captmike28
Well-Known Angler
Hi Matt,
At the risk of being redundant, note Togilator's recommendations on leader size/# test. He even ups me by a category or two!
I'm sure you will be prepared this Sunday!!
Capt. Mike
Post up up your 2019/2020/2021/2022 Blackfishing Pix/Reports/Adventures/Musings
- Thread starter Leprechaun
- Start date
At the risk of being redundant, note Togilator's recommendations on leader size/# test. He even ups me by a category or two!
I'm sure you will be prepared this Sunday!!
Capt. Mike
Snapprhead27
Well-Known Angler
I was waiting on that ? I finally caved and got barrel swivels and snap swivels.Hi Matt,
At the risk of being redundant, note Togilator's recommendations on leader size/# test. He even ups me by a category or two!
I'm sure you will be prepared this Sunday!!
Capt. Mike
I Have never done well with heavy jigs. Although I do fish shallow and deep water a good portion of my tog jigging is done in low current areas so I don't use them all that often. I stop at 3 oz. and by the time Im using that heavy of a jig I already am thinking about going to a rig set up. A good portion of the big tog I have caught on jigs just picked up the crab/jig and swam away with it in one quick swoop. When the jig gets too heavy they feel somethings not rite and quickly spit it out. I guess in hi current areas Like Orient 3 oz jigs come into play more often and you have no choice. I have had my most success using 1,1.5 and 2 oz jigs.
Snapprhead27
Well-Known Angler
That's what I was thinking as well in regards to the heavy feeling.
Hi Rob - I also own a big batch of customs, but as time goes on, factory-built sticks seem to be dominating my "take to the boat" category - for both fluke and blackfish. The Proteus SS series is a smokin' choice for our inshore waters. Not sure Daiwa even offers the SS's anymore, but I have to say, the sensitivity and power are as good as any custom whatever I've ever used - and I've always been a big CTS fanboy.
I find it hard to imagine using the Proteus L and ML on the size fish you catch - its a combination of your skills and the lack of nasty man-made structure that makes it possible, I guess. I use the Shimano Grappler Type-J rods in ML and M here on 'my" reef bottom, both of which are more "powerful" than you rod choices - and I've had fish on them that I could not stop take me squarely into the sticky, with the expected result. I would really love to fish semi-open bottom the way you do, but it's just not a thing here off JI. Oh well, such is life.
I do lean on my PRSS64H bait caster for the majority of my "bait rig" South Shore work. Paired with a killer Daiwa Pluton 200H (Now called the Ryoga to match its original name in Japan), and carrying 30lb 832, its excellent for 4oz - 8oz sinker work. Very, very sensitive and excellent fish-turning power. I just do not care for the 13 tiny micro-guides which can be bent fairly easily, even whilst carrying this rod to/from the boat to the car, when bundled with all my other rods. Having to give it extra care during transport and use is a bit of a PITA , but I put up with it, because I know of no other dedicated bait caster that offers its combination of plus features. Just a sweet, sweet rod for tog.
My "other" take-along setup is a new custom-built Abu 4500 (the build thread is up high on this board) mounted to a Jigging World Ghost Hunter 300 gram slow pitch stick. At only 5'8" long, its a blast to use, but I doubt it would be a good choice for any boat with a high freeboard. For my Shammie 26 it is perfecto!
As far as line and leaders - I agree with your choices. Here's what I use -
Spinners - the above Grapplers, one with a Tsunami Evict 2000 and one with a Penn Clash II 3000. Both carry 20lb braid (my new fav is Momoi Diamond Gen III braid in bright orange) with 8' of 30lb Berkley Big Game running leader, joined to the braid with a PR Bobbin knot. I go with the 30lb because it spools better on the little spinner spools without drama. Gotta keep an eye on it though, as the taller "stick-ups" that are common on my local reefs can abrade the running leader. Cutbacks are sometimes needed, and that's why I use a full 8' length.
