# Tautog, Bluefish & Puppy Drum at CBBT and Rudee on Apr 10, 2017



## ComeOnFish (Apr 8, 2009)

I wanted to catch my first good size specks of 2017. All I needed was few hours in Rudee. So I fished for Tog (tautog/blackfish) first in the morning at CBBT (Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel). I caught 6 togs. Only one was keeper.

I had only 2.5 hours for specks in Rudee. I trolled for specks for an hour and gave up because everyone said big specks weren't there. I cast few different lures for specks and puppy drum (red fish). I caught my first bluefish of 2017 and a puppy drum at 21".

Fishing Log:





Thank you
Joe


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## ToeJoe (Oct 6, 2014)

NICE!

Tj


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## 757_Fisherman (May 29, 2015)

Nice report. I can't wait to get out. Might be out there Thursday. I see that you use whole shrimp opposed to crabs. Do you find that Tautog prefer shrimp over crab this time of year? What other bait do you use for Tog?


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## ComeOnFish (Apr 8, 2009)

757_Fisherman said:


> Nice report. I can't wait to get out. Might be out there Thursday. I see that you use whole shrimp opposed to crabs. Do you find that Tautog prefer shrimp over crab this time of year? What other bait do you use for Tog?


I use shrimp all year around Reasons are:

Shrimp are always available to me. - I drive 3.5 hours one way to fish. By the time I arrive at bait stores, the baits (fiddler, green crab, samd flee) are out of stock most of the time. So I prepare my bait before I leave home. Shrimp is the only one I can purchase at my local Asian stores (G-mart, Grand Mart, Lotte, H mart). I buy shrimp that were once frozen in a 4 LB box imported from the south america. When the 50-60 counts frozen shrimp (head on) in the boxes are put on a display shelf, the shrimp are called fresh shrimp. The price of one LB shrimp is $4.99-$6.99. There are roughly 20-24 shrimp per LB.

With shrimp, I catch Tautog, Sheepshead,Trigger Fish, Puppy Drum, Specks, Black Drum. - I use the same rig (4/0 hook) except trigger fish (size 1 or 2 hook and 1/3 of shrimp)


I put a dozen of shrimp in a plastic bag. I buy 4-20 bags at a time depending on the sale price. I kept bags of shrimp in a freezer (I have freezer for baits and cleaned fish).
Depending on the months, I carry 1 bag (1 DZ of shrimp) or 4 bags (4 DZ of shrimp):

Dec - Mar ( 1 DZ)
Apr-May (2 DZ)
Jul-Oct (3-4 DZ
Nov (3 DZ)

The only bad thing about the shrimp are:
I carry a frozen water bottles to keep the shrimp fresh for the day
Catch too many trash fish such as toadfish, black drum and all kinds of small fish

Joe


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## 757_Fisherman (May 29, 2015)

I use shrimp all year around Reasons are:



Shrimp are always available to me. - I drive 3.5 hours one way to fish. By the time I arrive at bait stores, the baits (fiddler, green crab, samd flee) are out of stock most of the time. So I prepare my bait before I leave home. Shrimp is the only one I can purchase at my local Asian stores (G-mart, Grand Mart, Lotte, H mart). I buy shrimp that were once frozen in a 4 LB box imported from the south america. When the 50-60 counts frozen shrimp (head on) in the boxes are put on a display shelf, the shrimp are called fresh shrimp. The price of one LB shrimp is $4.99-$6.99. There are roughly 20-24 shrimp per LB.

With shrimp, I catch Tautog, Sheepshead,Trigger Fish, Puppy Drum, Specks, Black Drum. - I use the same rig (4/0 hook) except trigger fish (size 1 or 2 hook and 1/3 of shrimp)



I put a dozen of shrimp in a plastic bag. I buy 4-20 bags at a time depending on the sale price. I kept bags of shrimp in a freezer (I have freezer for baits and cleaned fish).
Depending on the months, I carry 1 bag (1 DZ of shrimp) or 4 bags (4 DZ of shrimp):



Dec - Mar ( 1 DZ)
Apr-May (2 DZ)
Jul-Oct (3-4 DZ
Nov (3 DZ)


The only bad thing about the shrimp are:
I carry a frozen water bottles to keep the shrimp fresh for the day
Catch too many trash fish such as toadfish, black drum and all kinds of small fish

Joe[/QUOTE]

Thanks for the help. That was very thorough. I just always heard crab was better for Togs. Last year when fishing for Tog I started out using nothing but crab then one day I ran out of crab and used some whole shrimp I had(I also go to the Asian market for my bait). I found that the shrimp work just as good or maybe better.


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## Captquin (Sep 19, 2015)

ComeOnFish said:


> I use shrimp all year around Reasons are:
> 
> Shrimp are always available to me. - I drive 3.5 hours one way to fish. By the time I arrive at bait stores, the baits (fiddler, green crab, samd flee) are out of stock most of the time. So I prepare my bait before I leave home. Shrimp is the only one I can purchase at my local Asian stores (G-mart, Grand Mart, Lotte, H mart). I buy shrimp that were once frozen in a 4 LB box imported from the south america. When the 50-60 counts frozen shrimp (head on) in the boxes are put on a display shelf, the shrimp are called fresh shrimp. The price of one LB shrimp is $4.99-$6.99. There are roughly 20-24 shrimp per LB.
> 
> ...





Thank you for this! I'm dying to get on some reds here.

Do you ever tip your gulps with the shrimp as well?


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## DaBig2na (Aug 7, 2011)

Liked


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## ComeOnFish (Apr 8, 2009)

Captquin said:


> Thank you for this! I'm dying to get on some reds here.
> 
> Do you ever tip your gulps with the shrimp as well?


No I haven't try that. Though one day I will test Gulp Shrimp when I find a good hole.

Joe


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## ComeOnFish (Apr 8, 2009)

> 757_Fisherman said:
> 
> 
> > I use shrimp all year around Reasons are:
> ...


I like all baits (fiddler, green crab, and blue crab). I get only one chance (one bite) when using Fiddler and green crabs. 1.25 chances when using shrimp, 2-3 chances when using blue crab.
Shrimp are available in every month. I caught togs in January and February. I believe shrimp are better in togging in colder water below 50 F. 

Joe


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## ComeOnFish (Apr 8, 2009)

I did't show my rig on the video. I try to save some money on the rigs:

Tautog/Sheepshead Rig:

whole fresh shrimp (or a half)
4/0 Eagle Claw O'shaughnessy hook - $5.99 at Wal Mart for a 50 pack. Sharp enough for even sheepshead. It won't break. It bends. I like the big eye on the hook so I can put the 30-40 LB mono loop through the eye. The eyes on Owner and Gamakatsu hooks are too small for me, for old eyes.
4-6 OZ sinker
My main line is KastKing 50# test - cheap and better than name brand in tog and sheepshead fishing (in terms of the abrasion) in CBBT or other rock piles. I've been using KastKing braided (10-80 # test) over 3 years

Joe


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## ComeOnFish (Apr 8, 2009)

Here is the video showing puppy drum and black drum (or too many fish) while fishing for togs with shrimp






Joe


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