Blackfish Wisdom
With a hot September leading into a warm October blackfish action may have gotten off to nothing more than a fair start this year, but you can bet the best is still to come. In fact, for the past several years, the middle of November has seen some of the fastest action and biggest bulldogs pulled from Long Island waters. Let’s hope the pattern continues to hold.
Last month in On The Bite we explored some unusual ways to entice shallow-feeding ‘tog. Now let’s explore blackfish jigging a little more deeply. It really is a ton of fun, as you may have heard, and it isn’t hard to start catching if you keep this one point in mind: Don’t jig, at least not in the conventional sense. You see, blackfish jigging should actually be call “using jigs for blackfish,” since the jighead actually works as a weight to lower small crabs, crab halves or crab quarters to the bottom and keep them in the strike zone.
“It’s more simple than I would have thought,” said Capt. Ray Peres of the roomy Northport charter vessel Freedom (Facebook: @freedomfishingcharters) back on opening day. Peres and blackfish sharpies Capt. John Stephens, Capt. Bob Prinzo, Mark Boccaccio, Steven Stabile and I were enjoying a prospecting trip to test the waters and compare the use of blackfish jigs to standard bait-and-wait ‘tog tugging techniques. “It’s also a ton of fun since you are directly connected to the fish. I’m going to have to cut it into my repetioir on a more regular basis.”
at’s high praise for the jigs considering Peres is an expert at separating tasty blackfish from their snag-infested lairs. He has a ton of shallow wrecks in the Northport Bay area over which to prospect, plus a bunch more out in the open Long Island Sound. That gives him and his charters plenty of options ranging from small pieces in shallow water to large wrecks and ledges as far away as the Connecticut Coast. The addition of blackfish jigs to his blackfish arsenal simply increases his versatility.
As Peres noted, simplicity is the key with this technique. All you want to do is lower your baited jig to the bottom, keep it on a tight line – and barely move it at all. If you don’t get a hit right away, crawl it slowly across the bottom for two or three inches, then let rest again for a minute or two before repeating the process. If your jig weight is appropriately matched to the water depths and current conditions, you’ll be fishing straight up and down with almost no scope in the line.
In shallow waters of 20 feet or less, three-quarter to one-ounce blackfish jigs work great. As you go deeper, a full ounce or two may be needed to keep the line taught with the crab on the bottom. Some anglers will fish jigs in water depths of 40 feet or more, depending on 3- and even 4-ounce jigs. I prefer to go to a traditional blackfish bottom rig if I need much more than an ounce to keep my bait still in blackfish heaven. As a rule, you’ll want to use the lightest jig that will hold bottom since that will also provide the most sensitivity when it comes to feeling hits. Braided line increases the ability to get down fast, feel bites and still keep your jig weight nice and light. Fishing the slower stages of the tide helps reduce the weight of the jighead necessary to hold bottom.
Of course, blackfish jigs are all but worthless unless you are fishing over the right kind of structure. “The most important thing about blackfishing, explains Peres “is to move around and keep searching. Early in the season they might be as shallow as 12 to 15 feet of water on the North Shore. As the season progresses and the water continues to cool down, they’ll keep moving deeper and deeper. You need to anticipate those moves and shift your efforts accordingly.
Another point Peres stresses is the need to find your own structure. “ The bigger fish get plucked from the most popular hot spots pretty quickly,” he notes. “You’ll do better if you search for spots that are a little off the beaten track. You don’t need a high-profile wreck, either. Any boulder or structure that sticks up off the bottom might hold blackfish as long as water temperatures are cool enough. I’ve got some pieces that are the size of a refrigerator and they give up a lot of keepers because they aren’t worked very often. During the summer months, I’ll mark small pieces I find and return to try them in the fall. Not every bump on the bottom is productive pretty much all are worthy of investigation.”
Until recently, there was really only one choice when it came to blackfish jigs: Tidal Tails (www.tidaltails.com). Now there are several on the market, including entries from Run Off Tackle (www.runofflures.com,) Jonny Jigs and the new Magic Meez Rattling Crab Jig from S & S Bucktails (www.ssbucktails.com.) All have their followings, and all catch fish.
PORK RIND ANGST
There’s been some trepidation among those who like to use jigs and bucktails ever since Uncle Josh Bait Company announced last year that they will no longer be making Uncle Josh Pork Rind baits due to difficulties in getting pork skin of sufficient thickness. It seems that the pork industry is using younger pigs these days, which leaves the skins too thin to make the quality frog and strip bait products we’ve all enjoyed using over the years.
There are, however, a couple of alternatives available. Two that seem especially well suited to Long Island and New England waters are Otter Tails (www.otterlures.com) and Fat Cow Jig Strips (www.fatcowfishing.com.) Both have great action, strike-stimulating scents, vibrant colors, stay on the hook and last longer than pork rind both on the hook and on the shelf.
With the fall season in full swing, these are great choices when tipping bucktails for stripers and blues. They can also be used to replace the sandworm on a tube and worm rig, a favorite trolling tool of kayak bass fans. In the summer months, the strips can be used to tip bucktails for fluke. They last, too, so you can pick some up now for the best of the fall run and save what’s left to start your flatfish season next spring.
