Keyport Seahawk - Tog jigging and late striper surprise

[Chrisper4694]

Headed out Saturday with Tog as the target. Day started out with a nice flat ocean, but it wouldn't last. Late morning brought a pretty bad swell which made fishing the SH reef pretty difficult, but we made a decent day of it i think considering the conditions there and the fact that we're pretty new at the tog game.

Tried togging with a jig for the first time and i have to say...i'm sold! really cool way to target these fish! Anyone thinking about trying it, i'd highly recommend it. Like anything else, i'm sure it doesn't fit in every situation, but on Saturday where we were fishing it highly dominated the bait rig technique in keeper sized fish (4 for the jig - 0 for the classic bait rig). It was much easier to control the jig in and around the structure and really work the spot over. got snagged many times still, obviously, but only lost 1 jig all day while over a dozen bait rigs/sinkers were broken off.

On the way in, John saw birds and so we couldn't pass it up even though we didn't really have much time. I hook up after a few casts and after a few powerful tugs the line is cut. bluefish...we keept fishing the pods in hopes of stripers under, but boom i hook up a gain, cut. John hooks up and gets it in, gator bluefish...ok let's get the hell out of here i said.

So we head back but John sees some more birds. I have to be honest, i just assumed they were more blues and i would've passed them up at that point of the day...but John noticed they birds were moving different and he thought they might be stripers, good call! Turned out to be a school of nice 25-29" stripers so we played with them for a while catching our keepers and c&r on a few more. nice way to end the day, especially since our togging left a little to be desired.

[reason162]

The striper-tog combo trip is the best combo trip, great job!

"Jigging" tog is probably the most fun I've had in years, so glad I got the kayak and found suitable water for this unique fishery. One thing I've noticed is...the lighter the jig, the more readily they suck it down. The heavier jigs will still get bit, but they seem to really commit when the weight is less than 1/2 oz. You'll get a lot of fish hooking themselves or slacking you up with the 1/4, 3/8 oz jigs in shallow water.

[teddysclaw]

What type of tackle do you use to jig blackfish? I've seen people use 1/2 oz to 1 oz jigs but never got a cchance to look at the rod's specs. Are we using a 10-20lb setup with a 30lb leader?


Also, do we really have to use the orange/green jigs or can any lead/white/green jig work as well?

Thanks for the help. I've tried it once and struggled. I was using 15-30lb setup with 30llb leader and couldn't feel a thing. Got snagged a bunch too.

[Chrisper4694]

we were in 50ft of water and there was a bit of current so I was using 2oz. I def missed some blackfish hits...had to wait for a third thump/chomp a few times. I feel like I didn't miss more than I do with a bait rig though. as long as the depth/current doesn't prevent me from using one I'll be trying the jig from now on first. I used a spinning reel with 30lbs braid and a 30lbs flouro leader. I may have been in trouble if I hooked a really big one, but I have yet to hook one over 18.5". I was using a very sensitive rod Shimano trevala s. not a lot of backbone, but it got the job done.... but I'm pretty new to this so I'm sure others can give better info on the subject.

I will say it wasn't just more fun, I felt like it was much more efficient. I was using some jigs I got from Ramsey outdoors that were labeled blackfish jig...I've seen the stand up ones too and I made some modified ones out of buck tail molds.

[Gerry Zagorski]

Gave jigging a serious try this past Saturday and had decent results and as Chris said, it's a lot of fun.

I'm no expert so for what it's worth, here is some novice advice...
- You need a very light weight set up (rod and reel) in order to feel the bite... I tried my heavier spinning set up I use for snagging and live lining Bunker, and could not feel a thing. Just kept on coming back up with an empty hook.
- The set up also has to have some backbone, both the rod and reel since you want to be able to keep the fish from dragging you back into the reef and busting you off.
- Having said this, if you read the "Some Impressive Tog Today" post you'll see that Dustin had a 22.5# on A St Croix Mojo rated for 6 to 12 lbs test...It was strung with heavier braid but that rod seems a bit light for my taste but he got it done.
- A nice long fore grip on the rod comes in handy to give you some extra lifting leverage.
- I'd be using 30# braid and a 30# or more mono or floro top shot.
- Some people say a loop knot is better to tie to the jig but not sure if it make a difference or not.
- I've seen 2 methods using jigs... Slight slack in the line and you watch your line for twitches or keep it tight and feel the twitches...Can't say I've mastered either but a tight line seems to work better for me.
- Bite is different every day...Sometimes you'll just feel a bump and other times they will pick up the jig and run with it. I think the lighter the jig the more apt you are to have them pick it up and there are no mistaking those bites.
- When you are fishing lighter jigs (below an ounce) you need to make sure you are on the bottom.... Cast out, pay some line out and let it sink. Take in some slack and raise and lower your rod tip to make sure you feel the jig come in contact with the bottom. You are not going to be able to do this easily unless you have a nice light set up.
- Unlike rig fishing, I'm told keeping the jig perfectly still is not as much of an issue. It's not like you want to move it around a lot, let it sit for a few mins and if no hits, move it and then stop again.
- Crabs come off the jigs easy so after a bite you probably want to check and see if you have bait... If your rod is sensitive enough you'll be able to tell if you have bait left or not by lifting the rod tip and feeling the weight or lack thereof. You also want to be sure to hook the crabs through the leg sockets this way they stay on better.

A word of caution..... At least for me, there was a pretty steep learning curve involved, so don't get frustrated or loose patience. You need the right conditions to get used to fishing this way. Too much current or a bumpy day would not be the time to give it your first try.

Hope this helps.

[Chrisper4694]

I didn't even cast it out. I'd just drop it. Let it sit on tight line lift after awhile. Walk it to a different spot. You can really feel all the nooks and crannies without snagging and missing bites. I'll be trying it again Thursday.