Boxed up Tog

[JettiCrawler85]

A good day on the rocks. Winds blowing west to 10 and I had the entire jetty to myself.

Very slow pickings fishing the last hour and half of the incoming tide. Still managed 3 keepers. Once the tide turned it was on like donkey Kong. Boxed up number 4 quick and I was out of there.

They chewed on green crabs and shrimp but shrimp is what they wanted once the tide turned.

Tight lines!

[Slip It In]

Nice work!

I ran out Sunday mid-morning when wind died down. I worked 7 or 8 spots and didn't get a scratch all day. I talked to another friend who worked areas south of me and also had nothing.

Hopefully it picks up soon, i would love to have some fresh fish.

[Gerry Zagorski]

Sounds like another great day Jetti, good for you and thanks for the detailed and encouraging report! Shrimp :D

[Broad Bill]

Nice catch JC, good seeing some blackfish inshore. Perfect eating size. Pretty incredible how far shrimp have come in this fishery and why blackfish would have such a fondness for them cooked since to my knowledge there's really no population of shrimp in our area. Maybe they like the softness this time of year versus harder shells of crabs? Either way, so much for matching the hatch:)

[JettiCrawler85]

@Broad Bill - I purchase the cheap raw shrimp with the shell still on them at the food store. 6.99 a pound and get about 2 pounds. You have to get the shell on shrimp so the bait keeps better on the hook. Action is fast and the bait is gone faster so have to be quick to set the hook on that one good pull.

Supposedly their jaws and teeth are soft in the spring so that’s why they prefer solfter baits. But the cats meow on the rocks is always the residential Asian crabs that live right there. If you can manage a couple dozen of those in the dead low tide in between the rocks it’s lights out.

I’ve watched guys limit out in 10 minutes on those in the spring and winter so I don’t know - depends on what they want for the day I guess .

Hopefully I get another couple days out there before the season closes.

Tight lines!

[Broad Bill]

So are you using raw shrimp or cooked shrimp? From Chris's podcast, it sounded from the discussion that raw shrimp didn't attract blackfish nearly as much as cooked shrimp does. Do you find that to be the case or no.

Asians at this time of year are awesome, bite-size morsels for blackfish they can't resist. I used to catch them years ago by the bucket load over in the Highlands area at low tide. Be careful out there, rocks are nothing to take for granted even with corkers.

Good job catching, enjoy the fruits of your labor.

[JettiCrawler85]

Raw shrimp. Never even tried cooked shrimp. The raw shrimp has always produced for me - been using them the last 2 spring seasons.


But maybe I’ll try some cooked shrimp next go around also!

Thanks!

[dales529]

Nice catching! What no response from Shrimpman Steve?
I know you are out there reading NJ Fishing:p
Also on a scratchy Tog bite last year guys started using the cooked shrimp from our lunch and Ling started flying over the rails plus a few Tog

[Duffman]

You soft bait tog guys annoy me to no end:p