A look at the mind and gear of a “double digit” devotee.
Many anglers may search for a double digit tog for years, even then struggling to land their jumbo. The person who jumps on a head boat a couple times a year is enjoying a casual day out, but the dedicated togger may be out there a few times a week during their open season. Head boats or charter boats, that togger is willing to grind it out at the rail spending every possible minute with a properly presented crab just waiting for “the right bite.”
Those with a reputation for catching more than their share of big fish are rarely just lucky, right? Did you ever notice how these same folks catch some really, really nice fish? Not on every trip, of course, but they play the big fish game. These toggers don’t want to catch a bunch of roasters; they are fishing for big fish, period.
The Arsenal
The Togger has the ultimate confidence in his or her gear. This is the easy part, as you can purchase an excellent tool for the job with cash. The required skillset and commitment must develop in time. The Togger has learned what feels good in his hands. His rod is more than capable of fighting and landing his new personal best. Maybe he is fishing a 2-ounce jig on a spinning rod, or perhaps it’s a 10-ounce weight and a whole white crab in a hundred feet of water. The rod must have the sensitivity and needed backbone to set the hook and be powerful enough to keep that big fish from swimming back into the structure. As if that’s not already a tall order, make it light weight, so as to not fatigue the angler. A perfectly balanced outfit will almost “float” in one hand, so fishing a slack line easily becomes a natural position.
An excellent spinning outfit for large blackfish will normally have 20- or 30-pound test braid on a 4000 sized reel or so. As braided line normally breaks at close to double its rating, this is actually a very strong choice. Tie on a 4-foot length or 50-pound leader material and add a tog quality jig with a quality hook. My jig set up is a 7-foot, 10-inch Century Weapon Mag Taper rod coupled with a Daiwa BGMQ 4000 size reel spooled with 20-pound Daiwa JBraid 8.
My rig rod on the other hand is a mission specific tool; exceptionally big fish capable and proven, with smooth, balanced power, coupled with scary sensitivity. Having seen it land tog up to 25-1/2 pounds, I have not yet seen its limitations. The factory-built rod weighs in at just 9.6 ounces, it’s easily balanced with its 7-foot, 10-inch length. The length of the rod helps me swing and move a big fish away from his hole and get some cranks on him before he knows he’s in trouble. When using the proper technique, you can keep a huge fish from getting back into his hidey hole in these first seconds of the battle.
| BLACKFISH REGS |
| DELAWARE: Minimum size 16 inches, with a four-fish bag limit from January 1 to May 15, and again from July 1 through December 31.
NEW JERSEY: Minimum size 15 inches, with a five-fish bag limit from November 16 through December 31, four fish from January 1 through February 28 and again from April 1 through April 30, with a one-fish bag limit from August 1 through November 15. NEW YORK: Minimum size 16 inches, with a four-fish bag limit in NY Bight waters from October 15 through December 22, and two-fish bag during the month of April. On Long Island Sound it’s three fish from October 11 through December 9, and two fish for the month of April. |
When a big fish stops digging for the bottom, he will make a turn, which is when you can get a few more cranks on him, slowly moving him away from the wreck and toward the net. Having designed this rod from the blank to the final build, it suits me and how I fish perfectly. My factory-built Century rod is known as Frank Mihalic’s ProTogger, and it was designed to be the very best blackfish rig rod commercially available. Just to be clear, I do not make one red cent if you buy this rod. I do, however take great pride in helping fellow toggers get the best equipment to help catch that fish of a lifetime.
Just keep in mind that my way is not the only way. Folks who have great success with huge blackfish already know what they want their rod layout to look like; perhaps they buy the blank and have it built to their specs, or maybe there’s a manufacturer’s line that others might prefer. But my Pro Togger from Century was built the way I prefer to fish. As for the reel, that selection may vary. I know many of the best reels a few years ago have since been discontinued. Ideally you want a star drag reel with a gear ratio of about 5:1. This is an excellent blend of speed with good lifting power. It also takes up line fast enough so that fishing a slack line is easy, but not so fast that it takes up slack too quickly.
