Spring tog
 

I haven't fished them in the spring, but with a 12 year old meat fisherman itching for something to do I was thinking of giving it a go. Is the spring fishery dramatically different than the fall in terms of bait, depths, etc?

Same bait but a lot more shallow
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I have found it to be way more dependent on water temperature than the fall. A degree or two in either direction can make or break a day. I have also seen the bite almost a finesse game in the spring with very lightweight jigs.

:huh:I don,t think I ever caught a spring Tautog on a crab :huh:

When I first started targeting tog in the spring (admittedly not that all long ago) I was told you had to use soft baits like clams or worms for a whole bunch of different reasons (most seemed made up.) Someone always keeps the soft bait honest 'just i case' as we usually pack them but I haven't seen any difference between softies and crabs and pretty much just opt for crab baits on my jigs. My thought is that in the fall you're more likely to get your soft bait stolen by other fish so everyone opts for crabs. In the spring, with generally fewer other fish around to steal bait, you can get away with either. From there old wives tales of blackfish losing their teeth or their teeth softening over the winter months developed.

I catch most of my spring tog on my 4” split tails on light jigs, they can be pretty easy targets in the spring.

I always trim the shells off with scissors in the spring, they seem to bite better...I really want to try the paddletails! and I'd love to get one to eat a fly

Scott I can get them on the fly in the spring .but almost all are dinks :blush:

I'll take anything :laugha:...I'm going to spend more time looking for them in the shallows in my area this spring

depending on the weather I'm going to try Thursday from the yak. Buddy got lots of crabs I can use.
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Thanks everyone. Good info. Split tails on jigs would be ideal with the little guy.

Scott , we got them when fishing for bass .

We could have caught larger ones another time & place , but we were commercial & didn,t want to play around . it would take all day with a 5# & a current :musc:

The key is jigs under 3/8 oz, braid is key, sharp hook and you fish it obviously in structure and slowly work it over and around rocks, current makes them bite better. You fish it more like a circle hook, if you set on every nibble and that’s what it feels like, you will not hook up often. If I feel interest I move it with the rod tip, as it continues I move it more and only when I feel weight do I move the rod a bit further and if I feel resistance I set but it’s not a violent set. It’s a finesse game with plastic, but it’s fun.

A friend of mine had 30 blackfish between 3 guys in Connecticut yesterday by boat. Most of the fish were 18-19 inches and they wanted cut green crabs on 1/2-ounce jigs. Larger jigs and alternate baits were basically ignored. Of course the short-term weather forecast isn't looking great, but it's not all that bad either.

That’s one fun day...

Attachment 67033

wow 2 fish limit not worth the time or effort or gas

I call it priceless.
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That is motivating. The kid would be happy with any pull on the rod as long as he gets one for the table. Forecast isn't great, but maybe Sunday on the inside of some walls will be protected from the S wind. I'll take him to turn rocks for crabs to get him out of the house before then.

That's the fun part
When my kids were small, the fishing rods would get tangled quick.
They would turn over rocks for hours and chase stuff with the bait net.

We each have our own reasons to fish, I get that, but for me fishing is more about the experience than the meat. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE some good tog chowder or tog picatta, but I am just as happy playing catch and release on them all day as they are one of the hardest fighting, surprisingly technical fish I have targeted.

A few years ago in the end of April I dropped my tog rod off my kayak and went free diving for it the next day. I did not find my tog rod but what I couldn’t believe was that every Tog I saw in the water was within 8 feet of the shore line. Every single one... they were all in the edge of the white water.
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I’ve watched tog ride the breakers, tails out of the water right on the tops of ledges with water breaking on top between the Westport River and Saconet Point back when I fished early spring in the center console and the white water makes them aggressive as if they know that meal is gone quick if they don’t grab it. Best days on tog for me in the spring back then were when you could barely get close enough to throw a 3/8 oz jig into the wash due to breakers.

Agree they’ll smash a crab no problem. Dont buy into old tackle shop tales of needing soft baits 😂 Its not like their teeth turn to velcro from April to September and magically get rock hard from oct - dec 😂
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Never had issues with crabs in the Spring neither....I think bait shops may have been trying to get rid of frozen clam-necks from over the winter...:alien:

YA GOTTA REMEMBER when I spring fished Tog ,Asian crabs weren,t here yet …….. & worms were around .45 / .50 a dozen .even thro we dug them ourselves most of the time ..fishing mussels was fun but frustrating :wavey:

Was gonna maybe try some togging in upper BB in late May. Don't have to spot burn (have some ideas where to go) but a couple of questions. I've tried green crabs before at that time of year with no luck. Would putting them on those tog jigs help? Also, would switching to braided
help some? I've gone with 50' mono on my stiff boat rod with a conventional reel before with some success, but was thinking of maybe switching to braid on a spinning reel.

I’m no pro at this...

Fished a couple 20’ spots yesterday and a shallow shoreline with crabs that normally produce in the fall to no avail ... can’t imagine crabs not working at anytime.

Not a fan of the jigs, bait drops off quick enough when their on, never mind bouncing it around...

Don’t try this at home... :-),,, tie a 6/0 treble hook stinger to the hook on the jig, when u try to hook him and miss, the treble normally snags him, the bad news is you’ll damage a lot of fish... I tried this once and it’s a killer catcher, but a bad idea

I also don’t think it matters mono or braid directly to the tackle..

and now it’s going to blow for another four day’s..... :-(

Fry very shallow areas on the edge of the whitewater
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Still early. Wait for the dandelions....
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Guess they means I should get moving, but the weather hasn't been ideal for a kid on the water. Our dandelions went from good eating size greens to in bloom over the last couple days.
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