Damn Good Guides
Experts Available 24/7
100% Weather Guarantee
“Our Damn Good Guides go above and beyond, and we’ve handpicked every single one. We’re passionate about the outdoors and look forward to getting you out on the trip of a lifetime, every time.”
Jonathan and Attison | Co-founders | Austin, Texas
Bluefish Fishing Charters
Inshore, Jetty Fishing in Destin
Summer Inshore Fishing - 22’ Cape Horn
Everything to Know About Booking a bluefish fishing charter
What are the best bluefish fishing charters?
The best bluefish fishing charters are:
Why should I book a bluefish fishing charter with Captain Experiences?
Our Damn Good Guides currently offer 134 bluefish trips, and the most popular trips are Bay Fishing Trips guided by David, Peacock Bass: Fly or Spin guided by Justin, and Screaming Drag Surf Fishing guided by Frank.
Our guides are rated a 4.85 out of 5 based on 3786 verified reviews on Captain Experiences.
All guides on Captain Experiences are vetted by our team. You can access their reviews, click through trip photos, read bios to get to know them, and preview trip details like species, techniques, group sizes, boat specs and more.
Looking for kid friendly bluefish guides / fishing lessons? Check out our beginner and family friendly bluefish guides.
What types of bluefish fishing charters are common?
Deep Sea fishing is the most popular type of fishing for bluefish as well as inshore fishing, nearshore fishing, and flats fishing.
The most common fishing techniques are light tackle fishing, live bait fishing, and trolling but bottom fishing and artificial lure fishing are popular as well.
How much do bluefish fishing charters cost?
Prices for bluefish can range anywhere from about $500 to $1,900, but the average price for a half day trip for bluefish is $870. The average price for a full day trip for bluefish is $1,439.
Is booking a fishing guide worth the money?
Hiring a guide provides a number of benefits and many choose to book a fishing guide for a combination of experience, local knowledge, convenience, and cost-effectiveness.
Working with experienced fishing guides who know the best local spots and techniques can dramatically increase your odds of a great day. Having someone who is on the water every day and knows the area like the back of their hand is going to give you the best chances of success.
Booking a guide is also more cost effective, especially if you only get out a handful of times per year. When you consider all of the costs you would incur on your own such as the price of a boat, maintenance, insurance, gas, high-quality gear and tackle, repairs, and more, you’ll find that DIY is sometimes not worth the expense.
Even if you’ve got a great setup already in your home waters, booking a guide also provides a great opportunity to experience new techniques, new locations, or even a chance at a new target species to knock off the bucket list.
What month is best for bluefish fishing?
The most popular season for bluefish fishing is summer, and most anglers book their trips 10 days in advance.
Do I need a fishing license for bluefish and what are the bag limits for bluefish?
See here for more information on bluefish fishing licenses, bluefish bag limits, and fishing season regulations for bluefish. When in doubt, your fishing guide will always know the right bluefish rules and regulations.
What is a Bluefish?
Bluefish (Pomatomus saltatrix) are fierce killing machines that are often called marine piranhas. These aggressive brutes will swim in large schools attacking almost anything smaller than them in feeding frenzies called the “bluefish blitz.”
As the name suggests, they have a blue-green and grayish coloring that fades to white on their bellies. With a row of knife-like teeth and a broad forked tail, they are dangerous looking creatures that should be treated with caution to avoid injury.
How big do Bluefish get?
Bluefish reach reproductive age in two years, at which point they’ll range from 15 to 20 inches, which is the size that is most often caught. They can grow up to 31 pounds and 39 inches during their 12-year life span. There are rumors of the “Gator Blues” which are supposedly offshore sea monsters, reaching over 50 inches long, and up to 30 pounds.
What's the biggest Bluefish ever caught?
The stories of bluefish over 50 pounds caught on the West Coast of Africa can be found throughout history and even as recent as the 2000s. However, despite the consistent rumors, they never quite made it to the record books. The current world record is held by James M Hussey, who caught a 31 pound, 12 ounce bluefish off the beach at Hatteras, North Carolina on January 30th, 1972.
