captmike28
Well-Known Angler
The combination of good weather, nice sea conditions ad water temperatures now in the mid to upper 50’s set us up for a 3 day stretch of boat limits of nice Tog which only required a single drop each day!
Friday, I had the James party join me and although the SW wind was forecast to start blowing steady in the afternoon our start in the morning was wonderfully calm. We headed straight to my favorite reef on the CT side of the Sound and set the hook on a nice rocky patch in 50’ of water. Almost immediately the short Tog life began but soon a nice mix of 16-18” keepers began finding their way into the box. Despite getting a slow start, Abdel finally connected with a fat 5.5# fish that wound up winning him the private pool among his friends. The steady action continued right up to then end of the ebb tide as we approached a boat limit. Then the flood began and the strong SW breeze really kicked in setting up a nasty wind vs. tide situation complete with curling 3’ waves. Even though we had slid off the main structure the fish kept biting until the conditions became too uncomfortable to continue fishing. We did seek some shelter on the north side of Plum Island and picked away at a few more Tog while I cleaned the catch of the day.
Saturday’s saw conditions were much nicer so I took the John party right back to the scene of Fridays success. The Tog were right where we left them on Friday and once again the crew did a great job of sorting through the many shorts to put together a boat limit of fish to 5.5# once again by 11:30 a.m. This time the group wanted to play a little more C&R with their light jigging tackle so we moved inside to a nearby drop in only 20’ of water. While I cleaned the day’s haul the crew did manage to catch and release several more Tog including a few more keepers gently retuned to fight another day.
Today’s stellar sea conditions allowed me to take the Sal team to my favorite jig spot near Fishers Island. With the very light winds I just narrowly missed my prime numbers by about 100’ but a quick re-anchoring got us right on the real sticky stuff and soon the Tog were flying over the rail. With the quarter phase moon tides and the protected nature of this location, the crew was able to fish their light spinning rods and jigs all through the ebb tide. Sal started things off with a nice 17” keeper quickly followed by a second fish of similar size from his buddy Frank. Then Sal’s’ spinner doubles over and after a spirited battle, I slip the net under a beautiful 7# fish.
The bite continued for the entire ebb tide cycle with a few short lulls followed by a spurt of keepers. Overall, the quality of Tog today was better than we saw the prior 2 days with the top 5 fish of the catch ranging from 5-7#. So, there you have it… good weather, lower water temperatures and talented anglers produced a clean sweep of limits of tasty, hard fighting North Fork Tog!!
Capt. Mike
Friday, I had the James party join me and although the SW wind was forecast to start blowing steady in the afternoon our start in the morning was wonderfully calm. We headed straight to my favorite reef on the CT side of the Sound and set the hook on a nice rocky patch in 50’ of water. Almost immediately the short Tog life began but soon a nice mix of 16-18” keepers began finding their way into the box. Despite getting a slow start, Abdel finally connected with a fat 5.5# fish that wound up winning him the private pool among his friends. The steady action continued right up to then end of the ebb tide as we approached a boat limit. Then the flood began and the strong SW breeze really kicked in setting up a nasty wind vs. tide situation complete with curling 3’ waves. Even though we had slid off the main structure the fish kept biting until the conditions became too uncomfortable to continue fishing. We did seek some shelter on the north side of Plum Island and picked away at a few more Tog while I cleaned the catch of the day.
Saturday’s saw conditions were much nicer so I took the John party right back to the scene of Fridays success. The Tog were right where we left them on Friday and once again the crew did a great job of sorting through the many shorts to put together a boat limit of fish to 5.5# once again by 11:30 a.m. This time the group wanted to play a little more C&R with their light jigging tackle so we moved inside to a nearby drop in only 20’ of water. While I cleaned the day’s haul the crew did manage to catch and release several more Tog including a few more keepers gently retuned to fight another day.
Today’s stellar sea conditions allowed me to take the Sal team to my favorite jig spot near Fishers Island. With the very light winds I just narrowly missed my prime numbers by about 100’ but a quick re-anchoring got us right on the real sticky stuff and soon the Tog were flying over the rail. With the quarter phase moon tides and the protected nature of this location, the crew was able to fish their light spinning rods and jigs all through the ebb tide. Sal started things off with a nice 17” keeper quickly followed by a second fish of similar size from his buddy Frank. Then Sal’s’ spinner doubles over and after a spirited battle, I slip the net under a beautiful 7# fish.
The bite continued for the entire ebb tide cycle with a few short lulls followed by a spurt of keepers. Overall, the quality of Tog today was better than we saw the prior 2 days with the top 5 fish of the catch ranging from 5-7#. So, there you have it… good weather, lower water temperatures and talented anglers produced a clean sweep of limits of tasty, hard fighting North Fork Tog!!
Capt. Mike