Bait caster - as discussed above, with 30lb 832 and 8' of 40lb Big Game running leader, PR Bobbin knotted.
Conventionals - 40lb Max Cuartro with a 40lb Big Game running leader, PR Bobbin knotted.
All above get a 150lb. Coastlock snap on the end of the running leader, with a clear plastic bead above it, so I don't hit my tiptop with the coastlock during times of, umm, "high stress."
For my jigging leader - 18" of 50lb Big Game with a 150lb swivel on one end and a double overhand Surgeon loop on the other for the jig head.
For my sinker rigs - approx 15-18" 50lb Big Game, dropper looped, and a doubled single-turn Surgeon loop on the bottom. This prevents a big fish from shaking off the sinker during a protracted fight. This used to be a big problem when fishing deep rubble off Jersey, as the sinker loop would abrade during use and the heavy head-shake antics of a good one would cause the 8-10oz sinker to break off. Doubling the sinker loop effectively solved that problem.
For my bait hooks - 2/0 and 3/0 Mustad Big Guns (which are just about the same size as 4/0 and 5/0 Owner cutting points, while costing A LOT less). 60lb Ande clear leader material for the hooks. Once you use these hooks you are ruined - as the points are super sharp and will not turn on a snag - unlike the Gamakatsu Octopus hooks, whose points turn easily and will break at the hook's turn if damaged in any way with a pair of pliers.
There's tons of ways to do all of this, above is what works for me.
Best, Pete
I find it hard to imagine using the Proteus L and ML on the size fish you catch - its a combination of your skills and the lack of nasty man-made structure that makes it possible, I guess. I use the Shimano Grappler Type-J rods in ML and M here on 'my" reef bottom, both of which are more "powerful" than you rod choices - and I've had fish on them that I could not stop take me squarely into the sticky, with the expected result. I would really love to fish semi-open bottom the way you do, but it's just not a thing here off JI. Oh well, such is life.
I do lean on my PRSS64H bait caster for the majority of my "bait rig" South Shore work. Paired with a killer Daiwa Pluton 200H (Now called the Ryoga to match its original name in Japan), and carrying 30lb 832, its excellent for 4oz - 8oz sinker work. Very, very sensitive and excellent fish-turning power. I just do not care for the 13 tiny micro-guides which can be bent fairly easily, even whilst carrying this rod to/from the boat to the car, when bundled with all my other rods. Having to give it extra care during transport and use is a bit of a PITA , but I put up with it, because I know of no other dedicated bait caster that offers its combination of plus features. Just a sweet, sweet rod for tog.
My "other" take-along setup is a new custom-built Abu 4500 (the build thread is up high on this board) mounted to a Jigging World Ghost Hunter 300 gram slow pitch stick. At only 5'8" long, its a blast to use, but I doubt it would be a good choice for any boat with a high freeboard. For my Shammie 26 it is perfecto!
As far as line and leaders - I agree with your choices. Here's what I use -
Spinners - the above Grapplers, one with a Tsunami Evict 2000 and one with a Penn Clash II 3000. Both carry 20lb braid (my new fav is Momoi Diamond Gen III braid in bright orange) with 8' of 30lb Berkley Big Game running leader, joined to the braid with a PR Bobbin knot. I go with the 30lb because it spools better on the little spinner spools without drama. Gotta keep an eye on it though, as the taller "stick-ups" that are common on my local reefs can abrade the running leader. Cutbacks are sometimes needed, and that's why I use a full 8' length.
Bait caster - as discussed above, with 30lb 832 and 8' of 40lb Big Game running leader, PR Bobbin knotted.
Conventionals - 40lb Max Cuartro with a 40lb Big Game running leader, PR Bobbin knotted.
All above get a 150lb. Coastlock snap on the end of the running leader, with a clear plastic bead above it, so I don't hit my tiptop with the coastlock during times of, umm, "high stress."
