Stretch your day on Narragansett Bay into the night with a doubleheader of tog and squid!
Spring brings with it many fishing opportunities for Northeast anglers, and choosing a favorite to target can be challenging. But thankfully, two of these options go together perfectly. Which two? Spring tog and squid go together like they were made for each other.
Why do I think that these fisheries go together so well? We’ll get to that in a minute, but first, let’s start by taking a look at each fishery on its own.
The Day Game
We’re lucky in Rhode Island (and Massachusetts) because our spring tog seasons stretch through the month of May, while Connecticut shuts down too soon on April 30. It may seem like we just put the tog gear away and we may be tempted to go back to where the last good bites were found in the fall, but spring togging follows its own set of rules, and it’s just not that simple.
When these fish were last seen, as winter was taking over from the fall, they were crushing crabs in 80 feet of water, driven by an urge to fatten up as much as they could for their lean winter as cooling water temps pushed them further and further offshore. In the spring, the tog are drawn in by warming waters and driven by a visceral urge to spawn. Blackfish spawn in shallow warming waters, so that’s where you should concentrate your efforts. Shallow boulder fields, gravel beds, cobble stretches, piers, pilings and bulkheads all take priority in the spring, in place of more ‘traditional’ tog hotspots like drop-offs, deep humps, ledges and shipwrecks.
Target these types of terrain in depths ranging from 8 to 16 feet, and at times, you may need to look even shallower. Abundant sunshine and calm seas can help turn on a sluggish bite, and 50 degrees is the magic water temp most often associated with getting things started. However, if you talk with local spear fishermen, they’ll tell you that the tog arrive earlier and move shallow much sooner than most rod-and-reelers realize.
Spawning is their number one priority, so – to some degree – feeding is secondary, so don’t expect swarms of blackfish to be fighting over your baits. In fact you are often better off leaving your Jonah’s, white leggers and the extra-large green crabs at home, and instead use smaller green crabs and Asian crabs, as smaller baits tend to excel in the spring. During this time, tog will more often ‘pick’ rather than competitively chomping baits and tearing apart whole crabs. I find better results by peeling the shell off and cutting larger baits in half, which is the opposite of how I fish in the fall.
Additionally softer baits such as thin strips of sea clam and or sandworms can be effective springtime baits – especially early in the season before porgies move in. Using sonar, especially side scan, can help identify shallow boulder/rubble fields as well as old piling remnants
Tackling Tog
Most of my springtime togging is centered around spots inside Narragansett Bay and this is where lighter tackle shines. While I fish a mix of rigs and jigs in the fall, I almost exclusively fish jigs in the spring. When fishing shallow, a small 1/4- to 1-ounce jig on a spinning rod that you can pitch with is ideal. Keep in mind – tentative bite or not – they still fight hard once hooked, so you’ll still need a stick with some backbone.
While gravel fields may be light tackle friendly, pilings and breakwaters are not. Good quality leaders and reliable gear remains important, even if scaled down a bit. My springtime tog setup is typically either a Shimano Stradic 4000 or Daiwa Saltist MQ 4000 spooled with 30-pound braid and an 8-foot topshot of 30- to 40-pound mono leader. Usually paired with a medium power Shimano Terramara Inshore spinning rod rated 1/2 to 1-1/2 ounces, I like the Southeast version which has a slightly slower action than the Northeast version, most often seen and marketed locally.
More often than not I am pitching jigs with that setup versus actual overhead casting. (Pro Tip: When choosing a spring tog jig, besides the usual color and weight decisions I favor jigs that have a slightly smaller hook especially when using Asian crabs. Additionally, TJ’s Tog rigs work year-round but I have found them to be especially perfect for springtime-sized baits.)
Get a late start? It’s okay! Most times I’m an advocate for getting up early to fish, but spring togging is one of the few exceptions. Water temp is the true determining factor regarding when these springtime fish will feed, and those cool spring mornings often don’t provide the extra warmth needed to get the bite going. However, by midday, once the sun has warmed things up a bit, the bite will usually start to turn on and sometimes the best bite heats up right before the sun goes down. So why get up early and freeze? Take your time, get a few things done around the house and then head out for a good afternoon of spring togging. And when that sundown bite starts to wane, you’ll be in perfect position to take advantage of the night game!
