Tautog & Shark in 44 F water, CBBT, Jan 7, 2023

[ComeOnFish]

A very few anglers can catch tautog in the cold water below 44 F.
Fish in general, don't like a sudden change of the water temp. So, when picking a day for fishing in Jan-March, I look for the steady water temp or gradual rise of the water temp for 4-5 days.

The water temp was rising steadily from 40 F to 44 F for 8 days at CBBT. So, I tried again. I caught 6 tautog, 1 small shark and 5 toadfish on shrimp.

The 70 % of pylons I fished were fished by other anglers. The only difference is I know when (right current directions, right current speed) and the locations of the underwater structures.
The remaining 30% pylons were new ones to find the new underwater structures. This invest paid off occasionally in the past. But, for the past 3 trips, I found no new pylons.

Fishing log:

Thanks
Joe

[Slobber Bob]

That's awesome that you're still catching some keepers! I follow the OC buoy and saw the water temperatures climb back up quite a bit after that cold snap around Christmas. I wanted to get out myself for tog but I just couldn't line up good weather days with days off. I'm happy to see at least somebody is still getting on them!

And you don't have to worry about the teeth on those sharks. They're just dogfish and their "teeth" are like coarse sandpaper. On spiny dogfish you have to watch out for a large, sharp spine at the base on the leading edge of the first and second dorsal fins. Smooth look very similar to spiny but lack the spine at the dorsal fins. They're decent eating too.

[ComeOnFish]

That's awesome that you're still catching some keepers! I follow the OC buoy and saw the water temperatures climb back up quite a bit after that cold snap around Christmas. I wanted to get out myself for tog but I just couldn't line up good weather days with days off. I'm happy to see at least somebody is still getting on them!

And you don't have to worry about the teeth on those sharks. They're just dogfish and their "teeth" are like coarse sandpaper. On spiny dogfish you have to watch out for a large, sharp spine at the base on the leading edge of the first and second dorsal fins. Smooth look very similar to spiny but lack the spine at the dorsal fins. They're decent eating too.

One day, I almost lost my manhood. I grabbed the tail of a small shark. It turned and bit my groin before I pulled it away. It left me with a perfect 3" diameter hole in my pants. The hole was 3" off the center.

Joe

[Slobber Bob]

LOL! Yeah, I guess you have good reason to be wary of any shark or fish you bring into the kayak!