Bit of Toggin
Some Sign of Life
Age of Tautog
Do you like a good old fashioned 'drop and reel' sea bass bite?
Yeah, umm, toggin/blackfishing ain't that. (Except in the rarest of occasions!) This fishery, tog fishing, is the hardest from among my target species. Skunks can and do happen!
Still, because the challenge is both our test & attraction - a'Toggin we go!
Yes - last winter we had several of my best blackfish trips in YEARS. That DOES NOT MEAN IT'S ABOUT TO HAPPEN AGAIN!! ("Ah, Capt., I thought we'd catch 20 pounders today?") Oh Mercy! I'm just glad if clients get bit!
I'm telling you here - we don't take pics of all the anglers who got their head handed to em..
I'm telling you here - we don't take pics of all the anglers who got their head handed to em..
I run Tog Trips light on passengers so anglers can move to the bite - or try too! If a spot's open and you want to try it—Go! ..especially if someone nearby is catching. That's called mugging and is EXACTLY how this game is played. One pair of boots to a spot though...
For those in need of the blow-by-blow catch reports, I post after every trip to facebook. Nothing epic yet, that's for sure.
Reservations required 410-520-2076
Contacting me is the best way to have your reservation messed up! I know how to anchor - those folks know how to do reservations!
Opening Thursday 1/16/20 - just kicking around inshore with a N/NW wind - 7 to 2 - $100 - 14 sells out.
Friday 1/17/20 - calm before the storm? 4:30 to 4:30 (really looooong run - don't like long runs? This ain't for you!) - $170 - 16 sells out.
Monday & Wednesday were previously posted and sold out. (There are cancellations sometimes..)
Monday 1/13 - 7AM to 3:30PM - $125 - 14 Sells Out
Wednesday 1/15 - 6AM to 4:30PM - $150 - Sells Out at 16
Reservations Required at 410-520-2076
Tog (Blackfish) Trips - zero sea bass - closed now because of dumb MRIP catch estimates. (See Fish Report 1/6/20 for how to Fight!)
IF YOU BOOK LEAVE YOUR BEST POSSIBLE CONTACT NUMBER & LISTEN TO YOUR MESSAGES -
Weather Cancellations Happen - I Make Every Attempt To Let Clients Sleep In If The Weather's Not Going Our Way..
Be a half hour early! We always leave early!
..except when someone shows up right on time.
Clients arriving late will see the west end of an east-bound boat.
With a limited number of reserved spots, I do not refund because you
overslept or had a flat..
Trips Also Announced on Facebook at Morning Star Fishing
https://www.facebook.com/ocfishing/ & my personal FB page along with after action (or lack thereof) reports..
Bait is provided on all trips: green crabs for tog. (Whites Are NOT available at this time!
Tog (Blackfish) Trips - zero sea bass - closed now because of dumb MRIP catch estimates. (See Fish Report 1/6/20 for how to Fight!)
IF YOU BOOK LEAVE YOUR BEST POSSIBLE CONTACT NUMBER & LISTEN TO YOUR MESSAGES -
Weather Cancellations Happen - I Make Every Attempt To Let Clients Sleep In If The Weather's Not Going Our Way..
Be a half hour early! We always leave early!
..except when someone shows up right on time.
Clients arriving late will see the west end of an east-bound boat.
With a limited number of reserved spots, I do not refund because you
overslept or had a flat..
Trips Also Announced on Facebook at Morning Star Fishing
https://www.facebook.com/ocfishing/ & my personal FB page along with after action (or lack thereof) reports..
Bait is provided on all trips: green crabs for tog. (Whites Are NOT available at this time!
Our Tog Pool Is By Length: A Tog That's Been Released Counts The Same As One In The Boat.
No Live Tog Leave The Boat - Dead & Bled - Period. (I Believe The Live Tog Black Market Has Hurt This Fishery ..But Nowhere Near As Much As Bad Sea Bass Regulation)
Agreed With Or Not, All Regulations Observed – Maryland: 4 Tog @ 16 Inches
If You Won't Measure & Count Your Fish, The State Will Provide A Man With A Gun To Do It For You. We Measure & Count — ALWAYS — No Exceptions!
It's Simple To Prevent Motion Sickness, Difficult To Cure. Bonine
seems best because it's non-drowsy. Truly cheap & effective insurance.
Honestly - If you get to go on the ocean once month, once a year, or
even less; why risk chumming all day? Similarly, if you howl at the
moon all night, chances are good you'll howl into a bucket all day.
Bring A Cooler With Ice For Your Fish – A 48 Quart Cooler Is Fine For
A Few People. Do Not Bring A Very Large Cooler. We DO have a few
loaners - you'll still need ice.
No Galley! Bring Food & Beverages To Suit. A few beers in cans is fine for the ride home.
Except in high-summer, waterproof boots are almost a necessity unless fishing the bow - sneakers will ruin your day when the water is cold! While some rarely, or never, wear gloves for fishing, you'd not likely see me fishing this time of year w/o at least the half-finger wool gloves. Tuck a "hot hands" warmer in the palm and life is good..
