Tautog

Tautoga onitis

1 min read Spring and late fall

Tog are structure fish in the most absolute sense. They live in wrecks, rock piles, and bridge rubble, and they do not stray from them. Find the structure and you have found the fish; drift twenty feet off it and you will catch nothing at all.

They are equipped for the life. Behind those blunt rubbery lips are crushing teeth built to grind through crabs, barnacles, and mussels — which is why the bait is a crab and the hook set is immediate. A tog's first move after eating is to bolt back into the rocks, and if it gets there you will be breaking off, not landing a fish. The fight is short, violent, and mostly vertical.

They grow slowly and live a long time, so the regulations are conservative and worth checking each season. Cold water concentrates them, which is why the best tog fishing happens in months most people have put the rods away.

Gear for this fish

Plano EDGE 3700 Terminal

The hardware the rig is built from.

$74.99

Lews TP2 7'4" MediumHeavy/Mod. Fast Casting Rod - Bladed Jig

A jig covers water and gets down to them.

$109.99

Lews Wally Marshall Classic Jigging Rod 7' 1pc Light

A jig covers water and gets down to them.

$89.99

Mustad Jig Hook Black Nickle Needle Point 100ct Size 2/0

A jig covers water and gets down to them.

$27.78

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Tautog

Tautoga onitis

1 min read Spring and late fall

Wrecks, rock piles, and bridge rubble

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