Chopper Bluefish at Topsail Island in 2017

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I have been visiting Topsail Island for 12 or 13 years now since my buddy Darryl began allowing me to utilize his beautiful oceanfront home. It is on North Shore Drive and sits right on the water. Other than surviving the occasional storm, it is really a great spot to be. You can hear the ocean while inside and then you step out you are in the sand.

I went to Topsail Island early this year because I head the Chopper Bluefish were biting. I have been waiting to catch one of these fish for over a decade. The Choppers, aka Chompers, usually do not show up until the water temperatures are just right. This is usually in May. When they do pass through, they may not come to the coast. When they do come to the coast, it may be for an hour, a day, or a week. Well, this year the blues are being caught at the piers, but the real secret is: the Bluefish are in the sound!

I told this to multiple people while I was in Surf City and a few people came fishing with me and other people thought I was lying. Unbelievable. More fish for me.

I wrote all about this here on my Topsail Isalnd Blog , in the Topsail Island Fishing Report section: Chopper Blues in the Sound April 2017!


When the bite gets hot the fish will hit anything on the bottom. They'll probably hit lures as well but to get to them you have to cast pretty far. I personally was using a 12' surf rod and a 3oz weight to cast my bait 100' from the dock.

The fish would go on a 45 - 60 minute feeding frenzy and then disappear for a good 4hrs. I believe they were coming in with high tide. I should note that the tide in the sound does NOT change at the same time that it does at the inlet.

Attached is a pic showing myself and a few others who all caught chopper bluefish almost at the same time during one of their fish frenzies.

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