I know they have a rep as bait-stealers but I have a questions as I have never specifically targeted them. I have been fishing a shore spot the last few mornings in high visibility water and have watched numerous togs, some of them rather large, lazily wallowing by right underneath me, searching the sunken seaweed beds for crabs, I assume.

How likely would it be if I catch myself up some green crabs and "present" one to these passing fish, that they would oblige by gulping it down? Also, is there a jig or other lure that might entice them? I also saw several smaller ones in a nearby sandy-bottom area and those ones were following my bucktail along without grabbing it. Seems to be an abundance at the moment so I thought I would give it a shot. I am ready to experiment but thought I would tap the wealth of knowledge here for a quick tip/suggestion to increase my odds of success (and potential dinner). What is the size limit?

What say you all?

1. Flip rocks grab a crab green/asian.
2. Remove crab legs and claws, pitch into water. "Establish life" lull them into a false sense of security. Feed them the scraps...
3. Hook crab at base of shell and out a leg joint.
4. Repeat until limit is reached.
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This time of year they could still be on the spawn. An effective technique we used in the past on these wallowing tog was to fish a very small 1/8 oz jig head (with strong hook) adorned with a small piece of sand worm and fished it under a slip float. Great fun on light tackle.

This time of year they could still be on the spawn. An effective technique we used in the past on these wallowing tog was to fish a very small 1/8 oz jig head (with strong hook) adorned with a small piece of sand worm and fished it under a slip float. Great fun on light tackle.

Troutoging!
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Troutogging on sand with Crafty! God bless him.
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Troutogging on sand with Crafty! God bless him.
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Miss him - Crafty and I both learned this technique from another great fisherman now gone - Ezidro "Zeke" Silva was the innovater of this method.

Miss him - Crafty and I both learned this technique from another great fisherman now gone - Ezidro "Zeke" Silva was the innovater of this method.

Thought of Zeke the other night throwing 'special' soft plastics on a modified version of Zeke's rig he taught me @ NCSWFC before he moved out west...

Crafty and Zeeke. 2 people I wish I got to know a lot more than I did.
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This summer I'll be bringing Zeke's surviving family out to Block so they can bring him (ashes) to his favorite spot - then he'll be out there keeping us company forever.

Oh man. That is beautiful.
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Tautog teeth and sheepshead teeth
are quite similar...so maybe they have a similar
eating style....

i had this huge sheep's head out smarting me in fla
kept taken my shrimp bait...with ease
so i made a trail of shrimp about one foot apart
i waited most patiently for him to eat shrimp 1-8
and the small hook was in number nine.... as i watched 8' deep
then he was mine.....

John Skinner has a great video on youtube of him in a kayak going for Tog using a Tog Jig tipped with crab..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-VmXJLmnM8


Make sure you use a sinker to crack the shell to get the crab juices flowing as it can make a difference between getting a hit and get ignored...

Also, I second the emphasis on a strong hook, those fish can and WILL straighten them out.

Also, here is Mr. Skinner scuba diving showing their behavior...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TcOizW9mYc

I have yet to really make an attempt at them.

1. Flip rocks grab a crab green/asian.
2. Remove crab legs and claws, pitch into water. "Establish life" lull them into a false sense of security. Feed them the scraps...
3. Hook crab at base of shell and out a leg joint.
4. Repeat until limit is reached.
Posted from a kitchen
washing dishes after brefis rush


Thanx for the tips! Was able to fool one, watched it eat the crab from 15 feet above. Plump fish probably a good 6lbs. Just finished eating it for dinner! Wow!
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Whats the season for those there? Tautog is closed in RI (June -July) and re-opens in August.

Whats the season for those there? Tautog is closed in RI (June -July) and re-opens in August.

Open year round here.
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I fish tog a lot on 3/8 oz Kalin Ulimate jigs and 4" split tail in skinny water, especially in the spring, but it takes nerves to wait their picking and tasting until you can feel weight and get connected. But its not limited to spring, they will pick up anything on the bottom they think might be food, you just need to really downsize the weight and slooooooooowly work it along the bottom.

Tog are wicked smaht!
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Tog are wicked smaht!
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But like all of us, during the spawn, they tend to be more focused on getting those eggs fertilized and may not notice the obvious hook in that piece of bait.

Moments before sex
She said, "Hey stud, eat this" (doesn't matter if its food or not)
*without hesitation* all guys "huh, ok, sure"

When I first started fishing for blackfish in the 1960s/70s a company (Jeros?) sold premade double blackfish rigs made with heavy twine. Anyone else remember them? Most times these fish are not too picky.

In my limited blackfish encounters, I can tell you that they are either nibbling or inhaling. When they nibble you will miss a lot of fish and will get a lot of hookups on the lips. Plus those big teeth make for a lot of missed hookups. When they are inhaling baits, the hookup rate goes up a lot for obvious reasons. I don't think I they are line shy but they just don't commit to taking the whole crab in on the first moment you feel a tap. For those moments you might be better off with a snafu rig with 2 hooks. They aren't smart, they just like to break up their food before they swallow it.

Just my humble opinion. I'm not a master at catching them.
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The one I caught was not too smart or quite hungry. She was full of spawn too. I literally saw her swimming in 15 ft of water from about 15ft directly above. I said to myself, "There's one", took a small crab, yanked a couple legs off and smooshed it a bit to get the juices flowing and after sticking a hook (#5 gama) through it, lobbed it a couple of feet in front of her near some rocks. She swam over and ate it, I set the hook hard and pulled her in. Not line or hook shy at all.

I get the feeling it will not always be that easy, sight fishing for them. :doh:

Open year round here.
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Year round?? We only get October to December here in NY. Probably for the best though, people wipe colonies out regardless of size.

Those Kalin Jigs, aren't they a bit bendy? I've rigged some dead eels to them (not monsters either) and they give a little...

Found a keeper size tog that was washed up on a flat rock as the sun came up yesterday morning. Was wondering if the big surf laid it there or a big bass chased it in close. Was still alive so back she went...