"Thank you, stay out of the pots, stay away from the draggers, good luck!" It gives me hope in the fishing world, especially today that some people still really respect and cherish the big ones.
Ive never caught a tog before or seen one aside of videos, looks fun. In 1980 my dad had a naval reunion in Rhode Island and as growing up in the mountains of West Virginia my first love was trout fishing, while in Rhode Island i had the opportunity to go fishing by the naval base not knowing what I'd catch, first time ever catching flounder and fell in love, made a promise to myself that I'd go back but I've never been fortunate to return, however I've caught flounder a few other places, been watching you for a couple years. Just thought I'd share my story, thanks for bringing this to our home's Mr Skinner, I really enjoy you're videos. God bless you Sir.
16:00 - A lot of my friends caught tons of Florida fish this year, sign of the climate shift no doubt. I caught a very tiny jack crevalle myself this summer on a small spoon when going for snapper blues. Also caught a pinfish which I haven't seen since I was a kid fishing in FL. And WOW, what a monster. that came after that.
Dude that's insane. Congratulations on that fish what a beauty!! Man that was a fat fish. My adrenaline was pumping with yours on that one . Thanks John Skinner !
In the 80's I caught a bunch of little half pound JC's in the hot water discharge at Northport. When you hook one a school of others would follow the fish up to the surface similar to the way mackerel react to a Sabiki rig.
Great job releasing the big togs! And the giant one was certainly fine after being out of the water a minute or two. I've paddled 3 miles with them in the fish bag back to shore and they were still alive. Tough fish!
Thanks, John. Your underwater tog videos from a couple years ago made my NC tog fishing so much more successful! Caught a ton last winter and massively improved the quality of the fish, looking forward to my winter kickoff trip in a couple weeks to get it going again. Really appreciate you showing us how it's done!
Are you sure that wasn't Togzilla? Ya know a new movie is coming out and maybe it was a promo appearance? GREAT CATCH! I appreciate you noting the nuances that took your life up to now to be able to share! Best part is.... with all that PRO experience, your reactions are still like the rest of us that are trying to catch you! Thanks for the great day!
John I love you man your out there in the rain when you know everyone is saying look at this nut going out in the rain got to love it keep up the great work your friend Mike from nj 👍
Congratulations on the big fish and release. Surprise catching that jack . About 10 years ago i caught a small lionfish in a drag net at Truman's beach was catching spearing in mid august with my kids was very surprised. Thanks for sharing
Nice fish John!!!!! That must have been fun in the shallows. Nothing like waiting for those right bites. Great work. My knees are hurting just watching you sit like that all day 😂 Kayak toggin !!!!!!!
I caught close to 20 of these little guys snapper fishing the south shore last year. Caught some big ones in FL obviously but was just as shocked as you when my dad and I we’re catching them almost every cast while fishing for snappers (baby blue fish)
I really enjoy the book I have all you book I watch all you videos and you have help me a lot with my fishing techniques thanks for all your tips.. God bless you and give you many many years in good health 🙏
Back in the 80's I was black fishing near Mattituck inlet out of Craftis fishing station, When I showed up Charlie Craftis said it's been super slow and he gave me some hermit crabs, well he was right it was so slow not even a bite for hours, when WAM I landed a 10lb black fish, some fellers in a boat about 10 yards from me yelled out "hay man what you use'n for bait" I told them. after another 15 min. or so I pulled up anchor and moved over to the "pipe line" and the fellers followed me over and anchored much closer this time I guess thinking I must be luck or something. Im anchored for about 10 min and WHAM!! a 6lb'er this time. It was getting late so I picked up and went back to the dock leaving the guys with their jaws dropped. They hit me up for what crabs I had left, I was happy to oblige.
I love your videos John , unfortunately haven’t had any luck this year with any keeper size blackfish , water conditions near me have not been the best and it’s been so challenging to have the jig sit on the bottom , but it’s nice to see your catching big blackfish 👍🏻👍🏻
Great video John! I know you probably never want to find out, but once caught, I've never had a tog bite me or heard of it happening. The teeth are intimidating but I know people who have lipped them and they're completely docile out of water. But you'll probably just want to take my word for it and not test the theory!
