Blackfish Addiction
 

Why is it grown men leave the comfort of their homes, get out of bed at 0' dark thirty and brave the winter cold and winds to fish for Blackfish? Seems to me that Blackfishermen are a special bunch and they loose their minds once the cold sets in, myself included.

These are some of the same people that won't fish in the summer if it's a little too cold, windy or raining... But there they are dressed up like Eskimos, shivering at the rail in howling winds, driving rain and snow and they're grinning from ear to ear.

For me, I guess it's a few things:
- The challenge these fish are to catch compared to all others
- The camaraderie of fishing a select group of people who are as nuts as I am
- An excuse to get out of the house and fish into the winter

What is it that makes you so addicted to Blackfishing?

For those of you new to Blackfishing, check out this article for some tips http://www.njfishing.com/NJ_Blackfish_Fishing.php

Re: Blackfish Addiction
 

PULLAGE. Nuthin' in our in-shore waters can pull like a Tog. Gettin' 'em out of the rocks and keeping them out is gratifying :)

My son Brian (Tog Newbie) joined us a few weeks ago for some North Jersey toggin' and couldn't believe how hard a 15" fish pulls. Today he is in Montauk with some other Generation-X'ers going for that DD. When they arrived at my place last night to grab some tackle it looked like they were going on a Ski Trip:eek:. Every one of his buds were stoked about nailing their personal bests. Hopefully they get to feed the addiction today so that they will join us on the Osprey in 3 weeks. . . .

Re: Blackfish Addiction
 

Very true about how hard they pull Larry, the Smallmouth of the ocean.

Are you joining us on the Osprey on 12/30? If so I didn't see your RSVP, did I miss it?

Re: Blackfish Addiction
 

Sssshhhhhh don’t let anyone else know keep it to ourselves

Re: Blackfish Addiction
 

Plain ole stupidity! You forgot to mention the $5000.00 in tackle. Roaster Rod / Pig Rod/ maybe both Rod/ LH Reel / RH Reel/ Sidewinder Reel/ Fly rod for
Fast Eddie / Snafu Rigs/ Slider rigs/ Rigs for "scratchy bite" / Plain old rigs? Rusty Rigs. Oh and 500 lbs of assorted lead.
Rods and reels for "scratchy bite"
And thats for beginners

Also I will keep going until I prove there is NO such thing as a "scratchy bite"
All that means is your Jig or weight is hitting rocks with on a dead no fish zone:D

Gotta love it and see you on the Osprey

Re: Blackfish Addiction
 

Yeah, now that you mention it, Tog are the only fish I have 3 different rods and a separate tackle bucket for. It is an expensive habit...Floro, extra $trong $harp hook$, jig$ and weight$ of all $izes...

And, not to mention the bait...
- Who's got crabs, any White Leggers??
- They're too big, they're too small, "They're dead Jim"
- So and so is cherry picking crabs, so and so is using my crabs not the boat crabs, these are my crabs.
- The top secret crab guy who name is never mentioned ...You need crabs and so and so says "I got a crab guy and Ill check" but never tells you his name. Come to find out, his crab guy is your crab guy.
- Legs on or Legs off. Shell on or shell off?

You'd think were on a top secret mission to mars or something....

All that attention to detail and some rookie hangs the biggest fish of the day on a rental rod he left sitting in the pole holder while he went to piss :confused:

You can't make this stuff up :D:D

Re: Blackfish Addiction
 

It does take a special kind of stupid to love going for the species that normal people wouldn't even bother to attempt. Took my friend Sam for his first tog trip on the Mimi, he was getting bored, decided to take a piss break and dead sticked his bait, didn't make it to the cabin and his rod doubles over, 7 pounder that took the pool, the luck of a newbie:D

Re: Blackfish Addiction
 

The look you get when you move next to someone who's very quiet and patiently waiting for a bite all day... He hasn't peed in 5 hours and frozen snots run down his nose. He won't move or wipe his nose because he wants his rig perfectly still...

You drop down and start bouncing your jig around... :eek::eek:

Re: Blackfish Addiction
 

Was that you!? They said your name was Joe Z?:D

Re: Blackfish Addiction
 

It’s that 20lber ! That simple ! So I give up my beloved trout fishing days to try and try and try 😜

Re: Blackfish Addiction
 

My evil twin :rolleyes:

Re: Blackfish Addiction
 

Heading home on the Capt.cal .freezing cold this morning.got to the dock@ 5 am anyway. Slow morning for me and the others. Bite picked up on our last two.drops. caught only.shorts today but left them chewing!!! Can't wait to get back out for more!
Togging is the bomb!! What is not to love!

Re: Blackfish Addiction
 

Those few seconds right after a hard hookset, keeping max pressure trying not to lose an inch of ground...nothing like it! By far our most unique fishery...

