Tautog
Tautog are mostly brownish-grey to blackish colored over most of their main body area, but sometimes they are more cream or white colored with dark brown or grey-black colored mottling or patterns over a large amount of their main body area, their lower mouths or chins are white or cream colored.
Tautog have good sized teeth in front that are cone shaped and very pointed, to grasp and tear their food, while in the backs of their mouths they have larger, flat chewing or grinding teeth, that work like molars in humans.
Tautog do not get to be a large fish, in fact it's pretty rare to catch one that tops the scales at over 15 lbs, but don't let their small size fool you, once hooked they use every bit of their speed and strength to give you a nice battle. Tautog are a very tasty fish, and their flesh cooks up nice and white and flaky, making them a favorite fish to catch by numerous anglers.
Before you go fishing for Tautog, a important thing to keep in mind is whether you will be fishing for them from shore, pier, or boat, or wherever, you must realize that they almost always forage, feed and stay around the bottoms, or in debris and structures, such as; rocks, shipwrecks and reefs.
Once you cast out from the area you are fishing from, just let your bait settle down to the bottom, where the debris is located, reeling in slack or pulling the bait may easily cause your hook or line to become entangled amongst the debris.
Once the Tautog takes your bait, you must try to keep it away from the debris or structure also, and many times when hooked, the first thing they will do, is try heading deep within the debris or structure.
When fishing for Tautog using bait, there really is nothing that works better then cut bait, such as; clams or crabs, cut into small strips. If you do not have access to either clams or crabs, you can try what is probably the next best bait, and that is squid that is also cut into small strips, or fresh shrimp.
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