Toggin/Speckin Ocean City Sunday 10/23

[RavensDfense]

Tentatively, my plan is to go fish Assateague bay for some specks in the early AM and then shift my attention to Togs around 4th and 5th street in the afternoon. If anyone is in the area and interested in "toggin" along (bad joke of the day...no more I promise) let me know.

On a side note...are green crabs available this time of the year? And if not what else works well for togs?

[HokieDJ]

Quartered blue crabs work fine.

[tufnik]

I'm going toggin at Kipto wrecks Sunday, then maybe HRBT for flounder. Let's see who catches the bigger tog

Going to use leftover blue crab from last week. I think clams work too, so may get some for back up.

Hokie,
The rod you caught the tog on looks light, so maybe I don't need a stiffer musky rod. What kind of main line did you use?

[HokieDJ]

It was a Vendetta MH. It snapped because I caught a snag and was stupid trying to pull it off. The did fine for me otherwise. You have to be able to feel that tap tap. I brought a MH Ugly stick with me and tried it out and I couldn't feel a thing.

Maybe the musky rod is good for those 22" ones but I never caught one so I can't say.

[tufnik]

Hmmm.... gotta feel that tap tap, huh? So, I'll use my lighter 7' 3/8 - 1 1/4 oz Fenwick HMG rod then.

I heard main line should be braided 30-40# to resist structure abrasion. Did you use mono?

[HokieDJ]

Yes I used 40# mono leader.

[Redfish12]

Hmmm.... gotta feel that tap tap, huh? So, I'll use my lighter 7' 3/8 - 1 1/4 oz Fenwick HMG rod then.

I heard main line should be braided 30-40# to resist structure abrasion. Did you use mono?

Tuff, ever fish for bluegill? The tap tap is subtle. With the blue crab you can wait a little longer and let them tap tap tug, then set the hook. With a fiddler, you'll only get a quick tap tap. The tap is the Tog smashing the crab and the second tap is the tog sucking in the meat. It's very quick so you need a rod that you can really snap the hookset with, especially since they have a tough mouth to hook.

Braid offers little to no abrasion resistance. Especially on shells/barnacles/sharp rocks. Here's a video that helps explain it- http://youtu.be/C-SqIsZaE6s. Your abrasion resistance comes from the mono. I use HiSeas Quattro in 30lb strength because it takes abuse well. I use 40lb braid, so I use a mono lighter than my main line so I don't loose my swivel. It's pretty stiff for mono also, and way cheaper than leader material. Flouro is great, doesn't stretch and has abrasion resistance, but it's too expensive for tog fishing. You're gonna loose a lot of rigs. 30-50lb braid is used so you can feel the subtle bit and so that you have a line that won't stretch when you set the hook and hoist the fish from the rocks. I've yet to catch a really big tog, but even a small 16" fish will give you a pretty good fight trying to get back in the hole you ripped it out from.

I think you can get by with a lighter rod, as long as it is sensitive and has a good backbone. The HMG should work great for that!

[CB kayak 02]

You should give All Tackle in OC a call to check on green crabs, they would probably know who/where has them.

[tufnik]

Thanks, Red.

Video showed the Power Pro broke the easiest That's what I have on my Calcutta 400.

I'll have to use my Saltist conventional because it's got the strongest mono at 25#. Maybe I should re-spool with heavier mono.

Set the hook? I'm using Rob Choi's suggestion, circle hooks, so the fish should hook itself, no?

[Redfish12]

I think Rob has it dialed in a lot more than we do. If you go with circles you'll have to feel the pecks, then slowly lift the rod and see if you feel weight (tog munching your crab) then pull higher and reel. To me, the standard blackfish hooks (4 or 5 mustad virginia hooks that have a green/blue sheen), octopus, or J hooks are way better. Again, I don't get to do it as much as him, but imagine what you'd do after searching for hours for a tog hole and finally getting the tap tap instead of your 100th toad? It's probably not lift for weight and then let the circle do it's thing right? Maybe it's just me but same thing goes for flounder, my hands register it's a weird flounder shiver bite and not a croaker freight train, but somehow my mind says rip it. I missed a lot of flounder this year!

Just my two cents, but hopefully it helps! About changing the line, you're fine with braid, you want braid as your main line. Just make sure you use about 2.5-3.5 feet of 30-40lb mono as your leader. If the rock holes are deeper then tie a longer leader. In the ships you'll feel cracks in the floor and your sinker can drop another 3 feet sometimes, so plan accordingly.

I met the tidal tails guy in New Rochelle when I was fishing a charter out of there around the 4th of July. He hooked me up with some of his jigs but unfortunately I lost the heavier ones fishing around the first island. I caught some hogfish (funny looking scup), BSB, and toads on them though. I'm going to bring the few I have left to the ships next time and see if I can catch a tog on a ltj setup.

[Redfish12]

Oh and one more thing, as far as Rob's tips go... definitely tie a lot of rigs before hand. I got a leader wallet from Newell from CharkBait when I was out in San Diego for work over the winter. It works ok but it's kind of awkward since I can't seem to tie uniform rigs. His tip about wrapping them around a piece of cardboard is a great one. I'd say 15-20 rigs at a minimum. In the ships I think I lost 4, at the first island I think I lost 20 or so... it hurts after awhile.

Sorry to Raven's for tramping your thread, I hope you get into some nice fish this weekend!

[HokieDJ]

Just rig it like rob choi but use 4/0 gami live bait hooks. There will be lots of those sea bass stealers or quick togs. Every 2 taps you set that hook. Sooner or later you'll catch them. The John boat that day caught a 22". Mine was 15 1/2 and he fought pretty hard. You'll also learn to feel the bait missing due to all the experience

[RavensDfense]

Oh and one more thing, as far as Rob's tips go... definitely tie a lot of rigs before hand. I got a leader wallet from Newell from CharkBait when I was out in San Diego for work over the winter. It works ok but it's kind of awkward since I can't seem to tie uniform rigs. His tip about wrapping them around a piece of cardboard is a great one. I'd say 15-20 rigs at a minimum. In the ships I think I lost 4, at the first island I think I lost 20 or so... it hurts after awhile.

Sorry to Raven's for tramping your thread, I hope you get into some nice fish this weekend!

Don't sweat it guys. There has been some helpful information here. At the very least you saved me from running out of rigs. Since I am in Salisbury, I may just take the extra 45 minute drive and go to Kipto. Might as well considering the Ravens play Monday night and it sounds like the tog are larger there.

[tufnik]

Have 15-20 rigs pre-tied? I better start tying tonight.

If you can make it, RD, glad to have a toggin' partner come along. I plan to be at the M&G on Saturday, so I plan to be at Kipto early Sunday morning and fish all day. I'll drive down on I-95, so it'll be a four hour drive for me.

You may want to check Bailey's bait & tackle shop at Cape Charles if you want green crabs.

[HokieDJ]

FWIW I was stuck outside of the ships due to the windy conditions pounding the the inside of the ships. I lost no rigs.

I think I read some where that Togs like low current. We caught all 4 on the beginning of the out going tide. The water behind the ship is pretty calm so you have that area if it's really windy out side. If it's really choppy like that day, there's the pucker factor when you get out there between the ships

Good luck guys. I wish I can make it down there one more time this year but chances are slim.