Spooky Toggin'

It did take 4 trips to finally connect with a keeper sized tog

  

I'd love to say that I got out every day for the past week (with the exception of the big blow we had on Monday), except that would be lying.

Funny thing, work ... and sometimes health .... keeps getting in the way

I had tried for tog from behind Brigantine on down to Somers Point a few times, with the results being fairly consistent: a few small tog, loads of sea bass, and when slack a junkfish or two (the oyster toadfish aka oyster cracker).

When the water cools off, the sea bass pretty much skedaddle, and indeed all the tiny ones went into hiding this last trip. Did manage what might have been a keeper (12.5") sea bass, but not remembering and not wanting to look it up, back in the water went our sole volunteer.

Thankfully, there were lots of near keeper sized tog to at least keep the rods bent for a while, though we had to wait out the slack tide to finally get a good bite going.

Unfortunately, this was day 2 of what's turned out to be a week long (+) cold and I'm waiting it out before venturing for tog again.

Life happens ... doh! :D

In the meantime, striped bass are kickin' in gear, and I'm waiting, waiting, waiting..... 

Welcome to "old age"... Bah, HUMBUG! 

The tautog or blackfish, Tautoga onitis, is a species of wrasse native to the western Atlantic Ocean from Nova Scotia to South Carolina. This species inhabits hard substrate habitats in inshore waters at depths from 1 to 75 m (3.3 to 246.1 ft). It is currently the only known member of its genus.^[2]
Barlett (1848) wrote, "[Tautaug] is a Native American word, and may be found in Roger Williams' Key to the Indian Language." The name is from the Narragansett language, originally tautauog (pl. of taut). It is also called a "black porgy" (cf. Japanese black porgy), "chub" (cf. the freshwater chub), "oyster-fish" (in North Carolina) or "blackfish" (in New York/New Jersey, New England).