[Skylar]

Tautog fishing should begin to develop this week if water temperatures rise a bit more. Sand fleas and pieces of green crab or small fiddler crabs are favorite bait for this type of fishing. The bulkheads from 2nd Street to 4th Street and the ends of 5th and 6th Streets have always been a favorite for fishermen looking for tautog from the shoreline. If you have a boat and can position yourself off the jetties one can experience excellent fishing without getting stuck in the rocks. Fishermen casting bucktails and swimming shad type lures at night inside the inlet to the Route 50 Bridge continue to pick away a some very nice striped bass. Many of the fish being caught are under the 28” minimum but anglers are reporting not by much and enough are over 28” to keep anglers casting.

The boats venturing out the inlet to the wreck sites have been slamming the large tautog that can be found there at this time. Many fishermen are remarking that they are catching some of the biggest tog they’ve ever caught. An angler fishing off Virginia recently caught the biggest tog of anyone’s life. The fish has been submitted as a pending world record at 27-pounds. This monster measured 35” long and had a girth reported to be 29,1/4”.