Question for you John. I fished out of the DEC ramp in Mattituck and when I returned there , a town of Southold policeman was there checking fish sizes and looking through every box on my boat. I don't keep short fish. Was wondering if he has jurisdiction to do that ?
That's one of our Bay Constables and they definitely have jurisdiction. They're great guys who bust their butts to try and keep poaching under control. I like seeing them around to cut down on people keeping so many short fish.
What a day. So many quality fish, and then the tank of a fish. Female I believe? Nice release, i do the same. Hooking half crabs, you used to hook in one socket and then out through the shell to prevent it from coming off easily. And particular reason for the change? And would cutting legs off the whole crabs prevent small fish from picking at it?
If you don’t mind, was this from the last few days? New to black fishing so curious how long they stay in the shallower water (20-30ft) in the sound? Nice fish btw. Thanks for the video.
How big do the black fish get? I've heard a couple instances of divers off jax seeing one or 2 on the wrecks offshore. Apparently they are super rare and considered non existence in Florida. Just heard that they saw a couple over the years.
Hi John, I see you using spinning reels on blackfishing. Is there a particular reason why you don’t use bait-casting reels like the one you use for flukes? And I love the teeth of tog you showed us, they can probably crash oyster shells into pieces😮
More comfortable for me and I feel I can move fish off the structure faster with a spinning reel. Everyone I fish with uses spinning for this type of fishing.
Congrats John, big fan. When you are fishing whole crabs, seems crabs are still alive when dropping. I’ve always been told when fishing whole, need to make sure they’re dead or they will seek out a hiding place. Thoughts?
Not a boga. Some cheap knockoff with a broken scale that I got at a yard sale for $7 that functions as a gripper. I keep it on board in case of bluefish.
Why do you want to use the lightest jig possible? I’ve learned a lot from these vids but fish a completely different kind of area, the Barnegat inlet from land, and I need 50lbs test to get fish around the rocks and 2-4 ounces to hood bottom out deep. I’ve never seen a detriment to having this amount of weight, still catching lots of keepers
Ideally you want the fish to not feel any additional weight when it picks up the crab. Yes, in some areas of deep and fast moving water you have no choice but to use significant weight to get down. However, if you can reduce the diameter of your line, and decrease your weight, you'll see better results. I could catch in the location of this video with 4-ounce sinkers too, and maybe draw the conclusion that the fish don't mind. There's a big increase in catch numbers and size by putting the bait down with less than an ounce.
"Thank you, stay out of the pots, stay away from the draggers, good luck!"
It gives me hope in the fishing world, especially today that some people still really respect and cherish the big ones.
Love the Jackie Gleason reference in the beginning. “And away we go!” when you dropped your first line in the water. LOL
I have so much respect for people like skinner, he definitely is a passion fisherman
Ive never caught a tog before or seen one aside of videos, looks fun. In 1980 my dad had a naval reunion in Rhode Island and as growing up in the mountains of West Virginia my first love was trout fishing, while in Rhode Island i had the opportunity to go fishing by the naval base not knowing what I'd catch, first time ever catching flounder and fell in love, made a promise to myself that I'd go back but I've never been fortunate to return, however I've caught flounder a few other places, been watching you for a couple years. Just thought I'd share my story, thanks for bringing this to our home's Mr Skinner, I really enjoy you're videos. God bless you Sir.
Way to go john that is a giant! The jack was cool too....amazing!
That looks so peaceful with the rain falling
Awesome man, wish I could hit thumbs up ten times. Persevering through the element pays!!!!
16:00 - A lot of my friends caught tons of Florida fish this year, sign of the climate shift no doubt. I caught a very tiny jack crevalle myself this summer on a small spoon when going for snapper blues. Also caught a pinfish which I haven't seen since I was a kid fishing in FL.
And WOW, what a monster. that came after that.
