A 20-knot northeast wind forced the fishermen who were wearing caps to tie their hoods in place to keep their their headgear from blowing into the Atlantic Ocean.

It didn't matter, because the word had gone out. The blues were running.

Jim Wilder's spinning rod bent from an unseen force. He picked it up and set the hook, sending the reel drag screeching against the surge of a big fish.

"It's a big bluefish," said Wilder, 58, a resident of Carolina Beach. "That's what I'm after."

Wilder fought for several minutes, until the exhausted fish was on its side next to the pier pilings. Another angler lowered a hoop net to the water and scooped up the fish. Wilder quickly de-hooked it and headed at a brisk walk toward the pier house 100 yards away.

On the pier scale, the fish weighed 9.43 pounds, which would have been enough to take the lead in the pier's annual fishing tournament in the bluefish category. Anglers pay money into a pool and the tournament runs all year. But Wilder works the third shift at the pier. While it would have been OK for him to enter the tournament, he did not.

"I wouldn't feel right entering the pier tournament," he said. "It's better for all the other guys to get the glory. Besides, that bluefish wouldn't have held up for long. The bluefish run just started day before yesterday, and it's going to last three to four weeks."

Coastal anglers look forward to the period from late April through May, when the big bluefish arrive. Prior to that, smaller bluefish in the one- to three-pound range are the norm.

But when the big "choppers" or "Hatteras blues" arrive along the southeastern coast, many anglers head for the surf and the piers to catch them. Anglers with boats catch them from the inlets and nearshore artificial reefs.

Catching a bluefish requires only that you put the bait or lure in front of them. They are extremely aggressive biters, with strong jaws and sharp teeth.

"I'm using cut whiting for bait," Wilder said. "I tie a two-hook bottom rig with 50-pound stranded wire. I put a 6/0 circle hook on the bottom dropper and a No. 6 long shank hook on the top one, about two feet above the sinker. Today, I'm using a four-ounce sinker to hold the bait on the bottom because the surf's pretty rough."

Barry Briggs, 51, of Carolina Beach, was the leader in the bluefish category, after catching a fish that weighed 7-9.

"I caught him on some cut mullet," he said. "... I want to catch a bigger one because that one won't hold the top spot for long."

Briggs' rod bent over, and he set the hook. For a few seconds, a heavy fish surged on the end of the line. The fish came to the surface right in the breakers. But then the line went slack.

"When you fish from the pier, you're going to lose a lot of big blues," Briggs said. "But there are always plenty more. Some guys use Got-cha plugs and some use cut bait. But this northeaster is really the key to catching them. It blows the fish in towards the shore."

Wilder weighed his fish on the pier scale then walked back onto the pier deck. He found a spot that was not too deep, to prevent the fish being attacked by other bluefish or sharks, and not too shallow so the tired fish wouldn't be washed up onto the beach by the crashing waves. Then he tossed it over the rail.

"I really prefer letting them go so they will get bigger and maybe someone will catch him again someday," Wilder said.