Probably the most well-known of Nantucket's fishing targets, these fierce predators are fantastic gamefish. Aggressive, strong and abundant, 'Nantucket Blues' usually arrive in late May and stay through early October. At times they are almost everywhere around the island, ranging from 3-10 lbs. In the fall, particularly, large fish approaching 15 lbs can be caught.

Bluefish are notoriously undiscerning, and make a great quarry for the angler. They will at times take literally anything. Poppers, swimmers, and metals are all effective. For fly-fishermen, poppers and streamers of all kinds work well. The most popular bluefish plug on Nantucket, the “Ballistic Missile,” is little more than a weighted hunk of plastic with a hook. The key to fishing such non-descript lures is to retrieve them rapidly across the surface, the more splash the better. Bluefish will reward your rapid winding with stunning aerial strikes.

Once on the line, blues are dogged fighters. While not incredibly fast, they will take line and make the angler work for every inch. They also jump, particularly in shallower water near the beach. One key, however, when landing a bluefish: Stay away from their teeth. Razor sharp and driven by powerful jaws, at the worst bluefish will leave you with a nasty bite. At worst, they might take a finger. Pliers or other hook-out devices are a must, and a wire leader is necessary to keep them on the line long enough to worry about getting the hook out.

Once quite rare around the island as the result of overfishing and habitat destruction in the Chesapeake Bay and Hudson River, Striped Bass have made a remarkable recovery and are once again a popular quarry on the island.

In May and June, stripers can be found just about anywhere on the island, from the pounding surf of the south shore, to the quiet estuaries of the harbor, to the fast moving Great Point rip. Thickly built, they swim through heavy white water as easily as through quiet backwaters. Once the heat of summer sets in and the water warms, bass are a bit harder to come by. Night fishing in summer is one of the most effective means of catching them, or at least fishing in the low light of late evening or early morning. In the fall stripers return in decent numbers to island waters, though they tend to be further out in the rips. In my opinion, spring is the best season to target stripers on Nantucket. That said, fish can be caught in just about any month from April through as late as November.

Striped Bass are usually more discerning than their island neighbor, the bluefish. At times they can be very aggressive, particularly in moving water. But more often they are a bit more cautious and a realistic lure, like a bomber or sluggo is necessary to entice them. Flyfishermen will find clouser minnows and decievers usually work well. Striped bass are also more leader shy than bluefish, and a heavy monofilament leader is a better choice than wire. When there’s no chance of hooking a bluefish, fishing for stripers without any leader will usually not cost the angler any lures.

Once hooked, Striped Bass are not necessarily the greatest of fighters. They pull, to be sure, but they rarely jump and lack any sort of real speed. The bigger fish, approaching 30 inches and up, will peel quite a bit of line on their opening runs. But usually much of the fight is just a solid tug-of-war. Nevertheless, due to the challenge of finding and catching them, the bass is a great quarry.

On Nantucket, early season striped bass are usually small, 20 inches or less. But as May moves into June, fish upwards of 40 inches begin to move into the Gray Lady’s waters and while not necessarily common, are not a rare catch, either.

Keep in mind that striped bass are regulated, and that they can only be kept if they’re longer than 28 inches, and no more than two can be in any angler’s possession.

Bonito are a real treat to catch, due to their sizzling speed. These quick swimmers usually arrive on Nantucket in late July, as water warms. They can prove to be a bit of a challenge for shorebound anglers, because they favor slightly deeper water and tend to move quickly in packs. Nevertheless, a good number of these fish are caught every year from Great Point and Smith Point.

Targeting bonito depends largely on the situation. When the fish are feeding hard in packs on the surface, small metals like Swedish Pimples, Marias and Deadly Dicks are most effective. However, when the fish are not as evident, swimming plugs like Bombers and Yo-Zuris, in particular, are good bets. Because of their sharp eyesight, wire leaders should not be used when fishing for bonito, and even heavy monofilament can dissaude takes.

Bonito average in the 5-6 lb range.

'Albies' as they’re often referred to on the island, are one of the more challenging targets for the Nantucket angler. They are very selective, and bigger and faster than their Bonito cousins, often in the 8-10 lb range. Like bonito, they often feed in marauding packs, which can make them challenging for the beach angler. However they seem to be a bit more willing to move into shallower waters than bonito, and quite a few are caught after they arrive in island waters in early fall.

Smith Point, Eel Point and Great Point are probably the best locations to target Albies. I'm particularly fond of Great Point, when schools tend to sweep the western shore of the point, providing steady and sometimes phenomenal action.

One note: False albacore are terrible eating. The best way to deal with them is snap a few pictures and let them swim.