Re: Blackfish Addiction
 

Interesting question. Black fishing might be the one fishery you can stand right next to someone slamming them and you can't buy a hit. Usually I'm the later. It literally drives people crazy. Many times he's on structure and you're not, but just as many times it one of the other 100 variables others have mentioned. The challenge trying to figure the bite out (which seems to change every day) is what gets most people addicted to the fishery and Xanax! There's guys who have figured it out and dare say mastered it, and then there's everyone else who wants that designation. It's probably the most humbling fishery you'll ever experience and attempt figuring out. I think what mostly gets people addicted is their determination trying to convince themselves they ultimately will even though most of us know we won't. All in addition to the fact they're a great fighting fish and great table fare.

Re: Blackfish Addiction
 

The "blackfish addiction" is pretty recent, within the past 20 years.. It would be a LOT less addictive to many guys if there was a chance to go and catch buckets of big Ling and Whiting.. I know I've said it here many times, but most here are younger than I am, and don't remember the days when blackfish boats would be lucky to get 20 guys on a nice weekend day in November .

Blackfish became wildly popular after the demise of the Whiting/Ling/Mackerel/Cod fisheries... We " blackfish addicts" were always there.. I was one as a teenager.. However, when there were other options to catch big bags of fish, blackfish were always an also ran to many less dedicated party boat fishermen .

Concerning "blackfish weather", thats new as well.. Blackfish were targeted by most boats only until the Whiting showed up , and that was it until May when the whiting and ling started heading offshore.. there was no such thing as blackfishing in the snow and cold as we have today.. they are much more active in 60 degree water than they are in 40 degree water, thats why BIG BROTHER opens the season up in November when the fish have already started slowing down.. it is what it is, welcome to the modern age.. bob

Re: Blackfish Addiction
 

Growing up on Long Island I used to target them off a North Shore pier. My brother and friends would be bailing flounders with garden worms while I sought Tog using Fiddler Crabs. They would switch over when they saw my success but when they baited up with Fiddlers on their Flounder rigs they learned how strong Tog were - straightened hooks ! Now I had to give my bro Fiddlers and Virginia hooks: he hasn't stopped grubbing off me since :p We never targeted Tog in the Sound when we were older and started fishing from boats. Stripers were more glamorous then. I know Virginias are obsolete but does anyone still use Fiddlers ? . . .

Re: Blackfish Addiction
 

I used to fish with my dad out of Barnegat Inlet. We were meat fishermen after fluke or the almighty bluefish. If we came back empty handed I would put on the snorkel gear and spear blackfish off the rocks. Schools of nice fish, mid-summer. And maybe a bag full of mussels picked off the rocks. Mmmm!

Re: Blackfish Addiction
 

Fiddlers get hit fast, but I dunno, you miss too many hits, and the hooks are constantly getting cleaned off.. Too many shorts as well.. I like greens a lot better, but I can recall when fiddlers were a standard bait on party boats certain times of year.. green carbs and white leggers stand up better.

Virginia hooks to me are every bit as good a blackfish hook today as they were 40 years ago, and I have no idea why they are no longer in use. I still use them when I can find them.. they are a good solid performer, but like many things simply fell out of favor over time... bob

Re: Blackfish Addiction
 

BINGO. I COULDNT HAVE SAID IT BETTER. I love to catch blackfish but their days are probably numbered too as slow as they grow ant the pressure on them. As far as me, it’s just too try to catch a real big on like the one that pulled my hook lol

Re: Blackfish Addiction
 

Hello my name is Jeff and I am a Tog Junkie! Its all about that hook set and then its game on. Love the way they fight.

Re: Blackfish Addiction
 

I compare it to the game of golf. You try to do everything right and it's tuff all day and then you hit the right shot , and you love it again, and can't wait to get back out there!!!

Re: Blackfish Addiction
 

That’s a perfect analogy Paul!!

Re: Blackfish Addiction
 

my favorite part is watching all of you hacks suck with $2k worth of equipment

Re: Blackfish Addiction
 

Shrimp anyone:D

Re: Blackfish Addiction
 

Yeah really.. I don't get the $400 custom wrapped boron rod and $250 avet reel spooled with $40 worth of braid thing for blackfish, but i am in the minority these days... I can suck l at tog fishing just as well with garage sale tackle as I can with high end, high tech gear.

For every time i see a guy bailing fish with that sort of expensive setup, I see a guy with an old Penn boat reel with the chrome spool all green, with mono line and pool cue rod doing just as well..
I have seen party boat captains a bunch of times over the years come out of the wheelhouse when his customers were bitching about "dead water" , grab a thick,moldy rental rod and reel spooled with thick mono, put a crab on a rusty hook, drop it down get bit and deck a keeper within a minute or two...
Nowadays, you would think blackfish are impossible to catch without the best in modern hi tech tackle... All you need is a plain old boat rod and reel, and some time on the water... oh, and a piece of crab..... bob

Re: Blackfish Addiction
 

Us hacks need all the help we can get and these newer, lighter composite rods and light weight reels have their advantages in terms of feel, especially when jigging... Having said all that, it's mostly the Indian, not the arrow.