Bluefish

Bluefish are very popular saltwater game fish. They are fierce predators with lots of sharp teeth. Large adult bluefish may weigh over 30 pounds, but sizable adults are less common in the Hudson than young fish. Bluefish spawn in the ocean; their young then enter estuaries in summer to feed on young herring, silversides, anchovies and other small fish. These “snapper blues,” five to ten inches long, will even enter fresh water as they move upriver in search of prey. From late June to September, a sudden skittering of small fish across the surface of a quiet brackish cove or marsh pool often indicates a school of snappers hunting beneath.