A Wrap on Tog

 Got out last week with my grandson and gave him a nice birthday present trip for tog

Yesterday, the weather cooperated for an absolutely fantastic day on the back bay where my nephew and brother in law and I got out to net some of the nicest bay tog you will find. It was probably a wrap for the year, although we will have to see what the weather does next week after today’s front and cold snap.

A Surprise

 When fishing in the salt, you never know exactly who will show up

Caught this fellow hanging around a bridge, while all his compatriots likely left him for the wrecks

Looked close to 14” and of course was released to go find another crab to eat…

Tog are in

 as always, I just need time and weather to cooperate.

on this particular day, the water clarity was excellent, air temps mild, weather had been stable for days, and it was "drop and reel" conditions with over 50 fish caught (and between 4 of us, that would make OVER 46 of them released... we kept 1 for each of us)

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).

Still Too Warm

I made it out on a beautiful, but very windy, early fall day looking for tog.

While some are around, the water is still way too warm and we have some other customers jumping on the crab... like the "lowly Oyster Cracker

The story of my season has been "wind".

I think I've been out on the bay once when the wind was lower than a steady 15 knots!

That said, Sea Bass are still prevalent, and some tog are around, the full moon contributed to what turned out to be a very late tide, and with some pressing evening arrangements, I couldn't stay to see if the tog would chew better once the current started running... which is often the case.

With tog, fishing structure, it's sometimes a balancing act of getting to where the current is moving, but not too fast :D

The oyster toadfish, Opsanus tau, also known as the ugly toad, oyster cracker, oyster catcher, and bar dog, is a fish of the family Batrachoididae. The maximum length of the toadfish is about 15"; the most common recorded length of an oyster toadfish is about 11 1/2". They are generally yellowish with a pattern of brown oblique bars.
The species can live in poor conditions and needs little food to live. It is an omnivore. Common prey include crustaceans, mollusks, amphipods, squid, and other smaller fish. Toadfish rely upon camouflage to catch their food; they lie motionless waiting for prey to pass close by, then attack by surprise. They can be found from Maine to the Caribbean Sea.

Oyster toadfish

The fish has a distinctive "foghorn" sound used by males to attract females in the mating season, which is April-October. The sound-producing (sonic) muscles attached to its swimbladders are the fastest known vertebrate muscles. Following the foghorn sound, the female comes into the nest, lays eggs, and then leaves (the toadfish lays the largest eggs of any Chesapeake Bay fish). The male fertilizes the eggs; they hatch after about one month. When the eggs hatch, the young toadfish stay attached to the yolk for some time. When the yolk has been absorbed for energy, the young toadfish learn to swim. Even when the young have started to swim, the adult still protects its young.
In 1998, NASA sent the oyster toadfish into space to investigate the effects of microgravity on the development of otolithic organs. The study found little difference between terrestrial development and those in space.

November Tog

A warm spell, a southwest wind, plenty of fish, and the biggest on the
last bait left for the day, all combined to another great outing of
catch and release (with 1 keep) togging in the backbays of the
Grand State of South Jersey:

Brants are in the backbays, Herring gulls, Terns, Sunshine.

A great way to kick off November!  All we need is the warmth to stick around until the 15th when the limit bumps up to 6!

Time for tog

Open wide!

><((((*>

Tog

 
Backwater 16" tog that took a chunk of blueclaw (aka "blue") crab!

Tis The Season - Tog

ok it's time. Although our F&W service folks only allow us to keep one legal sized tautog, they are in the most easily accessible backwaters, so it's still worth the time going out for them!

I usually never make chowder out of tog, but this is a good base, then use some other less worthy fish for the actual chowder LOL :)

Fish Stock

1 pound fish racks, fins and scraps
3 bay leaves
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 sprig fresh dill
1 sprig fresh thyme
Pinch of salt and pepper
6 cups water
Combine all ingredients in a stock pot. Add the water, cover the pot and crank up the heat. Once it comes to a vigorous boil, lower the heat to medium-low and cook covered for at least an hour, or until the liquid has reduced by about one half. Strain thoroughly and set aside. I will often make the stock ahead of time and keep it in the refrigerator overnight.

Tautog Chowder (for 6-10)

3 cups fish broth
1 pound tautog fillets, skinned
1 pound red bliss or other potatoes, cubed
1 large diced yellow onion
1/2 pound bacon bits
fresh dill
fresh thyme
1 10-ounce can evaporated milk
1 1/2 cups milk
2 to 3 tablespoons butter
2 to 3 tablespoons flour
Salt and pepper to taste

Wild Life

Perhaps fishing is not all that it's cracked up to be? Could I have written that? No! Let me rephrase. Fishing ALONE is not all that it's cracked up to be! One must observe all there is to truly appreciate God's creation. Since I've had a forced hiatus from angling, I've taken to looking a little closer to home, and what do I find?

 

Soon enough I'm hoping to get out after FINNED creatures, specifically a bigger specimen represented by this tank habitating tautog:

Jesus wrote in Matthew 7:12 "So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets."

This is the biblical version of the Golden Rule, often stated about what not to do but here reshaped about doing *only* what you would want others to do to you.... a significant challenge to modern thought!

As you go about your daily life, search your heart and do what God wants. Observe, think and Praise Him!