Blackfish

Blackfish or “Tautog” or (“tog”) live along the Atlantic coast from Nova Scotia to south Carolina, with the greatest number lying along inshore waters from southern Cape cod to the Delaware Capes. It does not sustain a recreational fishery north of Massachusetts. Although capable of reaching relatively larch sizes, tautog are very slow growing. The largest tautog caught with hook and line in Massachusetts was 22 pounds 9 ounces. However, the average fish caught by anglers is 6 to 10 years old and weighs 2 to 4 pounds.

Click here to view all of our Blackfish Shows.

Click here to purchase our Blackfish DVD Collection

Click here for our recommended Blackfish Tackle.

Feeding Habits: juvenile and adult tautog are exclusively daytime feeders, with feeding peaks at dawn and dusk. They are so inactive at night that divers can easily catch them by hand as they lie motionless on the bottom. Tautog feed upon shallow water inverterbrates such as mussels, clams, crabs, sand dollars, amphipods, shrimp, small lobsters and barnacles. Juveniles and adults living around shoreline ledges feed heavily on blue mussels; their flat grinding teeth are well suited for crushing the hard shells of such animals.

Spawning: Both sexes mature at 3 to 4 years of age. Small females produce around 30,00 eggs while the larger ones produce close to 200,000 eggs per season. In Massachusetts, Tautog reproduce from May until August, with peak spawning activity occuring in June at water temperatures of 62 to 70 degrees F. Most spawning takes place inshore in areas dominated by eelgrass beds.