Tautog Fishing Tips and Techniques

 

Ocean Tautog Fishing

The tautog or blackfish is one of the most popular species caught by wreck and reef fishermen. Tautog are structure fish that can be difficult to hook and even more difficult to bring up.

A few of the top ports for catching tautog in the Mid Atlantic include Cape May New Jersey, Lewes Delaware, Ocean City Maryland, and Virginia Beach Virginia.

These are a few tips and techniques for tautog fishing along the Mid Atlantic Coast:

• Fish directly over structure, including shipwrecks, rocks, rubble, bridge pilings and artificial reefs.
• Use a basic top and bottom fishing rig when snags and hang ups are not a problem.
• Switch to a single hook rig in areas of extremely rough bottom.
• Carry a wide selection of sinkers ranging from 3-8 oz.
• Choose a rod and reel that can handle depths from 15-120 feet, and 3-8 oz. sinkers.
• Fish with braided lines for added sensitivity.
• Use baits such as blue crabs, green crabs, mole crabs, fiddler crabs, shrimp, and clams.
• When fishing whole blue crabs or green crabs, some anglers imbed both hooks in a single bait and remove or crack the shell of the crab.
• When using cut crab, leave the legs on and check baits often. Replace baits that have had the meat sucked out of the shell.
• Avoid excessive tension on the line and pay attention for minute signs of nibbling. Give a short tug upward when movement is felt.
• If the fish appears to be in the line, set the hook, lift the fish away from structure and then reel in gently.
• Tag and release undersize fish.
• Take no more fish than needed.
• Release female fish when possible.
• Identify sexes - Male tautog have blunter heads and darker, more solid coloring with a faint lighter spot on their flank. Females have a more mottled appearance and sloping forehead.
• Support Artificial Reef programs.
• Seek out party boats or charter boats with a reputation for successful tautog fishing trips.

Related Information

Shipwrecks and Obstructions

Artificial Reefs

NJ - Sea Girt and Axel Carlson Reef Additions

New Jersey's Sea Girt and Axel Carlson reefs will receive 1,853 yards of concrete rubble from a seawall. Each reef will receive one load of approximately 930 cubic yards.

Deployment locations:

Axel Carlson Reef: 40 00.900'    73 59.700'

Sea Girt Reef: 40 07.450'    73 56.800'

The deployments are subject to weather and sea conditions.

Commercial fishers who have gear in the area during the time of deployment must move it or risk having it destroyed.

Sea Girt and Axel Carlson reefs were constructed and maintained by the NJDEP Division of Fish and Wildlife's Artificial Reef Program.

For more information, visit the NJDEP Division of Fish and Wildlife Artificial Reef Deployments page.

NJDEP Division of Fish and Wildlife

New Jersey State Record Black Sea Bass

The NJDEP Division of Fish and Wildlife recently certified the catch of a new state record black sea bass.

Steve Singler of Philadelphia, PA, caught the new record fish on December 12, 2015. The monster sea bass weighed in at 9 pounds, 0 ounces, measured 27.5" in length and had a girth of 18.5".

Steve was bottom fishing in 180-200 feet of water off the boat Voyager, captained by Jeff Gutman when the fish hit.

For more information on the New Jersey Record Fish Program, visit www.njfishandwildlife.com.

source: New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Division of Fish and Wildlife

Shearwater Artificial Reef

The Shearwater was sunk onto the Del-Jersey-Land Reef on Dec. 11, 2015.

Shearwater was sunk at approximate coordinates of 38 deg. 31.200’ N Latitude and 074 deg. 30.800’W Longitude, approximately 26 nautical miles southeast of Indian River Inlet.

The 165 foot vessel sank in 120 feet of water about one-half nautical mile from the 568-foot ex-destroyer USS Arthur W. Radford.

Prior to sinking, the vessel had served the Army and Navy before becoming a civilian ship. Shearwater had ended its working life in 2012 as a menhaden boat out of Reedville, Va.

The Del-Jersey-Land Reef, also known as Delaware Reef Site 13, is one of numerous artificial reef sites established by DNREC’s Division of Fish & Wildlife.

Delaware has 14 permitted artificial reef sites in the Delaware Bay and coastal waters, with five of the sites located in federal (ocean) waters.

source: DNREC Division of Fish & Wildlife

Maryland State Record Tautog - Possible World Record

On January 2, 2015, Kenneth Westerfeld of College Point, NY landed a 28.8-pound tautog, which set a new Maryland state record for the species. Westfield's fish eclipsed the previous state record, a 23 pound tautog caught by Charles Donohue near Ocean City in 2012.

Westerfeld caught the fish using a Jonah crab rigged on a seven-foot, two-inch Calstar Custom rod loaded with 50-pound braided running line and a 50-pound fluorocarbon leader on a Shimano Tymos reel.

The fish was caught approximately 20 miles southeast of Ocean City while fishing in about 75-feet of water with Captain Kane Bounds on the charter boat Fish Bound.

"Ocean City is the best place for big tautog," said Westerfeld. "The water clarity is very good and the offshore wrecks hold some really big fish. I’ve been fishing very hard for over 20 years to catch a 20 pound tog."

Jacob Widgeon at Sunset Marina weighed the fish on the marina’s International Game Fish Association (IGFA)-certified scale.

Maryland Department of Natural Recourses fisheries biologist Keith Lockwood examined and confirmed the species, making the new Maryland record official. Westerfeld is pursuing the all-tackle world record certification with IGFA.

The current world record for tautog stands at 25 pounds.

source: Maryland Department of Natural Resources

Delaware Requests Special Management Zone Designations for EEZ Reef Sites

In December, the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (MAFMC) approved a list of alternatives for public hearings relative to the request by Delaware to have its five reef sites in the EEZ designated as Special Management Zones (SMZs) under provisions of Amendment 9 to the Summer flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass FMP. 

MAFMC will host three public hearings (one each to be held in New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland) in January 2013 to receive public comment on the proposed alternatives.

Public comments received on the issue will be reviewed by the Council at its February 2013 meeting.

source: MAFMC

New Jersey State Record Cunner

The NJDEP Division of Fish and Wildlife has certified a new state record for cunner. On February 10, 2012 Raul de la Prida of Elizabeth, New Jersey landed a 3 pound 1/2 ounce cunner. The record fish was caught with cut clam during a trip aboard the Norma K III off Point Pleasant.

The record setting cunner measured 16 inches in length with a girth of 13 inches. The previous state record, caught by Nick Honachefsky in 2006, weighed in at 2 pounds 9 ounces.

For more information about the State Record Fish Program visit www.njfishandwildlife.com/recfish.htm