For my jigging leader - 18" of 50lb Big Game with a 150lb swivel on one end and a double overhand Surgeon loop on the other for the jig head.
For my sinker rigs - approx 15-18" 50lb Big Game, dropper looped, and a doubled single-turn Surgeon loop on the bottom. This prevents a big fish from shaking off the sinker during a protracted fight. This used to be a big problem when fishing deep rubble off Jersey, as the sinker loop would abrade during use and the heavy head-shake antics of a good one would cause the 8-10oz sinker to break off. Doubling the sinker loop effectively solved that problem.
For my bait hooks - 2/0 and 3/0 Mustad Big Guns (which are just about the same size as 4/0 and 5/0 Owner cutting points, while costing A LOT less). 60lb Ande clear leader material for the hooks. Once you use these hooks you are ruined - as the points are super sharp and will not turn on a snag - unlike the Gamakatsu Octopus hooks, whose points turn easily and will break at the hook's turn if damaged in any way with a pair of pliers.
There's tons of ways to do all of this, above is what works for me.
Best, Pete
You have to find a system that works for you and have confidence in and stick with it. The proteus L is a fun stick that I only exclusively use in Rhode Island. The ML has a lot more power and it being only 6'4" in length you get a lot of leverage. I have pulled quite a few double digits off sticky Ocean wrecks with that stick. Nothing bigger than 11.5 lbs but still solid fish. The one thing about these rods is they didn't cost me all that much and I lean into them like SCHWARTZENAGER when a big fish is on. I should have blown them up more times than I can remember. They just keep catching and are still in one piece though. I know I have done everything you shouldn't do with these rods. If I treated my custom CTS or Phenix rods like these SS proteus rods there's no way they would still be in 1 piece.
I'm no engineer but I feel its far easier for me to move a big fish with a short jigging rod than something like 7'6".You just have to find what works for you and stick with it.
I'm no engineer but I feel its far easier for me to move a big fish with a short jigging rod than something like 7'6".You just have to find what works for you and stick with it.
Last edited:
captmike28
Well-Known Angler
The Veteran’s Day weekend saw much more typical and challenging fall weather conditions along with some pretty good Tog action.
Friday’s crew of Vinnie, PJ, and the dynamic duo of Frank Jr. and Sr. join me with special guest “mate”, the well-known charter Capt. and YouTube star, John Halkias. The steady SW breeze found us rolling a bit as we started our day on my favorite CT reef drop. Nevertheless, there were plenty of Tog to be caught, just a very large percentage of them being short fish. Frank Jr. started us off with a nice 17” keeper but then we played the sorting game for the next 2 hours through the start of the ebb tide until the strength of the new moon blew us off the spot. The crew only managed a total of 3 keepers to 18” on what is normally a very good drop.
So, we moved inside to a nearby jigging spot in 20’ of water to duck out of the wind and tide. A switch to spinning rods for some of the crew started to put more keepers in the box on both jigs and conventional tackle. Vinnie led the way with a 5# fish and the rest of the crew each made contributions helping us finally reach a total of 10 keepers on a day that found a tough bite. Of course, as is common on these trips we broke off at least 3 real brutes that were too powerful to stop and ended up breaking free in the rocky terrain. One highlight of tis trip was Capt. John showing Frank Sr. some of the finer points to working the Tog jig. Under his expert tutelage our “elder statesman” managed to put 2 nice keepers in the box in quick succession.
With an even stronger NW wind on Saturday, I had little choice but to take the Steve C. party of 4 back to the CT side hoping for a better mix of keepers. With the wind and tide a bit more cooperative I was able to position the boat just once on the high spot and soon the guys were pulling Tog with regularity. This time the number of keepers here in the 50’ depths improved as each one of the guys put some nice keepers in the box with Steve’s 4# fish the best to that point of the morning. So, we left the reef with 10 nice fish in the box and headed inside once again to break out the spinning gear. Within 5 minutes of getting set up here Steve’s spinning rod doubles over and the drag starts to scream. After a spirited battle that found the fish swimming wildly all over, I finally slipped the net under a gorgeous Tog of 8.75#. After a few quick pictures and scale weighting, Steve proudly returned his personal best Tog to fight again! We managed to box a couple more keepers in the shallows so overall our final tally was slightly better than Friday’s results.
