Kayak Fishing Baby Tautog

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Weather is cooling, tog are bitting, so charge the fish finder battery and start finding some crabs. Despite the negative connotations about Tautog - relatively ugly, not fun to catch, a fake gamefish - Tautog are without a doubt the angler's dream. Tautog are a bottom dwelling fish that eat mostly crustaceans like crabs and shrimp; they are hard fighting and a delight to catch; they are simply beautiful creatures with adorable faces that should be appreciated by everybody.

Catching a tautog can be quite tricky though, for they always live on structure like boulders and wrecks. Because of this, a kayak angler must have a decent fish finder that is capable of locating this structure to then target these fish. Many people recommend a very stout rod to tug these fish out of cover, I am usually partial to a lighter tipped medium action rod matched with a 2500 Penn Battle with 20 lb. braided line. Furthermore, because these fish live on rocks, leader is a necessity. I fish 30 lb. Ande Monofilament. Don't go overboard with tackle, but ensure that you are ready if you happen hook a monster of the sea.

A very antiquated and quite boring way of fishing for Tautog, or blackfish, is with a 1/0 or 2/0 octopus hood, and a very heavy weight anchoring the crab onto the bottom of the sea floor. Although this method is very effective, there are many other ways of catching these fish that are more productive, and more fun, so whether you are looking for a meal, or if you are looking for some ol' fashion fun, listen up to the next tips.

Use a black fish jig!! Often overlooked for its complication, the simple blackfish jig is a more productive version of the standard 'hook and sinker' method. Simply hook a live green or asian crab through the back legs, and then catch some blackfish. The jig method works more effectively than the hook and sinker method because if one area is not producing, simply life up the rod tip to imitate a fleeing crab, and blackfish will flock to your bait.


When blackfish fishing, remember two things: structure and jigs.



Paul,
11/05/17

Comments

  1. UnknownNovember 5, 2017 at 7:24 PM

    Hey Paul Joe, what was the depth of the water you were fishing for these blackfish?

    Do you recommend kayak anglers to target shallow water rock piles, or locate deeper water rock piles for early, middle, and late season blackfish fishing?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Rusty SpoonsNovember 7, 2017 at 12:22 PM

      The area fished was the Western Long Island Sound. We fished probably 20-30 feet away from the shoreline, but the water was variating from 25 FOW to 15 FOW because of the huge boulders that we were targeting.

      Tight Lines,
      Paul Wang

      Delete

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