Where is the best place to catch Bluefish?
Bluefish can be found worldwide in tropical and subtropical pelagic waters. They tend to be found in schools above the continental shelf, near surf beaches, or rock headlands in eastern North America, Africa, the Mediterranean and Black Seas, Southeast Asia, and Australia.
When should I catch Bluefish?
They are migratory fish, so the best time to catch them also depends on location. On the East Coast of the United States, bluefish spend their winters in Florida but leave in April. They then head north and can be found near Massachusetts by June and will head south again in October. Similarly, in Europe, they spawn in the Black Sea in the spring and summer, then migrate south towards the Mediterranean coast of Turkey for the fall and winter months.
One of the only places they stay stagnant is the Gulf of Mexico, where they can be found throughout the year but tend to be smaller. In South Africa, Southeast Asia, and Australia, bluefish are known to have a much shorter migration making them more accessible almost year round.
How do you catch Bluefish?
Bluefish will take a bite out of just about anything they can fit their teeth around. Natural bait tends to work best in calm waters. Larger pieces of bait, or even a whole small fish like mullet, mackerel, or anchovies will work. For rough seas, lures like spoons, plugs, jigs, poppers, flies, or feathers are a sure bet.
They can be caught by casting from the beach or pier, but if you’re on a boat chumming the water and then trolling or jigging is better. Be sure to use a tough wire leader to prevent them from cutting the line with their sharp teeth, and again, handle with care once landed.
Are Bluefish good to eat? What are the best Bluefish recipes?
Bluefish are good table fare especially the smaller ones or “snapper blues.” This is true only when fresh because they have high fat content that causes them to mush when frozen. The most common preparations are typically poached, baked, or fried.
One of the fan favorite recipes for fried snapper blues is with a beer batter. Once you’ve filleted your bluefish into serving sized pieces, you can cover them in a batter mixture of flour, eggs, beer, baking powder, salt, and lemon powder. After deep frying, leftover batter and oil can be used for oysters to serve with.
Recent Reviews
Cities
- Annapolis, MD
- Atlantic Beach, NC
- Beaufort, NC
- Big Pine Key, FL
- Biloxi, MS
- Bourne, MA
- Brunswick, GA
- Cape May, NJ
- Carolina Beach, NC
- Charleston, SC
- Cohasset, MA
- Dauphin Island, AL
- Daytona Beach, FL
- Dennis, MA
- Destin, FL
- Edgewater, FL
- Elberta, AL
- Englewood, FL
- Falmouth, MA
- Fernandina Beach, FL
- Flagler Beach, FL
- Fort Lauderdale, FL
- Fort Myers Beach, FL
- Fort Walton Beach, FL
- Freeport, FL
- Frisco, NC
- Gulf Shores, AL
- Hampton Bays, NY
- Harkers Island, NC
- Hatteras, NC
- Highlands, NJ
- Hilton Head Island, SC
- Howard Beach, NY
- Jacksonville, FL
- Jupiter, FL
- Key Largo, FL
- Key West, FL
- Manteo, NC
- Melbourne Beach, FL
- Montauk, NY
- Morehead City, NC
- Mount Pleasant, SC
- Nantucket, MA
- New Smyrna Beach, FL
- New York, NY
- Niceville, FL
- North Charleston, SC
- North Kingstown, RI
- North Topsail Beach, NC
- Oak Hill, FL
- Orange Beach, AL
- Orlando, FL
- Orleans, MA
- Ormond Beach, FL
- Palm Coast, FL
- Panama City, FL
- Panama City Beach, FL