Today’s split charter found Lanny and Jason from PA along with regular Matt and the “infamous” Chef Nader. Fishers I. was our destination and it was quite the sporting ride out with a fair amount of NE breeze left over from Saturday. But once we reached my favorite jigging spot the waters were calm and tides very reasonable for a new moon cycle. Almost immediately the Chef strikes “Black Gold” with a nice 4.5# fish on his super light conventional rod. A few minutes later he adds a second keeper to the box, slightly smaller. Then the rest of the crew began to go to work sorting through lots of smalls but slowly building the catch towards a full boat limit, all on this one drop. No real big fish today but almost all to the keepers were nice thick 17-18” fish. Thankfully the wind did lay down as predicted in the late morning and we all enjoyed a smooth cruise home with nice big bags of sweet Tog filet. Special thanks to mate Alex for helping me all day on deck tending to the customers needs and doing a masterful filet job.
Blackish season for me is now winding down fast with only 5 more trips on the books before Thanksgiving and the weather widows becoming shorter all the time. Sending out a big “Thank Youi” to all our veterans and hoping that everyone enjoys the balance of the 2023 Tog season.
Capt. Mike
Friday’s crew of Vinnie, PJ, and the dynamic duo of Frank Jr. and Sr. join me with special guest “mate”, the well-known charter Capt. and YouTube star, John Halkias. The steady SW breeze found us rolling a bit as we started our day on my favorite CT reef drop. Nevertheless, there were plenty of Tog to be caught, just a very large percentage of them being short fish. Frank Jr. started us off with a nice 17” keeper but then we played the sorting game for the next 2 hours through the start of the ebb tide until the strength of the new moon blew us off the spot. The crew only managed a total of 3 keepers to 18” on what is normally a very good drop.
So, we moved inside to a nearby jigging spot in 20’ of water to duck out of the wind and tide. A switch to spinning rods for some of the crew started to put more keepers in the box on both jigs and conventional tackle. Vinnie led the way with a 5# fish and the rest of the crew each made contributions helping us finally reach a total of 10 keepers on a day that found a tough bite. Of course, as is common on these trips we broke off at least 3 real brutes that were too powerful to stop and ended up breaking free in the rocky terrain. One highlight of tis trip was Capt. John showing Frank Sr. some of the finer points to working the Tog jig. Under his expert tutelage our “elder statesman” managed to put 2 nice keepers in the box in quick succession.
With an even stronger NW wind on Saturday, I had little choice but to take the Steve C. party of 4 back to the CT side hoping for a better mix of keepers. With the wind and tide a bit more cooperative I was able to position the boat just once on the high spot and soon the guys were pulling Tog with regularity. This time the number of keepers here in the 50’ depths improved as each one of the guys put some nice keepers in the box with Steve’s 4# fish the best to that point of the morning. So, we left the reef with 10 nice fish in the box and headed inside once again to break out the spinning gear. Within 5 minutes of getting set up here Steve’s spinning rod doubles over and the drag starts to scream. After a spirited battle that found the fish swimming wildly all over, I finally slipped the net under a gorgeous Tog of 8.75#. After a few quick pictures and scale weighting, Steve proudly returned his personal best Tog to fight again! We managed to box a couple more keepers in the shallows so overall our final tally was slightly better than Friday’s results.
