Fishing with Tautog Jigs

“Jigging” for blackfish is a enjoyable and efficient strategy to goal these crab-loving. For a very long time, fishermen relied on rigs weighed down by heavy sinkers to current baits to tautog, however fishermen realized that tog would eat crab-baited jigheads, and in some conditions, baited tautog jigs even out-produced tog rigs.

What are tautog jigs?

Like most jigs, tautog jigs includes a molded lead head with a hook. Tog fishermen favor jighead shapes that sit flat on the underside with the hook and bait offered upward. Whereas many early tog jigs have been made with Upperman-style jigheads, fishermen at present choose ball, soccer, banana, and boxer-style jigheads.

Tog jigs are molded round stout, sharp hooks. Some fishermen choose long-shank hooks for higher hooksets, whereas short-shank hooks are nonetheless used on some tog jigs.

Tog jigs are painted in a wide range of colours, with pure inexperienced and white-legger crab colours being the most well-liked, however glow, chartreuse, and white additionally working properly to draw a tog’s consideration.

Tog jigs can be found in sizes from 1/2 to five ounces, although most fishermen choose tog jigs of two ounces or lighter.

Why use jigs?

Tog jigs enable anglers to successfully current crabs to tog utilizing lighter sort out, which might result in extra bites and higher hook-ups, particularly in shallow water. The way in which jigs current crabs standing up on the underside helps them seize a tog’s consideration, generally higher than rigs, the place the crab may be left to spin within the present.

When utilizing jigs, an angler has direct contact with the baited jig, for higher sensitivity, which provides the angler a greater thought of when to set the hook – an merchandise of a lot rivalry amongst tog fishermen.

Tog jigs tipped with a crab have allowed anglers to make use of lighter setups compared to a conventional rig with lead weight.

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Selecting a Tautog Jig

Anglers ought to choose the lightest tog jig they’ll use and nonetheless maintain backside. Experiment with jigs starting from 1/2 to 2 ounces and modify accordingly. Ideally, the jig will maintain backside with out tumbling or drifting, thus, preserving the baited crab within the strike zone for longer.

In conditions when a 2- or 2.5-ounce jig is just not sufficient to carry backside, it could be greatest to modify over to a rig.

For coloration, in clear water, fishermen choose pure, or muted colours, and in darker or stained water, shiny colours, together with glow, might assist a tog discover your bait.

Tautog jigs painted in colours that match these of widespread baits like inexperienced crabs, white-leggers, fiddlers and Asian crabs. Even hermit crabs are a favourite blackfish bait.

big tautog on a jig — This tautog jig was painted to resemble the stomach of a inexperienced crab. Discover the upward-facing hook placement.

When and the place ought to I exploit a jig?

Tautog jigs are efficient in virtually all the identical locations that anglers go for rigs. They are often fished vertically from a ship right into a discipline of submerged boulders, or pitched and retrieved across the perimeter of 1 giant piece of construction.

Easy methods to fish with tautog jigs:

Tog jigs are greatest fished on spinning sort out due to the lighter weights. Spool the reels with thin-diameter braided line of 20- or 30-pound take a look at to scale back the water resistance on the road and assist the jig maintain backside.

A ten-foot chief of 30- or 40-pound take a look at fluorocarbon connected to the braided mainline with an FG or Albright Knot will present stealth and abrasion-resistance in opposition to the craggy areas the place tautog dwell. Connect one of many tog jigs (proven under) to the chief with a Palomar, improved clinch, or uni knot.

Drop the jig to the underside and let it sit nonetheless. If no bites come rapidly, reel it in and drop over a unique piece of the construction, feeling for prime spots or holes, the place it might seize a tog’s consideration.

The hits will fluctuate, relying on the temper of the tog, from mild scratches to heavy thumps. Generally, a tog will merely seize the crab-baited jig and swim off. The fisherman will discover the road get mild, or see the road shifting. Set the hook onerous and reel to get the tog away from the construction.