- Pensacola, FL
- Port Canaveral, FL
- Port Jefferson, NY
- Port Orange, FL
- Port Washington, NY
- Rock Hall, MD
- Ruskin, FL
- Safety Harbor, FL
- Santa Rosa Beach, FL
- Sealevel, NC
- St. Augustine, FL
- Stone Harbor, NJ
- Tampa, FL
- Topsail Beach, NC
- Wanchese, NC
- Wilmington, NC
- Wrightsville Beach, NC
Other Fishing Species
- Albacore Tuna
- Amberjack
- Barracuda
- Bigeye Tuna
- Black Drum
- Black Grouper
- Black Seabass
- Blackfin Tuna
- Blacktip Shark
- Blue Shark
- Bluefin Tuna
- Bonefish
- Bonito
- Bonnethead Shark
- Bowfin
- Bull Shark
- Carp
- Cero Mackerel
- Channel Catfish
- Cichlid
- Clam
- Cobia
- Cod
- Crappie
- False Albacore
- Florida Pompano
- Flounder
- Fluke
- Gag Grouper
- Garfish
- Goliath Grouper
- Haddock
- Hammerhead Shark
- Hardhead Catfish
- Jack Crevalle
- Kingfish
- Ladyfish
- Lane Snapper
- Largemouth Bass
- Lemon Shark
- Mahi Mahi
- Mako Shark
- Mangrove Snapper
- Mutton Snapper
- Northern Pike
- Peacock Bass
- Perch
- Permit
- Ray
- Red Grouper
- Red Snapper
- Redfish
- Rockfish
- Sailfish
- Scamp Grouper
- Scup
- Sheepshead
- Shrimp
- Skate
- Snakehead
- Snook
- Spadefish
- Spanish Mackerel
- Speckled Trout
- Stingray
- Striped Bass
- Sunfish
- Tarpon
- Tautog
- Thresher Shark
- Tiger Shark
- Triggerfish
- Tripletail
- Vermillion Snapper
- Wahoo
- Weakfish
- Whiting
- Yellowfin Tuna
- Yellowtail Snapper
Featured Cities
- Fishing Charters Near Me
- Austin Fishing Guides
- Biloxi Fishing Charters
- Bradenton Fishing Charters
- Cabo San Lucas Fishing Charters
- Cancun Fishing Charters
- Cape Coral Fishing Charters
- Charleston Fishing Charters
- Clearwater Fishing Charters
- Corpus Christi Fishing Charters
- Dauphin Island Fishing Charters
- Daytona Beach Fishing Charters
- Destin Fishing Charters
- Fort Lauderdale Fishing Charters
- Fort Myers Fishing Charters
- Fort Walton Beach Fishing Charters
- Galveston Fishing Charters
- Gulf Shores Fishing Charters
- Hatteras Fishing Charters
- Hilton Head Fishing Charters
- Islamorada Fishing Charters
- Jacksonville Fishing Charters
- Jupiter Fishing Charters
- Key Largo Fishing Charters
- Key West Fishing Charters
- Kona Fishing Charters
- Madeira Beach Fishing Charters
- Marathon Fishing Charters
- Marco Island Fishing Charters
- Miami Fishing Charters
- Montauk Fishing Charters
- Morehead City Fishing Charters
- Naples Fishing Charters
- New Orleans Fishing Charters
- New Smyrna Beach Fishing Charters
- Orange Beach Fishing Charters
- Panama City Beach Fishing Charters
- Pensacola Fishing Charters
- Pompano Beach Fishing Charters
- Port Aransas Fishing Charters
- Rockport Fishing Charters
- San Diego Fishing Charters
- San Juan Fishing Charters
- Sarasota Fishing Charters
- South Padre Island Fishing Charters
- St. Petersburg Fishing Charters
- Tampa Fishing Charters
- Tarpon Springs Fishing Charters
- Venice Fishing Charters
- Virginia Beach Fishing Charters
What's biting?
View Bluefish Fishing Reports from our damn good guides.
Didn't Find What You Were Looking For?
Our guides are Damn Good Guides, which means they’re vetted by our team of outdoor experts who know them on a first-name basis. We hand pick each and every one of them, and our network spans all across the US and beyond.
The proof is in the pudding, and we’re incredibly proud of our 4.9 / 5 average review score. Hit the button below to see more trip options:
