Fishing with wire fine can be very difficult to understand at times and the methods trying, but the rewards are big, big fish. You need to pay attention to the right rod and reel, specific tides and specific areas to fish.
The proper rod - I use a fast taper rod that has a light tip and a relatively heavy midsection. This allows for good jigging action without giving up the backbone to land a big blue or (if you are lucky) the bass of a lifetime.
The Penn 4/0 la my preferred reel, I like its ease of handling and balance on the rod when loaded with wire. The choice of wire when setting up a jigging rod would be 40-lb. stainless wire. A 4/0 Penn will hold 400 feet of wire, preceded by 100 feet of dacron backing.
I recommend connecting it with a haywire twist. One of the keys to this fishing technique is marking the wire. Using a very thin, colored tape I mark the wire with red, white and blue in 100-foot sections. The wire will take the lure to a depth of 10 feet, for every 100 feet of wire I put out. Hence, if I put out wire to the red mark (100 feet) I will have my lure fishing at 10 feet below the surface. I like red, white and blue because it's easy to remember, like the American flag.
On the end of the wire install a 60-lb. barrel swivel and to that tie a 50-foot piece of 60-lb. test mono which gets tied directly to the jig with a clinch knot. My jigs of choice are the Captain Tom in either white or white and blue, with a piece of pork rind to complete the package.
Just a note remember to always sharpen the hook. A lot, of great fish are lost because of poor hook penetration.
Time and tide - The most challenging part of bluefishing is to know when to be at what spot and why to be there. The tides play a big role in the success of your trip. The best time is going to be the last hour of the tide, the slack tide (about an hour) and the first hour of the next tide. So get yourself a tide chart and find out, when the tide is going from high to low or low to high. Once the tide really starts to go it is very difficult to keep the lures at the proper depth.
Almost any area where a tide rip makes up, will generally hold baitfish and therefore will attract bluefish. An USCG chart of your local area will show you the areas to explore. Look for a bottom that has a quick difference in depth. This will help create a rip. A digital depth finder can help a lot In finding these spots. In general, when you have success in a particular location, the same location will hold fish from year to year.
On the spot - How to fish a spot correctly and how to get back on that spot. Once you are at the surefire tide rip all your fishing buddies have guaranteed, look at it with the digital depth finder and take note of the range of depths and bottom structure. You save a lot, of tackle if you fish a little off the bottom. In 15 feet of water put out 100 feet of wire to fish at a depth of 10 feet or five feet off the bottom. Troll up the rip until you get a bite, and before doing anything else get two land ranges. Get the fish into the boat, then use the ranges to repeat your trolling pattern. If you don't get a bite at or near the same spot, check the jig, as it might have a piece of grass on it, and bluefish don't eat grass.
The things to remember are to select the right rod and reel, fish on the right part of the tide, and know how to properly fish a spot.
Catch a big one and enjoy yourself.