Great tog trip, enjoy Florida, just got back from east coast and it was very windy on the beach, but nice & warm! Can’t wait for the Florida videos.
Dude that's insane. Congratulations on that fish what a beauty!! Man that was a fat fish. My adrenaline was pumping with yours on that one . Thanks John Skinner !
Iconic trip!
That little jack was a crazy surprise! I can't imagine what it was doing that far north in cold water.
In the 80's I caught a bunch of little half pound JC's in the hot water discharge at Northport. When you hook one a school of others would follow the fish up to the surface similar to the way mackerel react to a Sabiki rig.
Great job releasing the big togs! And the giant one was certainly fine after being out of the water a minute or two. I've paddled 3 miles with them in the fish bag back to shore and they were still alive. Tough fish!
Helluva fish John, congrats on an epic day.
The tog fishing weather has been awesome this year! And there’s been plenty of fish… hopefully it’s a positive for the fishery!.. great outing!
Nice arch on that rod. The one reason why I like buying one piece Rods 🎣
You did so good because after you released your first fish he told his buddies " hey, John is here, free crab!".
Big female - nice release. Anything over 7 pounds we weigh in for any tournaments
and release too.
Congratulations on your PB jig catch ! Awesome Blackfish!! Just got your latest book in the mail yesterday. Your right. Some casts you never forget.
Awesome fish John! Congrats!
Thanks Elias! See - I catch fish as long as I don't bring you along. One of these days it will work.
wow, Great work John!
Amazing ! You make it look soo easy .
Thx for sharing & God bless 🙏
Your videos are spectacular. I've been fishing for 50 years and learn something new each vid. Thanks.
I really appreciate that comment!
Thank you for the video! Very informative
That was marvelous 👍🏽👍🏽
What a great catch. It pays to go out in the snotty weather. I can’t believe you caught a Jack and those two blackfish were monsters.
As usual great information concerning fishing.
Have a nice day ! Great job!
Thanks, John. Your underwater tog videos from a couple years ago made my NC tog fishing so much more successful! Caught a ton last winter and massively improved the quality of the fish, looking forward to my winter kickoff trip in a couple weeks to get it going again. Really appreciate you showing us how it's done!
An amazing video John, watched from start to finish. Congrats on the giant. Never get tired of your Tog videos
Are you sure that wasn't Togzilla? Ya know a new movie is coming out and maybe it was a promo appearance? GREAT CATCH! I appreciate you noting the nuances that took your life up to now to be able to share! Best part is.... with all that PRO experience, your reactions are still like the rest of us that are trying to catch you! Thanks for the great day!
John I love you man your out there in the rain when you know everyone is saying look at this nut going out in the rain got to love it keep up the great work your friend Mike from nj 👍
Congratulations on the big fish and release. Surprise catching that jack . About 10 years ago i caught a small lionfish in a drag net at Truman's beach was catching spearing in mid august with my kids was very surprised. Thanks for sharing
What a set of choppers!
Nice fish John!!!!!
That must have been fun in the shallows. Nothing like waiting for those right bites. Great work.
My knees are hurting just watching you sit like that all day 😂
Kayak toggin !!!!!!!
Great fishing, John. Love your videos.
I caught close to 20 of these little guys snapper fishing the south shore last year. Caught some big ones in FL obviously but was just as shocked as you when my dad and I we’re catching them almost every cast while fishing for snappers (baby blue fish)
Incredibly impressive catch with that light tackle. Thank you for posting these great vids!
Hah! I was catching jacks right in my marina in the Thames river, not that big though only like 4-5 inches but still a jack!
That fish was a tank, had me worried is it was gonna break you off on that rock. Nice catch John 👍
Thanks Todd. I didn't expect to get that one. Way bigger than I ever get inside.
We get those Jacks on the south shore during the summer but I didn’t think they’d be here this late…. Pretty cool
Down in Fort Trumbull CT, I caught a couple small jacks like that. I was confused by what it was at the time but eventually I found out what it was.
