The bluefish will readily gobble up flies, plugs, soft plastics and chunks, yet this game fish is often disparaged as a "trash fish" — the lowliest of epithets in the angling world. They’re dubbed “chopper” or “gator,” sometimes said with abject contempt due to their proclivity for slashing leaders and taking off with plugs intended for the more forgiving yet revered maws of a striped bass. Editors Charlie Levine and Owen Burke have a deep affection for bluefish stemming from time as young fishermen chasing snapper blues in Long Island Sound. Both anglers love catching bluefish, but eating them, well that's a topic of much debate.

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