The Night game
Just as 50 degrees is the low end of the optimal range where tog are willing to bite, 50 degrees is also the general temp that brings out the best in spring squid fishing; 48 or better for the purists. Stripers, much like the tog, are mostly up in the shallows, especially at night, so the squid for at least a few weeks, are able to do their thing in a bit deeper water without too much disruption. So after I’ve decked a few tog and the sun has set, I turn to my Humminbird Helix sonar screen and start searching for squid marks. Additionally, I’ll bring along a few 12-volt lights, some squid jigs and few freshwater trout rods. To see if I can grab a few tubers before heading in. Many nights there will be a decent bite right after dark so you don’t have to wait too long to see if your side trip will pay off. Of course, the hardcore squid addicts will often spend the entire night, but there’s no need to be that serious if you are just looking to end the day with some bonus calamari.
Locating squid can be tricky as they might be anywhere from 10 to 40 feet of water in the bay. Squid don’t mark strongly on sonar so it does pay to learn to dial in your unit to see these faint, cloud-like marks, when your unit is dialed in you can trust it and fish with full confidence. I am continually amazed at how many boats go directly over a pile of squid and, either don’t trust their sonar or don’t have it dialed in well enough to mark them. Be prepared to move a few times during your trip as it can be spotty, so a virtual anchoring system such as Spotlock or a windlass can help make moving about easier especially in deeper water over soft bottom. I can tell you this, I spent decades in the spring manually hauling and redeploying my anchor, and I don’t miss it.
| TOG CONSERVATION |
| Please keep in mind that the tog are inshore to spawn and are extremely slow growing, so perhaps think twice before tossing an egg-laden female into the cooler. With the burgeoning popularity of tautog fishing, we need to make sure they can sustain for many years to come, I typically keep mostly males along with the occasional spawned-out female later in the spring season. Males tend to have a square, white chin, a whiter and grayer overall hue, a pronounced lateral line and a steeper forehead. Females are rounder and more camouflaged, featuring a mottled look and a rounded chin. |
Much like tog, the early season squid bite can be more tentative and softer than later in the season, so I have always found a 1-ounce sinker and set of high-lo squid jigs on a light rod is a good way to start off and will allow you to feel even a soft bite. For jigs, I like either Yo-Zuri or Coleman-style jigs, fished on mono (10- to 12-pound test). Braid tangles at night with thin line are killer and the extra stretch mono gives you is actually an advantage when pulling large squid up from deep water. If someone snaps off a big squid and just pulls up a tentacle, 9 times out of 10, it’s the guy with braid. That extra give and stretch of mono really helps soften the stress on the tentacles allowing you to land the jumbos.
I carry a second rod with a lighter Coleman style jig for nights when a single jig, drifted back slowly, is the ticket. Colemans are slower and take longer to get to the squid but can be deadly on finicky nights. Soft rods such as the Tsunami Slim Wave series or a freshwater walleye rod (rated 1/8 to 5/8 ounce) tend to be ideal for early spring. For colors, I keep it pretty standard; pink, white and green are pretty much always the go-to’s, although anyone that fishes with me knows I usually include at least one blue jig in my set.
Best Nights
Outgoing tides on warm nights can be particularly good often on a building moon. Full moons themselves can be feast or famine and incoming tides often bring cooler water which at first may not be beneficial, but this becomes less of an issue as the spring progresses.
One last word of caution, warm spring days can bring evening fog especially with the change to an incoming tide. So be aware of this and take precautions. Plan your departure route and don’t stray too far from home if you aren’t comfortable being out at night. Many nights you can see the fog rolling in so stay alert and aware. Radar can be a lifesaver in the spring but it’s always best to plan your departure prior to the arrival of the fog.
When spring arrives and the fishing world comes back to life it’s fun to have something like this day-night doubleheader to get you in on some diverse fisheries and pull some top notch table fare in the process. Tog and calamari truly are the perfect complement to a long afternoon into night fishing on Narragansett Bay. Try it and you will see.
