After another few days of high winds the weatherman finally cooperated with us fisherman and gave us a nice weekend to enjoy our sport. I took full advantage, ran back to back Tog charters, and fortunately the Tog seemed really happy too as they were chewing hard both days.
Saturday found Mako Nick and his 5- man crew join me and with some leftover NW breeze we made our first drop at a favorite shallow piece on the CT side of the Sound. Almost immediately Joe lands a solid 4# fish on the jig but then the fish seemed to get a little picky preferring only small “nugget sized” pieces of crab. Nick picked up on this nuance and he proceeded to land a couple of nice sized fish to 5# while also losing one much larger fish right at the boat. We enjoyed a steady pick for the last 2 hours of the ebb and first 90 minutes of the flood although the somewhat changeable wind direction forced me to reposition the boat a few times. Still our efforts were ultimately rewarded with 7 keepers to 6# before the bite tapered off. We did have a few exciting moments while Nick lost another very large fish that was lightly hooked and Joe played tug of war with a Tog he simply could not stop and gained it’s freedom.
As the tide began to gain steam we moved outside to a 50’ reef nearby and set up shop in a hard running tide 12-14 oz. of lead was necessary out there but the Tog bite was even more aggressive than in the shallows. We sorted through many shorts but as the tide began to back down the keepers came out to play. All of a sudden, the crew landed 5 very solid keepers in a row to 7#. While I was busy cleaning the days catch, 3 more solid keepers found their way to the fish box along with a lone Sea Bass. All in all, a very satisfying day with a limit of Tog, lots of laughs, and a few large fish breaking off to keep us all coming back for more next time.
With the shift in wind to the East on Sunday I took Sal’s 3-man crew over to Fishers I. for my first attempt working these waters this year. We started in one of my reliable 40’ drops and the Tog were ready, waiting, and very hungry. In less than 2 hours we were already getting selective about the fish retained and stopping 2 fish shy of the limit to allow some rom for a trophy fish we hoped might come from a deeper drop to follow. The hot action allowed us to put fish up to 5.5# in the box and throw back a few 4-5# fish along the way.
As the tide slowed, I made a shift to a 75’ spot nearby to see if the quality of fish there might be better. It was hard to believe the bite could be much better than what we had just experienced in the shallows but the last spot for the day turned out to be literally “drop and stick” fishing for nearly 2 hours. We quickly filled the limit with fish to 6# but there were many 4-5# fish in the mix here. You know it’s a good day when you are regularly throwing back 4-5# Tog! We also enjoyed a nice by catch of Sea Bass on this spot taking 11 keepers to 3.5#. Even a confused Albie found one of the angler’s crab baits enticing.
So, it looks like our eastern LI Sound Blackfish season is off to a roaring start. All we need is some good weather and it will be “game on”!
Give me a call if you would like to get in on some of this red-hot action.
Capt. Mike
516-317-5423 cell
[email]racerock166@aol.com[/email]
[ATTACH type="full"]11896[/ATTACH][ATTACH type="full"]11897[/ATTACH][ATTACH type="full"]11897[/ATTACH][ATTACH type="full"]11898[/ATTACH]
Captains Table Excellent Tog Action
1,046 views·1 replies·by captmike28
>
After another few days of high winds the weatherman finally cooperated with us fisherman and gave us a nice weekend to enjoy our sport. I took full advantage, ran back to back Tog charters, and fortunately the Tog seemed really happy too as they were chewing hard both days.
Saturday found Mako Nick and his 5- man crew join me and with some leftover NW breeze we made our first drop at a favorite shallow piece on the CT side of the Sound. Almost immediately Joe lands a solid 4# fish on the jig but then the fish seemed to get a little picky preferring only small “nugget sized” pieces of crab. Nick picked up on this nuance and he proceeded to land a couple of nice sized fish to 5# while also losing one much larger fish right at the boat. We enjoyed a steady pick for the last 2 hours of the ebb and first 90 minutes of the flood although the somewhat changeable wind direction forced me to reposition the boat a few times. Still our efforts were ultimately rewarded with 7 keepers to 6# before the bite tapered off. We did have a few exciting moments while Nick lost another very large fish that was lightly hooked and Joe played tug of war with a Tog he simply could not stop and gained it’s freedom.
As the tide began to gain steam we moved outside to a 50’ reef nearby and set up shop in a hard running tide 12-14 oz. of lead was necessary out there but the Tog bite was even more aggressive than in the shallows. We sorted through many shorts but as the tide began to back down the keepers came out to play. All of a sudden, the crew landed 5 very solid keepers in a row to 7#. While I was busy cleaning the days catch, 3 more solid keepers found their way to the fish box along with a lone Sea Bass. All in all, a very satisfying day with a limit of Tog, lots of laughs, and a few large fish breaking off to keep us all coming back for more next time.
With the shift in wind to the East on Sunday I took Sal’s 3-man crew over to Fishers I. for my first attempt working these waters this year. We started in one of my reliable 40’ drops and the Tog were ready, waiting, and very hungry. In less than 2 hours we were already getting selective about the fish retained and stopping 2 fish shy of the limit to allow some rom for a trophy fish we hoped might come from a deeper drop to follow. The hot action allowed us to put fish up to 5.5# in the box and throw back a few 4-5# fish along the way.
