Finally, a Keeper Tog by Ed Valitutto

Posted on October 18, 2023 by VHFC

After hearing about all the tog being caught in the Barnegat Light area, I decided to give it a try on Monday 10/16. I stopped at FHQ for crabs, but when told they had mole crabs aka sand fleas, I opted for a pint at $12. There had to be a hundred or more in the container and you don’t have to deal with pincers and cutting them in half.

I stopped near Andy’s restaurant and began fishing the bulkhead towards the new condos. I used 3 oz and flung the crab out a good ways. Immediately it was stolen. This continued the rest of the afternoon. I caught probably 25 shorts but no keepers. But I saw several caught. And yes, you will use most of those mole crabs feeding the hungry tog.

I came back Tuesday and had the same luck – all shorts. On Wednesday, I moved further away from the condos and closer to the road. After several shorts, I finally hooked into a bigger fish. I brought my long net and someone did the honors for my first jetty keeper tog.
I am in the LBI tournament and have never entered a fish over 8 years. I doubted my fish would win anything, but I wanted to enter a catch. SCB&T recorded it at16″ and 2.32 lbs! I will definitely give it another try before the fish leave for deeper water.

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