Jack Crevales in Long Island Sound and Pacific Bonitos in San Fran bay. Interesting times.
Great fishing trip right there, Skinner! Nice Togs caught
WOW! We haven't had a drop of rain in Sarasota since mid September.
Black Fish extravaganza! Did that Jack get lost or what? Great trip!
Stud at 20:00
I really enjoy the book I have all you book I watch all you videos and you have help me a lot with my fishing techniques thanks for all your tips.. God bless you and give you many many years in good health 🙏
Thanks for telling me you enjoyed the book!
Wow what an awesome kayak trip.
Congratulations
great day
If I could give 2 thumbs up I definitely would 👍 👍
That Jack is calling you
Its all about the smell/scent on cracking them crab shell. Just like that sharks attracted to the smell of blood! 😉
Yes when the Albies show up it must be a law that the jig has to be tangled or some other equipment malfunction. Lol
Absolutely. Seconds pass like hours.
Today I watched this great video again. 25:43
Love it! Great work get off my rock!
Amazing catch!
Nice job!
Jack Crevalle in Bugs Bunny voice: "He must have taken a wrong turn at Albuquerque"
Back in the 80's I was black fishing near Mattituck inlet out of Craftis fishing station, When I showed up Charlie Craftis said it's been super slow and he gave me some hermit crabs, well he was right it was so slow not even a bite for hours, when WAM I landed a 10lb black fish, some fellers in a boat about 10 yards from me yelled out "hay man what you use'n for bait" I told them. after another 15 min. or so I pulled up anchor and moved over to the "pipe line" and the fellers followed me over and anchored much closer this time I guess thinking I must be luck or something. Im anchored for about 10 min and WHAM!! a 6lb'er this time. It was getting late so I picked up and went back to the dock leaving the guys with their jaws dropped. They hit me up for what crabs I had left, I was happy to oblige.
I love your videos John , unfortunately haven’t had any luck this year with any keeper size blackfish , water conditions near me have not been the best and it’s been so challenging to have the jig sit on the bottom , but it’s nice to see your catching big blackfish 👍🏻👍🏻
Hey John I just got you book very happy with the book you the best 👌
Thank you so much for saying that!
Hey John I absolutely love your videos I’ve been learning so much do you know where I can catch blackfish in ct from shore ?
Great video John! I know you probably never want to find out, but once caught, I've never had a tog bite me or heard of it happening. The teeth are intimidating but I know people who have lipped them and they're completely docile out of water. But you'll probably just want to take my word for it and not test the theory!
Good to know, but I'd definitely not want to test it!
I want that bait ... I'd get some in Kings Point with those crabs
John, is there a ramp out at Orient that the public can use to get to the rips for bass...tia. What size and action is your albie rod....
Question for you John. I fished out of the DEC ramp in Mattituck and when I returned there , a town of Southold policeman was there checking fish sizes and looking through every box on my boat. I don't keep short fish. Was wondering if he has jurisdiction to do that ?
That's one of our Bay Constables and they definitely have jurisdiction. They're great guys who bust their butts to try and keep poaching under control. I like seeing them around to cut down on people keeping so many short fish.
Hey John great video as always. Where do you get your green crab
Local tackle shop.
That you caught that fish in 20-30 ft of water shows the health of LIS
I’ve caught black fish is a foot of water
I say the same thing hooking into really big fish uh oh uh oh!
John, great video as always...do you think that full crab trick you do catches the big big ones???
John do you think the jacks are going to start coming up here
No. I might never see another.
Man where do you fish way to go by putting them back!! Fish on
Great video, John! What size reel do you use to match up with the ML rod? Is it the 2000 that the link takes us to?
2000
We catch jacks all the time in the shinnacock canal.
Never seen one in the Sound. Have seen a couple of tropicals diving though, and an Atlantic Spade Fish.
did you find that the nastier conditions/stronger currents made for better fishing or do you think it's better in calmer conditions??
Softer currents usually better for tog for me.
