Jersey’s bays and surf are loaded with baby bluefish right now, more commonly known as snapper blues.

While these snapper blues range from 3 to 6 inches long, they are an absolutely blast to catch to introduce somebody new to the sport of fishing, to get a kids juices flowing or to gather as prime fluke baits. All along the docks, bayside parks, bulkheads and piers of the back bays anglers are zappin’ snapper blues for maximum fun.

When the little 3 to 6-inch snappers roll through, a simple ¼-ounce Acme Kastmaster or Hopkins NoEQL will hang the diminutive demons, as will a Snapper Zapper float rig with a long whole spearing threaded on the long shanked hook. Simply cast out and pop the float back by twitching it. Snappers will strike the flailing spearing underneath. You’ll also find a lot of snake-like needlefish attracted to the surface activity, which really put a smile on a kid’s face when you hook up with one. For rod and reel, an ultralight to light set up is sufficient for dockside casting, such as a 5 to 6-foot spinning rod like a Shimano Stimula or old school Shakespeare Ugly Stik, matched with a 1500 to 2500 class reel like an Okuma Nitrix 25. Spool with 8-pound Trilene XL monofilament line. Some great snapper spots in Jersey to fish are Brick’s Bayside Park, Huddy Park in Toms River, The Longport and Ocean City Piers, Keansburg Pier, and any local gas or marina dock.

Fluke hounds know that live snapper blues are hands down one of the best baits to tempt doormat fluke. When you acquire a few, put them in a bubbling livewell bucket to bring to the boat. Rig a snapper blue on a fishfinder slide rig comprised of a 1-ounce egg sinker, 75-pound Spro barrel swivel, a 24-inch section of 25-pound Seaguar fluorocarbon leader to a size 3/0 Gamakatsu Octopus Hook. Hook the snapper through the lips or on larger snappers, through the nostrils.

Remember, Jersey law dictates that while there is no size limit for bluefish, you still have to abide by the 15 fish bag limit, even with snapper blues.