Tweet
As I reported earlier, a few weeks ago I, and about a dozen other anglers, went out on a tog trip aboard the Morning Star out of Ocean City Inlet. We were all skunked that day.
Not this time.
It turned out to be a nice day. Mostly sunny with winds about 5-10 knots. Air temp at 50. Seas were maybe two feet. We departed about 6 am Friday on the Morning Star for an 11-hour trip with a dozen anglers onboard. Target fish was tautog.
We rode over 2 hours to get to our first fishing spot. With mostly green crab on double hook rigs, we fished in about 150 feet of water with 12 ounce sinkers. We caught mostly short togs (16" is min). We pulled up and went to a second spot. This is where the real action happened.
On my second drop of green crab on a double hook rig, and within 10 seconds, I felt the familiar tap-tap. I set the set, and pulled up a feisty keeper. But that was not the highlight of my day. On the next drop, again I felt the tap-tap and set the hook. Fish on! This time the fish fought hard. It spooled my reel. It felt like a ton of bricks..lol... I fought it a bit and finally brought it to the surface. It was double! I couldn't believe it. The larger tog turned out to be 26 1/2 " and 14 lbs. What a bruiser.
I went on to catch two more keepers. Since the limit is four, I gave one to the mate. There were two other anglers who caught their limit. Most anglers caught 1-3 keepers. Sadly, some anglers didn't catch any togs.
My total tog catch:
2 togs that came off half way up
5 keepers (took home 22, 23, 23, 26 1/2")
2 shorts
Overall, my best tog trip yet.
Notes:
- I learned a new tog rig, which is different from the rig I use on my yak. At the end of a four foot leader is a loop with the sinker. A few inches above the sinker is a dropper loop with two 4-8 inch lines attached to 3/0 hooks. The hooks dangle below the sinker. Most everyone used this set up, and it seemed effective.
- Looking for a new tog rod, I picked up a 7' Teramar from Redfish the other day. It was a bit on the stiff side, but it did well. Handled the 12-oz sinker very well. Got the quick sets I wanted. It really shined when I pulled up the double. Good strong backbone, and has balls to handle heavier sinkers. I also tried my Abu 6600 C3. It did well, even with the paddle handle turning a 5.3 gear ratio, but it's a bit weak when pulling big togs. I prefer a more rigid reel.
- A couple anglers from New Jersey brought some "white legger" crab for bait (pic). Didn't seem to work any better than green crab. In fact, shrimp, white legger crab and green crab all seem to work equally.
- After a person caught a tog, the mate would take the fish and dunk it in a bucket of water for a while to "bleed" the fish. This drains the fish of blood so the flesh tastes better.
Not this time.
It turned out to be a nice day. Mostly sunny with winds about 5-10 knots. Air temp at 50. Seas were maybe two feet. We departed about 6 am Friday on the Morning Star for an 11-hour trip with a dozen anglers onboard. Target fish was tautog.
We rode over 2 hours to get to our first fishing spot. With mostly green crab on double hook rigs, we fished in about 150 feet of water with 12 ounce sinkers. We caught mostly short togs (16" is min). We pulled up and went to a second spot. This is where the real action happened.
On my second drop of green crab on a double hook rig, and within 10 seconds, I felt the familiar tap-tap. I set the set, and pulled up a feisty keeper. But that was not the highlight of my day. On the next drop, again I felt the tap-tap and set the hook. Fish on! This time the fish fought hard. It spooled my reel. It felt like a ton of bricks..lol... I fought it a bit and finally brought it to the surface. It was double! I couldn't believe it. The larger tog turned out to be 26 1/2 " and 14 lbs. What a bruiser.
I went on to catch two more keepers. Since the limit is four, I gave one to the mate. There were two other anglers who caught their limit. Most anglers caught 1-3 keepers. Sadly, some anglers didn't catch any togs.
My total tog catch:
2 togs that came off half way up
5 keepers (took home 22, 23, 23, 26 1/2")
2 shorts
Overall, my best tog trip yet.
Notes:
- I learned a new tog rig, which is different from the rig I use on my yak. At the end of a four foot leader is a loop with the sinker. A few inches above the sinker is a dropper loop with two 4-8 inch lines attached to 3/0 hooks. The hooks dangle below the sinker. Most everyone used this set up, and it seemed effective.
- Looking for a new tog rod, I picked up a 7' Teramar from Redfish the other day. It was a bit on the stiff side, but it did well. Handled the 12-oz sinker very well. Got the quick sets I wanted. It really shined when I pulled up the double. Good strong backbone, and has balls to handle heavier sinkers. I also tried my Abu 6600 C3. It did well, even with the paddle handle turning a 5.3 gear ratio, but it's a bit weak when pulling big togs. I prefer a more rigid reel.
- A couple anglers from New Jersey brought some "white legger" crab for bait (pic). Didn't seem to work any better than green crab. In fact, shrimp, white legger crab and green crab all seem to work equally.
- After a person caught a tog, the mate would take the fish and dunk it in a bucket of water for a while to "bleed" the fish. This drains the fish of blood so the flesh tastes better.
Comment