What rod do you like better for the albie your dark matter inshore rod or the carbon shield or the old Penn battalion
Albie shore I want a 7'6'', so the Carbon Shield. The red rod I prefer in the boat.
Wow hahahaha a jack OMG
Nice
What a day. So many quality fish, and then the tank of a fish. Female I believe? Nice release, i do the same. Hooking half crabs, you used to hook in one socket and then out through the shell to prevent it from coming off easily. And particular reason for the change? And would cutting legs off the whole crabs prevent small fish from picking at it?
The current was slow enough that I felt I could get away with a whole crab at that time.
Nice video are you wearing jusr raingear do you switch over to dry suits?
Rain gear with neoprene underneath.
If you don’t mind, was this from the last few days? New to black fishing so curious how long they stay in the shallower water (20-30ft) in the sound? Nice fish btw. Thanks for the video.
Hey, don't you have a boat??? I believe on another video someone caught one in Shinnicock canel this summer about the same size.
Is that the kayak that you mentionedbin your latest book? You said it was freight delivered.
That's it. It's a total fishing machine.
That was a tank John! I'm just as curious as you about the weight. Wish you had that scale. Enjoying the content as always. Tight lines.
Awesome footage. Do you pinch the barbs down on your tog jigs?
No need. Those hooks come with small barbs.
John I noticed you don’t cut the crab legs off over the side of the boat. Is there a reason you don’t do that?
Yes. I don't want those legs being carried down-current and taking fish away from under the boat.
How big do the black fish get? I've heard a couple instances of divers off jax seeing one or 2 on the wrecks offshore. Apparently they are super rare and considered non existence in Florida. Just heard that they saw a couple over the years.
Teen fish are rare in NY, but a State record 25+ was caught in Ct recently.
Hi John, I see you using spinning reels on blackfishing. Is there a particular reason why you don’t use bait-casting reels like the one you use for flukes? And I love the teeth of tog you showed us, they can probably crash oyster shells into pieces😮
More comfortable for me and I feel I can move fish off the structure faster with a spinning reel. Everyone I fish with uses spinning for this type of fishing.
Congrats John, big fan. When you are fishing whole crabs, seems crabs are still alive when dropping. I’ve always been told when fishing whole, need to make sure they’re dead or they will seek out a hiding place. Thoughts?
They're whole but cracked. I will move them if no hit in 15 seconds or so.
6:27 The Fish matches you kayak
beast of a fish, congrats! that big one came on a whole crab, legs on, cracked shell? your leader is 50lb per the link?
30 leader. Whole crab, cracked shell.
Thought I saw you put a boga in the bucket. Doesn’t that have a scale to weigh the fish
Not a boga. Some cheap knockoff with a broken scale that I got at a yard sale for $7 that functions as a gripper. I keep it on board in case of bluefish.
Where did you get those crabs?
WEGO B&T Southold.
So you're wearing the Stryker underneath ?
Yes.
Did you see the 28.75 lb blackfish a guy caught in Connecticut a week or so ago ?
Just incredible!
Why do you want to use the lightest jig possible? I’ve learned a lot from these vids but fish a completely different kind of area, the Barnegat inlet from land, and I need 50lbs test to get fish around the rocks and 2-4 ounces to hood bottom out deep. I’ve never seen a detriment to having this amount of weight, still catching lots of keepers
Ideally you want the fish to not feel any additional weight when it picks up the crab. Yes, in some areas of deep and fast moving water you have no choice but to use significant weight to get down. However, if you can reduce the diameter of your line, and decrease your weight, you'll see better results. I could catch in the location of this video with 4-ounce sinkers too, and maybe draw the conclusion that the fish don't mind. There's a big increase in catch numbers and size by putting the bait down with less than an ounce.
John how far off shore are you?
Why would the current affect the 30lb more than the 10 ?
30 is much thicker than 10 and therefore creates more drag in the water.
does your boga not have a scale? NICE FISH
Not a Boga. A cheap yard sale knockoff with a broken scale that still works as a gripper. I have it in case I catch a large blue.