Tautog

Fascinating facts about the Tautog

• While most fish stay within a few meters of the surface, tautog can be found from just 1 m down to 75 m (5-245 ft) over hard rocky bottoms. Their rubbery lips and molar-like throat teeth let them crush clams and crabs that hide among those rocks.
• A typical tautog weighs between 0.5 kg and 1.5 kg (1-3 lb), and the maximum recorded length is 90 cm (3 ft) with a weight of 13.1 kg (28 lb 14 oz).
• Spawning happens offshore in late spring to early summer; the eggs drift and hatch in the open water. The young reside in shallow, protected waters among seaweed, sea lettuce, or eelgrass beds and are green in color for camouflage. In late fall they move offshore and winter with reduced activity.
• Around 1920, about 750 tons of tautog were harvested annually off the New England coast. Today, managers limit gear, size, and season because the species reproduces slowly.
• Tautog are famous among anglers for being hard to catch; they hide in wrecks and reefs where a careless hook or swivel can snag on stone. Successful anglers use simple rigs with minimal hardware and wait for the fish to fully swallow bait such as crabs or mussels before setting the hook.

At a glance

About the Tautog

The tautog (Tautoga onitis), a solitary member of its genus, drifts along the hard-substrate seascapes of the western Atlantic from Nova Scotia to South Carolina, favoring inshore waters between 1 and 75 m (5 to 245 ft). Its brown to dark-olive body is flecked with white blotches, and the fish grows to a typical 0.5–1.5 kg (1–3 lb) before reaching a maximum of 90 cm (3 ft) and 13.1 kg (28 lb 14 oz). Thick, rubbery lips and molar-like throat teeth equip the tautog to pry open mollusks and crush crustaceans, while a slime-coated, rubbery skin shields it as it weaves through the crevices of rocky reefs and wrecks. After spawning offshore in late spring to early summer, the drifting larvae settle in shallow eelgrass or seaweed beds, their green hue a perfect camouflage, before migrating back offshore in the late fall to overwinter in reduced activity. A favorite of both anglers and divers, the tautog’s reputation for elusiveness stems from its habit of nesting among rocks where lines can snag, demanding patient hook-setting and minimal rig hardware.

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