Will More Blackfish Records Be Broken This Season?

As waters cool in the fall, tautog season begins for anglers in the Northeast. Once water temperatures approach 60 degrees, tautog instinctively feed in preparation for the winter ahead. This voracious feeding cycle prepares these bottom dwellers for their eventual deep-water habitat and provides anglers with excellent table fare, great action, and perhaps a shot at hooking into a record-breaking catch.

Last season, between November and April, a number of monster tautog were landed, including several state record breakers and even a new world record. The impressive number of record-size tautog landed last year could mean that even bigger ones are still out there – and more records could fall this season.

On November 14, 2014, Billy Taylor landed this New York State Record blackfish! The 21.55-pound monster ate a green crab in 65-foot depths out of Jones Inlet.
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On January 2 2015 Kenneth Westerfeld of Bayside, New York landed this IGFA world record on Captain Kane Bounds’ Fish Bound out of Ocean City, Maryland.
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On January 30, 2015, Shane Burke of Homdel, NJ caught a giant blackfish just two pounds shy of the New Jersey State Record. His fish, a 23-pound brute, hit while he was fishing on a friend’s boat out of Wildwood, NJ.
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On April 17, 2015, Frank LaMorte, fishing with Captain Tom Daffin of the Fishin’ Fever IV, out of Cape May, NJ, hoisted a 25.37-pound blackfish onto the scale at Jim’s Bait and Tackle in Cape May to set a new New Jersey state record.
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