For the first time in years, there's spring blitz fishing for bluefish along the Shore. It started off modestly yesterday morning at Point Pleasant when I was delighted to release three blues in the 5-pound class on a Daiwa SP Minnow, along with two small stripers. The blues were there again this morning -- but they were much bigger. My first was a 33-incher, and I measured another angler's blue at 35 inches. I ended up releasing 18, most of which were around 30 inches. Rather than dealing with all the trebles on the plug, I switched to a bunker-colored Run-Off Sand Eel jig. They weren't as hot on the  metal, but still hit it -- and it was a lot easier to get the single hook out. Vinny D'Anton had exciting action casting poppers. to the blues tearing up bunkers. Some bunkers were beached as they tried to avoid the slaughter. I shiifted to Bay Head in late afternoon as Nick Kolodiy of Brick was into blues there. He ended up with 30 releases, though those blues were mostly 5-pounders. I stayed to dusk, when the jumbos made a showing on my pencil poppers. Blues of 34 and 35 inches were among my 20 releases.      Allen Riley and John Mazzeo of South Plainfield fished Monmouth Beach in the morning when bunker were close to the beach but nothing was on them. Mazzeo fished a clam to beach a 34-inch, 14 1/4-pound striper. They each added 22-inch shorts, before chunks on the bottom started producing blues up to a 31-inch, 10-pounder.  The Tackle Box in Hazlet reported blues at Keansburg Beach, where Ali DeGennaro of Hazlet beached a10 3/16-pounder. The angler who had a surf grand slam on fly yesterday at Deal was Leif Pettersen , not Ericson. Capt. Mike Bogan only had a few customers on the Gambler from Point Pleasant, but put them into vast numbers of big blues on bunkers not far from the inlet, -- though there were no bass among them. He had a Saturday afternoon charter that did well jigging stripers at Shrewsbury Rocks. Capt. Howard Bogan said there were so many bunkers and blues that it was hard for anglers on the Jamaica from Brielle to get through to bass. However, Thomas Figueroa of Philadelphia managed a 27-pounder. Surprisingly, skippers in Raritan Bay didn't seem to have much trouble with blues as they did well with stripers. Capt. Lou Grazioso of Wall joined Pete Kowlek on his new Whitewater 25 from Belford as they found bunkers in the middle of the bay and had great free-lining live bunkers to big bass.  Gene Graman of Middletown had a fine 78th birthday on his That's It from Twin Lights Marina in Highlands as he anchored in the back of the bay for hot chunking of big bass. Capt. John Kolias also reported fine chunking action on his Reel Fun from Twin Lights. In a sad note, there was a huge quantity of dead bunker in Shark River. It seems to have been an oxygen depletion problem, but some have blamed it on a dumping of excess catch by a purse seiner. The DEP is investigating.