Today’s split charter found Lanny and Jason from PA along with regular Matt and the “infamous” Chef Nader. Fishers I. was our destination and it was quite the sporting ride out with a fair amount of NE breeze left over from Saturday. But once we reached my favorite jigging spot the waters were calm and tides very reasonable for a new moon cycle. Almost immediately the Chef strikes “Black Gold” with a nice 4.5# fish on his super light conventional rod. A few minutes later he adds a second keeper to the box, slightly smaller. Then the rest of the crew began to go to work sorting through lots of smalls but slowly building the catch towards a full boat limit, all on this one drop. No real big fish today but almost all to the keepers were nice thick 17-18” fish. Thankfully the wind did lay down as predicted in the late morning and we all enjoyed a smooth cruise home with nice big bags of sweet Tog filet. Special thanks to mate Alex for helping me all day on deck tending to the customers needs and doing a masterful filet job.
Blackish season for me is now winding down fast with only 5 more trips on the books before Thanksgiving and the weather widows becoming shorter all the time. Sending out a big “Thank Youi” to all our veterans and hoping that everyone enjoys the balance of the 2023 Tog season.
Capt. Mike
Snapprhead27
Well-Known Angler
Thanks for another great trip!
captmike28
Well-Known Angler
Always my pleasure, Matt. And congrats on your 4 Keeper day!!
Hunter704
Well-Known Angler
longcast
Well-Known Angler
Solid tog!!
captmike28
Well-Known Angler
As the number of fishable days continues to dwindle, the Bob W. party of 4 was able to take advantage of yesterday’s cold but calm conditions for a shot at the steady Blackfish bite on the North Fork. I wasted not time in heading straight back to my favorite jig spot off Fishers Island, and for the 4th time in a row we were treated to a “one-stop shopping” experience!
As the flood tide began to move gently Andy started us off with a healthy 18” keeper for the box. Bob followed suit with his own fat Tog of 17” and then we began the typical rounds of a bunch of shorts with a nice keeper mixed in here and there. Frank had a few frustrating moments as he hung up and lost 3 jigs in a short period of time only managing a few shorts in between. I handed him one of my spinning rods and almost instantly his luck changed as he decked his first keeper of 18” in length. Rob had been quietly working away at a lot of short fish until about mid-morning when he had a big hit and following a strong fight put a sweet 4.5# fish in the box. The guys kept working away diligently and by 11:15, the 4-man limit, plus the captain’s share had graced the fish box. Although we did break off a couple of the typical “freight trains”, most of the keepers were in the 17”-19” class but nice and thick. Of course, while in the C&R mode as I was cleaning the catch the crew did manage to land several other nice keepers including a few more in the 4# class that were all quickly returned.
A nice comfortable, smooth ride back to port with healthy bags of filet capped off another very satisfying day on our North Fork Tog grounds. Although I still have 4 trips on the books for the balance of my season, the weather forecasts are looking quite iffy. I sure hope we can squeeze at least one of two more trips in before the curtain comes down as the fish are chewing good right now.
Capt. Mike
As the flood tide began to move gently Andy started us off with a healthy 18” keeper for the box. Bob followed suit with his own fat Tog of 17” and then we began the typical rounds of a bunch of shorts with a nice keeper mixed in here and there. Frank had a few frustrating moments as he hung up and lost 3 jigs in a short period of time only managing a few shorts in between. I handed him one of my spinning rods and almost instantly his luck changed as he decked his first keeper of 18” in length. Rob had been quietly working away at a lot of short fish until about mid-morning when he had a big hit and following a strong fight put a sweet 4.5# fish in the box. The guys kept working away diligently and by 11:15, the 4-man limit, plus the captain’s share had graced the fish box. Although we did break off a couple of the typical “freight trains”, most of the keepers were in the 17”-19” class but nice and thick. Of course, while in the C&R mode as I was cleaning the catch the crew did manage to land several other nice keepers including a few more in the 4# class that were all quickly returned.