My conventional reels are filled with 50-pound Daiwa JBraid 8 in multi-color. The color lets me know when my bait is near the bottom. PENN also makes the Fathom II in proper sizes and gear ratios. Okuma makes several reels that have worked quite nicely, as does the Maxel Hybrid 25. My braid is attached to a 20-foot long stretch of 60-pound Ande Pink mono top shot via a Yucatán knot. Quick and easy to tie with cold wet hands, it is a brutally strong knot.
Efficient Hookset
Fishing a slack line is probably the most important skill that a togger can develop. If you’re fishing too tight to your sinker, you will be bouncing your sinker on the bottom as the boat rises and falls on the swell. Some days this will send fish away from the noisy, unnatural sounds of a bouncing sinker attached to a dancing white crab. Leave a bit of slack in your line so that you can still easily feel a bite. If you get bit, then move into the strike position by lowering your rod top and taking up slack line. Some days you will get a tap, but they won’t finish the bait. A small shake of your rod tip or a tap of your handle will send the slightest movement to your bait sometimes triggering the tog to finish your bait.
| RIY – RIG IT YOURSELF |
Toggers tie their own rigs. We simply can’t buy rigs tied with Owner 5/0 Octopus hooks tied with 60-pound test fluorocarbon or mono leader. And I know if my knot breaks, it’s on me! I use either a modified Snafu rig, a V rig, or a single hook rig tied directly into my top shot via a Belmar rig. My Snafu in the right hand side of the photo has short 4-inch legs from the five-turn dropper loop to the hooks. I cut the dropper loop close to the bottom and tie a double surgeon’s loop at the top. The V rig on the left is simply a 30-inch length of leader with a hook snelled on each end. About 4 inches about the hooks, tie a triple surgeon’s loop. For a single hook rig, I prefer a slightly larger 6/0 Owner Octopus hook. I bait my two hook rigs with a medium sized white legger that I step on a few times before being sent down. The single hook rig gets the most play when there is a very strong current. Baited with a small whole white crab it can be a deadly presentation when larger baits with two hooks might spin or look unnatural on the bottom. – Frank Mihalic |
So, you’re getting a few taps, now a couple of good hard thumps, now is when you win or lose. A poorly planned hookset will have a large tog laughing at you as he swims into the wreck pinning your line as you’ve lost another good one. Think about the physical mechanics for a minute; you swing for the fences, tip up with both hands around shoulder high. You take your right hand off the rear of the rod butt to try to crank the reel handle. The large fish immediately pulls your tip down and he is in the hole. “He got me again”. Did he? Or did your poor form allow him to swim into the snag? After seeing this exact movement so many times over the years, I’ve developed what is referred to as “The Efficient Hookset”.
When you are fishing a slack line and get a bite, when it’s time to swing, pull your foregrip toward your chest while pushing the rod butt down in front of your hip. Immediately gain as many cranks on the reel until the fish stops you. Your rod is now locked into a very powerful position. With the rod corked over, locked into your hip, just hang on! With your drag locked down, your rod is holding this fish as he digs back toward the bottom. After what seems like an eternity, he will make a mistake and give you a few turns. Keep the rod in this position until the fish is away from the bottom, then put the rod butt under your arm as you normally would. This is a good time to back a couple of clicks off of the drag that is set on “murder.”
Be ready as big fish will try several times to get back to the bottom. When the fish is dogging, just let the rod hold him and do not reel. If the fish surges toward the bottom be ready to lower your rod tip as to relieve some pressure without giving line. Never pump the rod, and as the fish nears the surface, do not let it break the surface of the water. When the fish is a couple feet down, direct your rod tip toward the net man so that your fish will swim toward the net.
Practice doing things the right way on every fish. You don’t know if it’s a jumbo until you set the hook. If you swing and you’re not in the right position, it might be over before it ever begins. Big fish are different; they hit differently, the fight differently. If it’s big fish you’re after this season, you either focus on playing the big fish game, or pray that today’s your lucky day.
