Tautog Rigs
How do you use Tautog rigs?
Fishing with tautog rigs is the most popular method of tackle when targeting tautog. A typical rig consists of 4-6’ of fluorocarbon or monofilament leader with a hook and sinker attached. On my rods I prefer a longer leader up to 10’ of 60 lb fluorocarbon. I tie my leader directly to my main line using an improved FG knot. About 1-2’ from the bottom I tie a dropper loop to attach a pre tied rig or tie in my own. On the bottom of my leader I tie a loop big enough to fit a sinker using either a perfection loop or a figure 8 knot. There are several types of tautog rigs, all of which have their place and purpose. The most common tautog rig is a single hook rig looped in by a dropper loop. This gives the single hook twice the breaking strength with the double line. The next common tautog rig, and my personal preference is the snafu rag. You can pre tie these rigs ahead of time and attach them to your dropper loops directly or you can tie the snafu rig right into your leader. To tie an independent snafu rig, take 18” of leader material and snell a hook onto either side. Link the two hooks together and pull tight to snug the snell knots. Find the center of your leader and tie in a small dropper loop. Be sure your dropper loop is directly in the middle of your leader line. I try to keep my leader lengths roughly 4-6” long from dropper loop to hook. If you don’t have time to tie an independent snafu rig you can also tie directly into your leader. About 8-12” above your sinker I tie a large dropper loop, about 10-12” around. I then carefully cut the loop directly in the middle leaving two separate lengths about 5” long. To finish this direct tog rig, I simply tie a hook to each end using an improved clinch knot. Make sure your knot is tight and cinched all the way down. The benefits to using a snafu tautog rig is that you have two hooks to play with. You can fish two half crabs, two whole crabs or double hook a large whole crab. The last common tautog rig is a slider rig. This rig consists of a single snelled hook attached via a dropper loop with a single “sliding hook” along the line of your single hook. The benefit to this method is that you have a free moving piece of bait, which can sometimes attract fish. I like to add a single bead between my snelled bottom hook and my sliding hook. This allows a buffer between your snelled knot and slider hook. If a big fish hooks into your slider hook there is potential the pressure from the fish can bust the snell on the bottom hook and lose your entire rig.
How do you use tautog jigs?
Using tog jigs has become all the craze over the past 10 years or so. There are dozens of different jig styles, all of which have their own purpose. The most common styles are the sparky jig, aka boxing glove jig, “bug jig”, flat bean jig, banana jig, football jig and round jig. I prefer the banana jig and football jig styles. Banana jigs have the best hydrodynamic design and can get to the bottom easiest while using smaller sized jigs. They also have a wide base and don’t typically roll. Football jigs are also very sturdy and some are designed to “stand up” so the hook is always facing upwards towards fish. Blackfish are very inquisitive fish and seem to have a strong interest in your baits when presented using a jig. Most tog jigs these days are powder coated which provide a stronger chip resistant finish compared to standard paint. The colors I find work best are natural patterns, (colors that look like the bait being used, such as green crab, crushed crab, white crab and spider crab) glow colors, white, yellow and chartreuse. Many times the color doesn’t make a difference as long as you have bait attached. When the fish are being picky, its good to have a few different colors and patterns to choose from. Jigs are typically my preference when tautog fishing as you have a much more sensitive feel for the bite when using jigs vs. rigs. I like to fish jigs as deep as 120’ as long as you don’t have too much tide or line resistance keeping you from reaching bottom. If I need to use more than 2.5-3 oz to reach bottom I switch to a rig. The idea behind a blackfish jig is that you can imitate an actual crab. You can slowly bounce the jig mimicking a swimming crab, let the jig flow in the tide, mimicking a piece of crab free flowing or keep your jig right on the bottom, mimicking a crab hiding on bottom. If you’re unable to present your tog jig in a natural way, its time to switch to a rig.
What is the best equipment for tautog rigs and tautog jigs?
I have two rods when fishing for black fish. One rod is for jig fishing and the other is for rig fishing. My spin jigging rod is quite a bit lighter since the idea of fishing a tautog jig is to finesse the bait and present it as naturally as possible. I like a light and sensitive carbon fiber rod with fast action tip for bite sensitivity. I prefer a medium-to-medium heavy power so I still have the lifting power I need. I also prefer a small spinning reel with enough drag to muscle fish from the bottom. I prefer spinning reels for my tautog jigs because you have more line per crank on spinning reels and are frequently geared higher than conventional reels. This allows for quick responsive actions by the jig and subsequent hook sets. My exact tautog jigging rod is a 7’ Jigging World Hybrid with a Daiwa Certate 4K spinning reel. For my tautog rig rod I prefer a sturdier rod with a conventional reel. When I’m using rigs, I’m typically in deeper water with more tide, using heavier weight. I still want a rod with a responsive tip, just not as fast as my lighter spin set up. The heavier blackfish rod allows me to fish deeper water with more tide and have the strong backbone to pull big tog out of the rocks. My exact set up for my tautog rig rod is a rod geeks 733 conventional with a Daiwa saltiga 15 2 speed lever drag reel. The line I like to use is Daiwa J braid 8X Grand in 30 lb. My leader of choice is 50-60 lb J flouro fluorocarbon leader. I exclusively use VMC hooks. For rigs I like the VMC assist hooks featuring their technical locking curve design. These hooks come standard in heavy gauge wire and sizes 5/0. I make my own tautog jigs which also feature VMC hooks, 2X strength in sizes 2/0-5/0. I will fish jigs as light as ½ oz and will go up to 3 oz.
What is the best bait for tautog rigs and tautog jigs?
Blackfish like crustaceans and shellfish. They typically aren’t very picky and you can find success using a wide variety of baits. My personal baits of choice when tautog fishing are green crabs, white crabs aka white leggers, spider crabs and even blue crabs. In shallower water I like to crush a bunch of green crabs up for chum or add them to a chum pot. This jump starts the feeding process. When fishing tog jigs and rigs, I always start with half green crabs with the legs cut off. This gets more bait and scent in the water and keeps a constant stream of chum down. I like to cut my crabs individually, rather than a bunch at once. This keeps the bait much heartier and able to stay on the hook better. Once we’ve successfully drawn in fish under the boat, we will start using larger half green crabs. At the first sign of bigger fish, we start to use our “optimum baits”. These baits are typically whole white crabs and spider crabs. Once the bigger fish move in, they get very territorial and will force the smaller fish out. The bigger fish will also go for the larger, better baits when slowly presented to them.
What to expect when tautog fishing?
Tautog are known as the bull dogs of the ocean because of their aggressive fights and strong will. Try using tautog jigs on lighter tackle spinning gear for a more fun and responsive fight. Use natural patterns, glow and bright colored jigs. Banana, sparky, and football jigs are my personal preference. When using tautog rigs, go with a sightly heavier rod allowing you to use heavier sinkers and fish deeper water. Try a variety of tog rigs including single hook rigs, snafu rigs and slider rigs. Tip your tog jigs and rigs with half green crabs and gradually increase to whole green crabs and white crabs. Most importantly, have fun. Take notes, keep a logbook and adjust your strategy as conditions change. Whether you’re fishing for blackfish using tautog jigs or tautog rigs, hunting these fish is an awesome way to spend a day on the water.
