Tautog Fishing Guide

Tautog — called "tog" by devotees — is a chunky, muscular wrasse of the rocky New England and Mid-Atlantic coast, a fish that lives almost entirely in contact with hard structure and rarely strays far from its home reef or wreck. They are powerfully built, with a thick rubbery lip, pharyngeal crushing teeth, and a slimy dark mottled body that blends perfectly with the mussel-encrusted rocks they inhabit. Tautog are notoriously difficult to pull off the bottom — their strategy upon being hooked is an immediate bulldog dive back into the rocks, and lost fish from cut leaders are common. They are one of the longest-lived inshore fish in the Northeast, with age studies confirming fish over 25 years old. Smaller fish of two to four pounds are considered excellent eating with firm, white, sweet flesh.

Tautog is a saltwater species.

Habitat

Tautog are almost exclusively associated with hard structure — jetties, rocky headlands, mussel beds, wrecks, and artificial reefs from southern Maine to South Carolina. They are non-migratory and site-fidelitous, often spending their entire lives within a small radius of a particular reef or wreck. In winter they become dormant and may be found deeper or in crevices; in spring and fall they are most active and accessible in 10 to 60 feet of water.

Diet

Tautog feed almost entirely on hard-shelled invertebrates — mussels, barnacles, blue crabs, rock crabs, and sea urchins — which they crush with powerful molariform pharyngeal teeth. Green crabs, fiddler crabs, and mussels on a small hook fished directly in structure are the classic tautog baits. They feed slowly and deliberately, making sensitivity in the rod and a well-timed hookset critical.

Fishing Techniques

• Green crabs on a fishfinder rig near rocky bottom
• Crab-tipped bucktail jigs at structure
• Mussel baits on a dropper loop

Best Seasons

Fall, Winter, Spring

Size & Records

Average weight: 4 lbs. World record: 25 lbs (Ocean City, New Jersey, USA (1998)).