Blackfish preferred reef structure

[Jsnake4444]

A buddy and myself are planning on trying our hand at tog on his boat this April. We have picked up a reef anchor and marker buoy and plan on hitting the artificial reefs off Cape May and Delaware. With all the different types of structure on the artificial reefs what would you say tog prefer. Is it the ship wrecks, rubble, subway cars etc? Also any other tips or pointers for some first timers trying it for ourselves. Thanks

[tautog]

Rubble, railway cars and wrecks are all good. So are the inlet jetties in Cape May. Good well-known places to start would be the Ben Franklin bridge rubble and the Rope Wreck.

[Jsnake4444]

Thanks!

[Gerry Zagorski]

Any sort of structure you mentioned works... Get in the area of any wreck or reef with your chart plotter then turn to your depth finder to look for the largest and most irregular pieces coming up off the bottom. This is where you'll want to come to rest when your anchor comes tight...

Anchoring can be tricky so take your time and you might have to anchor a few times to get set up where you want to be once the wind and current settles you on a resting place...

Best way I've found to do this is with a floating marker with line and a weight on it. Once you found a piece like mentioned above :
- Stop the boat, put it in neutral and drop your marker
- Let current and wind make the boat drift 20 or 30 yards from the marker.
- Put the boat in gear and run directly towards the maker
- Once past the marker run another 20 or 30 yards past it holding the same course
- Stop the boat, set your anchor and the wind and the current should settle you right where the marker is..

Another way to do this is with your GPS and tracks.
- Mark the spot on your GPS.
- In neutral let your boat drift 20 or 30 yards from the mark
- Run directly back to that mark and keep the same course another 20 or 30 yards past it and set your anchor..
- Let the current and wind push you back to your mark
- The advantage here is if you have tracks on your GPS so if you don't happen to settled in on your mark when the anchor comes tight, you can look at the tracks and you'll have a better idea where you'll need to set your anchor the next time to get it right.


Another good general rule of thumb is if you feel good structure when your sinker hits bottom you might be in good structure but if fish aren't biting you might not be in the depth the fish are holding. Try spots that are either deeper or shallower. Blackfish generally don't migrate north or south like other fish do, they migrate east and west depending on the temp at the bottom. In the fall you generally start closer to shore in the shallower depths and as the colder temps settle in, the water cools off and you fish deeper. In the spring you start deeper and end up shallower when water starts to warm.

Some more stuff and tips here https://www.njfishing.com/NJ_Blackfish_Fishing.php

Good luck and hope this helps.

[tautog]

Keep an eye on water temps as outgoing tide from the bay can impact things, either positively or negatively. You do not want dropping water temps in the Spring, so you may need to change areas to find warmer water. Also bring both clams and crabs as the fish can be picky in early April.

[Gerry Zagorski]

Originally Posted by tautog

Keep an eye on water temps as outgoing tide from the bay can impact things, either positively or negatively. You do not want dropping water temps in the Spring, so you may need to change areas to find warmer water. Also bring both clams and crabs as the fish can be picky in early April.

Now that's some great advise right there ^^^ Tautog, thanks !

Brother Joe's personal best caught here in Jersey was 20 plus pounds and caught on a clam...

A wind shift, a tide change can either put these fish in the feed mode or shut them off as fast as a light switch and what worked yesterday might not work today. This is what makes it so challenging yet so rewarding and just when you think you have it all figured out, prepare to be humbled

This fishery above all others, requires a lot of skill, the right equipment, the right Captain, the knowledge, the spots (numbers) and often times all things being equal, it's just plain luck.

A guy comes up to Scott and I asking some questions the other day at the boat show after me and Joe's Blackfish seminar... Scott has fished around the world and caught 400 pound plus Giant Tuna and Halibut and really netted this fishery out when he said to the guy "this is the most challenging and humbling fish I've ever fished for". He's absolutely right!

[Jsnake4444]

You guys are the best. I started fishing for them a cpl years ago off of some jetties and fell in love with them. Kind of reminded me of flipping and pitching for largemouth bass. It’s like hitting the lottery bringing up a nice keeper. And getting robbed and skunked makes me want to get after them that much more.

[Gerry Zagorski]

Ahhh another one bit by the bug. Love it!!