As the tide slowed, I made a shift to a 75’ spot nearby to see if the quality of fish there might be better. It was hard to believe the bite could be much better than what we had just experienced in the shallows but the last spot for the day turned out to be literally “drop and stick” fishing for nearly 2 hours. We quickly filled the limit with fish to 6# but there were many 4-5# fish in the mix here. You know it’s a good day when you are regularly throwing back 4-5# Tog! We also enjoyed a nice by catch of Sea Bass on this spot taking 11 keepers to 3.5#. Even a confused Albie found one of the angler’s crab baits enticing.
So, it looks like our eastern LI Sound Blackfish season is off to a roaring start. All we need is some good weather and it will be “game on”!
Give me a call if you would like to get in on some of this red-hot action.
Capt. Mike
516-317-5423 cell
[EMAIL]racerock166@aol.com[/EMAIL]
[ATTACH type="full" alt="101919makonick.jpg"]11896[/ATTACH][ATTACH type="full" alt="102019sal.jpg"]11897[/ATTACH][ATTACH type="full" alt="102019sal.jpg"]11897[/ATTACH][ATTACH type="full" alt="102019deck.jpg"]11898[/ATTACH]
3 (y) (y) (y) up to the capt and crew,,,,,,,,,,,well done guys8-) ,, sounds and looks like a blast,, all stay well,,[COLOR=rgb(26, 188, 156)] ><)):>
><)):>[/COLOR]
After another few days of high winds the weatherman finally cooperated with us fisherman and gave us a nice weekend to enjoy our sport. I took full advantage, ran back to back Tog charters, and fortunately the Tog seemed really happy too as they were chewing hard both days.
Saturday found Mako Nick and his 5- man crew join me and with some leftover NW breeze we made our first drop at a favorite shallow piece on the CT side of the Sound. Almost immediately Joe lands a solid 4# fish on the jig but then the fish seemed to get a little picky preferring only small “nugget sized” pieces of crab. Nick picked up on this nuance and he proceeded to land a couple of nice sized fish to 5# while also losing one much larger fish right at the boat. We enjoyed a steady pick for the last 2 hours of the ebb and first 90 minutes of the flood although the somewhat changeable wind direction forced me to reposition the boat a few times. Still our efforts were ultimately rewarded with 7 keepers to 6# before the bite tapered off. We did have a few exciting moments while Nick lost another very large fish that was lightly hooked and Joe played tug of war with a Tog he simply could not stop and gained it’s freedom.
As the tide began to gain steam we moved outside to a 50’ reef nearby and set up shop in a hard running tide 12-14 oz. of lead was necessary out there but the Tog bite was even more aggressive than in the shallows. We sorted through many shorts but as the tide began to back down the keepers came out to play. All of a sudden, the crew landed 5 very solid keepers in a row to 7#. While I was busy cleaning the days catch, 3 more solid keepers found their way to the fish box along with a lone Sea Bass. All in all, a very satisfying day with a limit of Tog, lots of laughs, and a few large fish breaking off to keep us all coming back for more next time.
With the shift in wind to the East on Sunday I took Sal’s 3-man crew over to Fishers I. for my first attempt working these waters this year. We started in one of my reliable 40’ drops and the Tog were ready, waiting, and very hungry. In less than 2 hours we were already getting selective about the fish retained and stopping 2 fish shy of the limit to allow some rom for a trophy fish we hoped might come from a deeper drop to follow. The hot action allowed us to put fish up to 5.5# in the box and throw back a few 4-5# fish along the way.
As the tide slowed, I made a shift to a 75’ spot nearby to see if the quality of fish there might be better. It was hard to believe the bite could be much better than what we had just experienced in the shallows but the last spot for the day turned out to be literally “drop and stick” fishing for nearly 2 hours. We quickly filled the limit with fish to 6# but there were many 4-5# fish in the mix here. You know it’s a good day when you are regularly throwing back 4-5# Tog! We also enjoyed a nice by catch of Sea Bass on this spot taking 11 keepers to 3.5#. Even a confused Albie found one of the angler’s crab baits enticing.
So, it looks like our eastern LI Sound Blackfish season is off to a roaring start. All we need is some good weather and it will be “game on”!
Give me a call if you would like to get in on some of this red-hot action.
Capt. Mike
516-317-5423 cell
[EMAIL]racerock166@aol.com[/EMAIL]
[ATTACH type="full" alt="101919makonick.jpg"]11896[/ATTACH][ATTACH type="full" alt="102019sal.jpg"]11897[/ATTACH][ATTACH type="full" alt="102019sal.jpg"]11897[/ATTACH][ATTACH type="full" alt="102019deck.jpg"]11898[/ATTACH]
3 (y) (y) (y) up to the capt and crew,,,,,,,,,,,well done guys8-) ,, sounds and looks like a blast,, all stay well,,[COLOR=rgb(26, 188, 156)] ><)):>
><)):>[/COLOR]
AdmiralOriginal Crew25,765 postsSince 2018
Sign in to reply to this thread.