Pomatomus Saltatrix It's a well known fact that groups of flyfishers in cities up and down the Atlantic Seaboard form "bluefish networks". When the lucky individual living next to the ocean knows the bluefish are just offshore and feeding, he calls five or six designated people, they in turn call previously approved individuals, and already-packed cars and trucks are soon filled with grinning flyfishers. They're after blues. They're considered to be the most sporting fish species available in salt or freshwater by their afficionados. And whether that is true or not, it does say something for the fish's fighting characteristics and its reputation developed over a long period of time. The networks are necessary because blues come in cycles, and their presence close enough to shore for a long rod presentation is, if not rare, at least sporadic. You have to have an understanding boss if you're a bluefish fanatic. (Some flyfishers achieve this status by taking the boss with them. Once hooked, they stay hooked.) If you know nothing about bluefish, it's easy to get a good idea of their most dominant attribute from their nicknames; snappers, choppers or marine piranha. With a full mouth of canine teeth, they've been known to create oil slicks on the water as they move through a school of bait fish. And since they have the unique ability to focus their eyes out of water, many a careless fisherman has almost lost a finger or two to those teeth. Bred and born in the deep oceans of the world, bluefish move around a lot. They are found in every ocean connected to the Atlantic that has temperate or tropically warm waters. In the U.S. that means that sometime during the year there may blues just off shore anywhere between Massachusetts and South Carolina. There's no mistaking feeding bluefish, their ferocious character and aggressive runs are legendary. Fishermen tell stories of bluefish chasing bait fish right up to the beach, and then beaching themselves in one last frantic lunge. Many have home videos providing proof for their tales. Watching a video of blues in a feeding frenzy, right next to shore, is . . . stimulating. Physically, a bluefish is sort of blueish in color, with a blue-green color on the back and sides, gradually changing to a silver white on the belly. The fins are about the same color as the body, and there's a patch of black at the base of each pectoral fin. The body of a bluefish is moderately stout, the belly flat-sided, but blunt-edged on the ventral surface. It has a moderately pointed snout and a large oblique mouth with a protruding lower jaw. The fish are not big. Record book fish weigh less than 20 pounds. Many fishermen catch five pound fish and are happy. Most are a lot happier with 10 and 15 pound bluefish, however. Author John Hersey wrote a novel about bluefish entitled, simply, Blues. Every bluefish flyfisher should read the book. It captures the essence of fishing for bluefish, including the varying motivations people have for going after blues. It's a good book about a great sports fish, and the interesting people who meet their challenge.