What is a "choggie"?
 

On Saturday, some college buddies and I did a trip on the SNAPPA out of Pt Judith (which is a beautiful 6-pack boat with a very nice captain). We were fishing for porgies and sea bass, catching mostly porgies. I caught what the capt called a "choggie", which the capt said would be a great sea bass bait, and he was right, we caught lots of sea bass on the chunks of that "choggie".

So, by what other names does a "choggie" go by? It was maybe a foot long, reddish-brown...

Another name for the Cunner, (Tautogolabrus adspersus). has some pretty cool little teeth, common around pilings and the like, often see them in lobster traps. Cool little fish.

I think they are also called Wrase by some. They make good striper bait live-lined. And if you go out on the Frances Fleet they really make em sound good by calling them Ocean Perch.

Cunners. Called bergalls in NY/NJ and choggies in eastern New England.

They're from the wrasse family and a cousin to tautog. Pretty good eating if you can catch one big enough to fillet. Back when I was a kid, the old Portuguese guys would catch them by the bucket, and their wives would make some sort of fish soup from them.

The cormorants in the Canal have put a real hurting on their numbers.

I call 'em bait thieves. We used to get a ton of 'em, small ones though right behind my dad's boat in Sheepshead Bay. They were a lot of fun to catch as a kid!

We catch big ones all the time while codfishing on Cox's ledge. They are good eating. The biggest one I ever saw we caught on the west side of Block while scup fishing, the thing had to be over 3 pounds.

Last time I went for cod on the ledge I was deemed the chogmaster.:)

I've seen them called for in the making of authentic Boullibase (fish stew, pardon the spelling)

I hear choggies make excellent fluke bait. As a kid I luv cathing'um with a cane pole on Sakkonett pT.

if you learn to speak their language, you are a cunerlinguist.

I thought a choggie was a fat chinese girl.

I thought that was a Chunk......