Layers are best because, believe it or not, sometimes it can be very
pleasant offshore--especially when the wind lays down. In winter it's
warmer offshore owing to warmer waters. In summer it's cooler..
Sponsor the Ocean City Reef Foundation!
http://www.ocreefs.org
We're Nowhere Near Reef Building's True Potential.
No Live Tog Leave The Boat - Dead & Bled - Period. (I Believe The Live Tog Black Market Has Hurt This Fishery ..But Nowhere Near As Much As Bad Sea Bass Regulation)
Agreed With Or Not, All Regulations Observed – Maryland: 4 Tog @ 16 Inches
If You Won't Measure & Count Your Fish, The State Will Provide A Man With A Gun To Do It For You. We Measure & Count — ALWAYS — No Exceptions!
It's Simple To Prevent Motion Sickness, Difficult To Cure. Bonine
seems best because it's non-drowsy. Truly cheap & effective insurance.
Honestly - If you get to go on the ocean once month, once a year, or
even less; why risk chumming all day? Similarly, if you howl at the
moon all night, chances are good you'll howl into a bucket all day.
Bring A Cooler With Ice For Your Fish – A 48 Quart Cooler Is Fine For
A Few People. Do Not Bring A Very Large Cooler. We DO have a few
loaners - you'll still need ice.
No Galley! Bring Food & Beverages To Suit. A few beers in cans is fine for the ride home.
Except in high-summer, waterproof boots are almost a necessity unless fishing the bow - sneakers will ruin your day when the water is cold! While some rarely, or never, wear gloves for fishing, you'd not likely see me fishing this time of year w/o at least the half-finger wool gloves. Tuck a "hot hands" warmer in the palm and life is good..
Layers are best because, believe it or not, sometimes it can be very
pleasant offshore--especially when the wind lays down. In winter it's
warmer offshore owing to warmer waters. In summer it's cooler..
Sponsor the Ocean City Reef Foundation!
http://www.ocreefs.org
We're Nowhere Near Reef Building's True Potential.
28,409 Reef Blocks + 56 Reef Units (180lb Pyramids & Reef Balls) have been deployed at numerous sites as of 1/06/20..
Here are sites currently being targeted: Capt. Jack Kaeufer's Reef 1,031 (+11 Reef Units) - Doug Ake's Reef 3,906 (+8 Reef Units) - St. Ann's 2,359 (+4 Reef Balls) - Sue's Block Drop 1,176 (+4 Reef Units) - TwoTanks Reef 1,013 (+ 7 Reef Units) - Capt. Bob's Inshore Block Drop 900 - Benelli Reef 1,037 - Rudy's Reef 209 - Capt. Bob's Bass Grounds Reef 2,287 (+23 reef units) - Wolf & Daughters Reef 713 - Al Berger's Reef 373 (+1 Reef Unit) - Great Eastern Block Drop 489 (+5 Reef Units)..
Greetings All,
No great shakes yet. Just pickin smalls & medium tog. Taggin some, sending some home for dinner.
Craig (Colonel Weedon! MD's lead biologist on several species but tog here) ..Craig gave me DNR's tautog aging chart from the last few years of work.
Our typical 'keeper' of 16 to 18 inches is 6 to 8 years old. It's not a smooth curve. Many 18 inchers were 6 yo, & some even 5. One 18 inch tog was only 4 yo, while another was 11 yo.
The smallest ones they'd sampled were 10 inches. Ten & 11 inch tog were already 2/3/4 years old.
On the jumbo side Capt. Kane/Ken Westerfeld's world record tog was 35 inches & 23 yo.
A typical pool winner of yesteryear, say 26 inches, might be 15 to 27 yo with what seems a 22 yo average.
You know, I think we'd better reexamine our tog regulations, especially given today's popularity.
Our typical 'keeper' of 16 to 18 inches is 6 to 8 years old. It's not a smooth curve. Many 18 inchers were 6 yo, & some even 5. One 18 inch tog was only 4 yo, while another was 11 yo.
The smallest ones they'd sampled were 10 inches. Ten & 11 inch tog were already 2/3/4 years old.
On the jumbo side Capt. Kane/Ken Westerfeld's world record tog was 35 inches & 23 yo.
A typical pool winner of yesteryear, say 26 inches, might be 15 to 27 yo with what seems a 22 yo average.
You know, I think we'd better reexamine our tog regulations, especially given today's popularity.
The main thing, believe it or not!, is getting sea bass catch data squared away so we can reopen closed seasons & get their number going up more.
I'm hopeful many readers took a minute to write Secretary Ross about management's complete loss of faith in MRIP recreational catch data.
Read Fish Reports 1/6/20 & 11/17/19 for a clearer understanding of where catch estimates have taken us.
Looking forward to a couple warm days w/o a gale!
Cheers
Monty
Capt Monty Hawkins
Partyboat Morning Star - OC MD
Sent from my iPhone
