Tautog like this can be yours without even leaving Read More]]> You can land plenty of blackfish or tautog without even leaving the docks. I sure have. One time, I missed the boat because my alarm clock did not go off. By the time I got down to the boat dock, the party boat was pulling away.

Tautog like this can be yours without even leaving the shore

My friends who had made the boat were alternately waving and shrugging their shoulders at me. There I was with a dozen bottom rigs, a pound of salted clams with nowhere to go.

I began perusing the bulkheads along the waterfront to see how I could salvage the day. I was lucky enough to find a spot where the bay met the inlet. The tide was coming in, and I noticed a small eddy current near the pilings.

I broke out my spinning rod from the trunk and attached a bottom rig with 1-1/2 ounces of weight on it. I cast it out, and WHAM! A 16-inch blackfish engulfed the bait. When the morning was through, I had landed six keeper tog in the 2-pound range and nearly twice as many throwbacks – not bad for missing the boat.

That night, I called one of my friends who had made the party boat and told him of my success. He was shocked. The seas had turned rough on the boat, and they did not catch one fish.
I returned to the bulkhead several times in the next few weeks and enjoyed similar results. I began noting the condition of the tide, and it seemed the fish turned on around the same time. Tog are usually most active from the last hour of high tide to the first two hours of the outgoing tide.

As the waters approach the 50-degree mark, the blackfish migrate to inshore waters. They’ll take up residence where there is either structure or a rocky bottom. Bulkheads, piers, bridges and jetties offer the ideal habitat. Blackfish are very territorial, and once they take up residence in their summer home, they will not travel far for forage. They can reach as much as 25 pounds in the open ocean. However, you are more likely to run into the 2 or 3 pound varieties near the shore.

There are many places along the Jersey coast that provide sufficient structure to hold blackfish. With a little research, you can find good blackfish action somewhere close to home. The most productive structure includes jetties, bulkheads, rock piles and bridge or dock pilings. Try to position yourself as close as possible to an inlet or fast moving current (remember to be safe). Look for eddy currents inside the faster water. Sometimes it is only necessary to cast only a foot or two from the targeted structure.

The tackle I use is an 8-foot spinning rod with a matching reel full of 20-pound test. I’ll bring along about a half dozen bottom rigs and sinkers because blackfish are notorious for getting wrapped up in structure and snapping the terminal tackle. Using a #4 wide-gap hook will allow easy hook removal for the throwbacks. This hook design also discourages fish from swallowing the hook.

Although blackfish like many different types of bait, my favorite bait is salted clam. Green and Fiddler crabs will also work well. A good way to attract tog at the bulkhead is to drape a chum pot filled with a frozen clam log over the side of the bulkhead.