Bluefish in Florida
Meet the species

Scientific name
Pomatomus saltatrix
Overview
Young usually found inshore during spring and summer, moving offshore to join adults in fall and winter; strong migration of northeast atlantic stock to Florida east coast in winter
Typical size
Most gulf coast catches under 3 pounds; much larger on atlantic coast, up to 27 pounds
Typical weight (lb)
3.0
At a glance
- Peak months
- January–february, december
- Regions
- Big bend, northeast, southeast, statewide atlantic, central east
- Water
- Saltwater
- Bait
- Cut bait & live finger mullet
Florida fishing record
- Weight
- 22 lb 2 oz
- Location
- Jensen beach
- Date
- Mar 19, 1973
- Angler
- Liz yates
- Type
- Florida state record
Record catch notes
22.13 lb; by liz yates; on 03/19/1973; at jensen beach
When to fish
Peak months
January–february, december
Good months
January–february, june, september–december
Season notes
Months mentioned in profile narrative (not a fishing calendar): may best-time months from FWC Where-to-Fish: peak from seasonal WTF bullets (n sea 6, n yr 0, thresh> 3). Peak jan, feb, dec good jan, jun, sep, oct, nov & dec.
Where to fish
Florida regions
Big bend, northeast, southeast, statewide atlantic & central east
Water
Saltwater
Habitat
Young usually found inshore during spring and summer, moving offshore to join adults in fall and winter; strong migration of northeast atlantic stock to Florida east coast in winter
How to catch
Cast metal to blitzes & expect cutoffs — wire or heavy fluoro
Bait
Cut bait & live finger mullet
Lures
Shiny metal lures retrieved fast
Videos
- Florida inshore fishing catch, clean & COOK bluefish! · Open original
- Monster bluefish, use THIS bait, rig and tackle, Florida SURF fishing · Open original
- Fishing for a living sucks! Catch clean cook (bluefish) · Open original
- Best bluefish fishing tips · Open original
- Sperfishing bluefish... · Open original
- Bluefish, the saddest fish in the sea... · Open original
- Video from tiktok.com (source title unavailable) · Open original
- Video from tiktok.com (source title unavailable) · Open original
Sources
- Myfwc.com (3 pages)
- Catchafloridamemory.com
- Floridasportsman.com
Fishing videos from local voices
Information comes from the supplied source datasets. Check linked FWC regulations for current rules.