How to Catch Tautog from the Jetty: The Ultimate Guide

Learn all the in's and out's of Tautog fishing from land with rigs and jigs!

In this video, I'll show you everything you need to know about catching tautog (also known as "Tog", "Blackfish", etc.) from shore in New Jersey and the Northeast. Learn about the species, their habitat, the best times to catch them, and the essential gear you need. I’ll also walk you through tying tog rigs, using jigs, filleting and cooking your catch into a Bermuda style fish chowder recipe!

🎣 Chapters:
0:00 Intro
0:18 Tautog biology & facts
1:24 Where to catch Tautog
1:44 When to catch Tautog
2:11 Tautog fishing gear
2:51 What bait to use for catching Tautog
3:18 How to tie a Tautog (Blackfish) Rig
4:33 How to catch Tautog with rigs
12:41 How to catch Tautog with jigs
21:50 How to fillet Tautog
22:16 How to cook Tautog (Bermuda Fish Chowder Recipe)
24:06 Outro

---

💥 Check Out More Fishing Tips and Adventures:

- How to Catch and Cook Kingfish From The Surf

- Dogfish Catch and Cook – Trash Fish or Treasure?

- My Personal Best Striped Bass from the Beach

---

🔥 Get Your Salty Sam Fishing Merch:
Rep the Northeast fishing lifestyle with exclusive designs!

---

📸 Follow Me on Instagram:

Stay updated with my latest fishing adventures and behind-the-scenes content!

[rsouder]

Very thorough video. You hit every point that is important with blackfishing. One tip that seems to work being a jetty jock, put a 30' top shot of 30LB mono leader. If you encounter a snag and break off, just re-tie a loop for your sinker and a dropper loop for your hook (just get really good at tying knots on the fly) - you will need to use a heavier sinker if using a 30' topshot of 30LB test mono as it creates alot of drag in the water. I carry alot of hooks and 4 and 5 oz sinkers.

[bigjoe]

Looks like a good recipe for when the weather cools off just a little bit more

[hettro-cv]

The school of fish! Lol! Very informative! Great video!

[MotownMark]

Another great video. Love the info about the species. The cooking segment is excellent.

[MatthewBagley-zt]

So helpful! This is the first video of yours that I’ve seen and already so much more helpful and informative than a lot of the YouTube fishing videos I’ve seen. I’m new to saltwater so showing from start to finish what to do is awesome and I appreciate you showing how to tie the knots too. Only place around my location with similar jetty’s would be cape cod canal I think. Might be heading down there for some Tautog!! Thanks man - Matt from Boston

[FishingWithLou]

Great tips, fishing and that chowder looked amazing as well.

[gericcatalla]

Keep teaching all the people want to be a angler

[pavetech]

I was fishing for tog for the first time today down in point pleasant and got skunked me and my son wemt through nearly 2 dozen crabs but those tog are unbelievable bait thieves lol

Great video with lots of great tips im hoping i can put them to good use the next time we are out

Fyi i just hit the following button

[thelinecook]

Awesome video Sam. This was an amazing how to vid. Everything about is was great. Perfect timing with the tog chowder recipe. It looked delicious. It’s just about feeling like soup weather out there 😂.

[tababoytedge]

Great informative video. I've been slowly getting back into fishing since coming back to Jersey from the Navy. I've been trying to catch my first tog with little to no knowledge of what to feel for. I really appreciate the video and will try to get on a tog with your tips. Thanks

[mistercarpenter]

Thanks for posting another video. Saw you in the audience at the surf fishing seminar on Saturday. I was there with my son and niece. I would’ve said hello but we had to bolt immediately after not winning any door prizes or the 50-50. We caught tog off the inlet rocks that afternoon.

[BrawlRobloxAndGo]

Awesome video as always! Sam's video, graphics, tutorials are top notch.

[christophermorath]

Great video.... informative and entertaining. Tight lines!

[yeezlife]

Awesome vid man, I've been wanting to cook up a tog chowder!

[FAME.]

Excellent video 💪🏽💪🏽 going black fishing soon here on Long Island

[bobtimbly]

now twice the amount of shorts are gonna get poached. Great vid, very informational.

[ginoyo]

Superb easy editing and beautiful video.
Can we fish with the Caroline rig?

[glenthomasrealtor]

Great video, one of the best I have seen on Tog. Does it matter what side of the jetty you fish?

[slingshotcrabbing]

Great Video! Always love all the info you provide. Do tog only hang around jetties, or can you have a chance to catch them near any bulkhead or structure?

[michaeljleone]

Nice video. I recently learned a tog can be ‘peeled’ like a mahi mahi. I prefer to cook fish whole and it’s practically impossible to scale a tog.