Today's Tautog Fishing Report

Fishing for Tautog

The tautog is a fish of the wrasse family found in salt water from Nova Scotia to South Carolina. It lives along the bottom, in and amongst rocks, wrecks, mussel beds, bridge pilings or other bottom features.

Tautog are brown and dark olive, with white blotches, and have plump elongated bodies. They have an average weight of 1 to 3 lb (0.5 to 1.5 kg) and reach a maximum size of 3 ft (1 m), 25 lb (11 kg).

Tautog have many adaptations to life in and around rocky areas. They have thick rubbery lips and powerful jaws. The backs of their throats contain a set of teeth resembling molars. Together these are used to pick and crush prey such as mollusks and crustaceans. Their skin also has a rubbery quality, which may help to protect them when swimming among rocks.

Popular among fishermen, tautog have a reputation for being a particularly tricky fish to catch. Part of this is because of their tendency to live among rocks and other structures that can cause a fisherman’s line to get snagged. The favorite baits for tautog include: green crabs, fiddler crabs, clams, mussels, sandworms and lobsters.

The Tautog goes by other names such as blakfish, black porgy, chub, oyster-fish.

Species: Tautoga onitis

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