Still toggin'

[awthacker]

Is tog similar to black sea bass? Looks alot alike. If it is, that's definitely one of the best tasting fish... usually gotta catch a bunch of them, though, because they're definitely smaller down here.

[dbetterred]

They are similar in that they are also black (they can also be bronzey colored, I've been told, but have never seen it). But that's about it. We have black sea bass up here also and they don't' get as big as tautog.

Tog eat crabs, lobster, mussels, and oysters, so their meat is light tasting and sweet (it's the old "you are what you eat" thing). They have a firm white flesh which is good in chowder type stuff. I usually grill or fry them.

Black sea bass like to hang around structure. Tog hang IN the structure. You need to drop the bite directly down in the holes in the rock to get to the Tog. They often will not come out to take a bait. This is why you can drift fish for black sea bass, but must anchor accurately for Tog. Otherwise when you try to get down between the rocks you will get hung up and lose all your rigs.

Pound for pound a tautog will out pull anything else I have caught, for the first 20 seconds anyway. Which is just long enough for them to wrap your line around a rock, than you're screwed. They bite very light, just a little tap tap. if you miss a couple taps. just pull up and rebait. a very sensitive rod is very helpful. I use a St. Croix muskie rod, rated at 36-80 lb line. It has some serious back bone, but is super sensitive. (it's also my go to rod for live lining eels for stripers). The old saying is you must set the hook before the fish bites.

[awthacker]

Sounds alot more like a sheephead, by habitat, diet, and thievery. Doesn't really lok the same, though. You guys may call them rockfish?

[dbetterred]

I haven't heard of them called rockfish. That would usually be stripers I think. Some people call them blackfish.