Don't just catch the blues, eat 'em too

“There is a fine line between fishing and just standing on the shore like an idiot.”  — Steven Wright

 "Anyone can be a fisherman in May." — Ernest Hemingway, "The Old Man and the Sea"

All alliteration aside, blues, bass and bunker are ruling the day on the local fishing front. 

The big choppers have pretty much set up shop in the Harbor of Refuge off Lewes, but have been caught in other locations south. The back bays have seen their own share of blue blasts, with fish being tallied by anglers using bunker and mullet on the bait front, and poppers or metal on the artificial scene. 

Last Friday there was a huge bite on the Cape fishing pier with just incredible amounts of blues being landed. Anglers were able to catch fish on just about anything they threw.  The bite continued on into the heavy winds and rain on Saturday, and as my boat is still being held hostage at a marina, we managed to scratch a few out as well. 

While talking with folks on the beach a phrase I heard repeated often about the blues was that they were "fun to catch, but not very good to eat." 

Certainly there is plenty of subjectiveness about such statements, but when I ask the speakers if they'd ever actually TRIED bluefish they answer negatively. This is the way false narratives are started.

As Robert Ruark said in the classic, "The Old Man and the Boy," there are some folks that just don't like bluefish but, then again, there are people who like escargot. 

Personally, I'd rather eat a freshly caught and well-cared for bluefish of any size over the more glamorous striped bass. It's important to bleed the blues by slicing the throat latch and, if you can, let the fish swim around in a bucket. We do this for any fish, not just the blues.

The big blues are very good done on a grill. Take a skinned fillet and trim off as much of the dark meat as you can, alternate wedges of lemon and butter pats on the fillet and lay on aluminum foil with what would be the skin side down. Crush pepper over it (or lemon pepper, Old Bay or whatever), make it into a closed packet and toss it on the grill along with a couple burgers (makes some smoke). 

When the fillets are done (flaky and white), open the foil packs and pierce the bottom letting the juices drain out. Close up the grill and let cook a couple minutes more with the packet open and then have at them! You can't like fish and not like it. Unless, of course, you prefer snails.

Capt. Rick Yakimowicz reports stellar sea bass fishing for patrons on the all-day boat out of Fisherman's Wharf in Lewes. The usual springtime locations have been producing well for the sea bass, the open season for which came none too soon for both party boat crews and the local tautog population.

Capt. Rick said that they have had some nice catches of fish into the two- to four-pound class.

Plenty of good fishing going on right now and, as Hemingway said, anyone can be a fisherman in May. But beware. As the old man warned September is coming and, hopefully, the boat will get looked at by then. Good luck and good fishing!

Reports, comments or questions to captjackrodger@comcast.net