money to the area.:fishing:


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