A nice comfortable, smooth ride back to port with healthy bags of filet capped off another very satisfying day on our North Fork Tog grounds. Although I still have 4 trips on the books for the balance of my season, the weather forecasts are looking quite iffy. I sure hope we can squeeze at least one of two more trips in before the curtain comes down as the fish are chewing good right now.
Capt. Mike
Matts
Angler
Sunday was beautiful. Sunny skies and easy winds from the west. Headed a little farther east than I have this year and it paid off with bigger fish. A slow start, but once the tide started to flood, we had nonstop action on jigs in 30'. Three anglers put at least 10-12 keepers in the boat, with two over 18" and 4#, and endless shorts. Too lazy to keep and clean any. Left them growling to prevent a crew mutiny at about 12:45.
Unfortunately, that left me plenty of time to watch the Jets.
Unfortunately, that left me plenty of time to watch the Jets.
My condolences on the Jets. My whole life I never followed football, only my Mets and Knicks - both rabidly since 1968. Back in the '69/70 season it was the Mets, then the Jets, then the Knicks all winning big - so as an impressionable 15-yr old, I thought, O.K., I've got my teams. With the acquisition of Rodgers I figured it was time to give football and the Jets a shot. Yeah, it all worked out GREAT!, right? For all my teams, as it turned out. Geesh. Can I pick 'em, or what? 
Fresh “Captain’s Table” blackfish in a light red sauce, made with San Marzano tomatoes, white wine, seafood stock, clam juice, minced clams, capers, shallots, garlic, basil and Calabrian chiles. With little neck clams, calamari and wild white shrimp. Unbelievably delish!
Well. that's all folks!
A very good fluke season, followed by a pretty rough tog season, and that's that. Chris/HippyChic pulled her home yesterday. Changed the oil (5 quarts of Castrol GTX 20W50 and a half pint of STP with a nice WIX filter), and gave her a good pickling with 3 gals of the pink non-tox anti-freeze. Plugged in the maintenance charger, put three 60W light bulbs in the bilge to keep down the hum-did-ity, and she's good to go through the coming dreariness. Squiggy's Boat Service will shrink wrap her Tuesday, and then begins the slow crawl to next season. Uggh!
Planned repairs for the coming season are a new prop shaft and coupler, and a new transmission oil cooler. These in addition to my usual Springtime OCD maintenance and spruce up chores, of course.
The re-shafting will be a real PITA, as I'll have to drop the rudder and pull the prop to make it happen. Probably have to cut the drive shaft inside the hull, as I'm doubtful that I'll be able to remove the coupler from the shaft. I know this because I did this job more than 20 years ago, and that's how it went. Bought a Harbor Freight cut off tool on sale for $19.95, expressly for this purpose. Hopefully it holds up to this one job -and it'll be money well spent.
A very good fluke season, followed by a pretty rough tog season, and that's that. Chris/HippyChic pulled her home yesterday. Changed the oil (5 quarts of Castrol GTX 20W50 and a half pint of STP with a nice WIX filter), and gave her a good pickling with 3 gals of the pink non-tox anti-freeze. Plugged in the maintenance charger, put three 60W light bulbs in the bilge to keep down the hum-did-ity, and she's good to go through the coming dreariness. Squiggy's Boat Service will shrink wrap her Tuesday, and then begins the slow crawl to next season. Uggh!
Planned repairs for the coming season are a new prop shaft and coupler, and a new transmission oil cooler. These in addition to my usual Springtime OCD maintenance and spruce up chores, of course.
The re-shafting will be a real PITA, as I'll have to drop the rudder and pull the prop to make it happen. Probably have to cut the drive shaft inside the hull, as I'm doubtful that I'll be able to remove the coupler from the shaft. I know this because I did this job more than 20 years ago, and that's how it went. Bought a Harbor Freight cut off tool on sale for $19.95, expressly for this purpose. Hopefully it holds up to this one job -and it'll be money well spent.
captmike28
Well-Known Angler
She still looks good, runs great, and catches plenty of fish. You have plenty to be thankful for!
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