We're still a couple months out from tautog season, but that's exactly why we wanted to share this report now. Lifetime Member Kyle Norman put together this recap of a group tog trip he joined last spring with Captain Tyler Putney and a few MFCC members in Buzzards Bay — and it's the kind of read that makes the wait a little easier.
If you've been thinking about joining one of our tautog group trips this season, then please enter your info here so you don't miss out. Registration for spring tautog trips opens March 14th at 9am. Consider this your preview!
written by Lifetime MFCC member Kyle Norman
Sunday, May 4th, 2025
I woke up with the excitement of going on my first saltwater trip of the year. It was a later start to the season than normal, but work and weather had not been kind to my fishing schedule as of late. I would be joining MFCC group trip captain, Tyler Putney of Flatliner Charters, and three other MFCC members for a morning of togging in Buzzards Bay.
We met up at Taylor Point Marina at 6:30 to push off—with the radio already crackling with info from Captain Cullen, who had already left with his first trip of the day, relaying to Tyler that his group was already on the bite!
Captain Cullen's crew of MFCC members were already on the bite when Kyle's trip launched at 6:30am. Having a strong network of contacts is essential to finding fish with consistency.
Matt, his son Hunter, and Brett Blaisdell rounded out the four of us on Tyler's boat—all eager to get on some hard-fighting tog and start filling those empty freezers with fresh fillets!
While Tyler provides rods and bait, all of us had brought our own rods as well. I had taken a trip with Tyler last fall and tested out my new MFCC All-Around rod on the trip—rigged with a black VR-125. It's an awesome setup, great for stripers, blues, porgies, black sea bass, tog, and even more, I imagine.
We headed out, grateful that the weather gave us a break in what had been a series of windy days before and after our trip that day.
Getting On the Bite
We anchored up close to Cullen's boat, and in short order, we started getting bites. I managed to pull the first tog of the day—a keeper to kick it off. And fairly steadily, we all got bites.
We were using the classic green crabs for bait—usually cut in half—and experimenting with legs cut off, leaving them on, taking the shell off or not, and trying to track whether the more orange-colored ones or greener crabs were producing better.
I have read that early in the season, they often call tog "rubber lips," and maybe that was because they hadn't hardened their teeth and gums on crabs yet, so some folks opt for sea worms or clams instead of crabs. We didn't find it to be an issue with these fish—they were happy for the crabs!
If you don't already know, green crabs that have more orange on their shells are crabs that haven't molted in a while, so the shell is harder. The greener ones have a softer shell. In my experience, the orange-shelled crabs stay on the jig maybe a little longer since the fish have a harder time pecking it and stealing it off!
Lifetime MFCC member Brett Blaisdell with a nice early spring Buzzard's Bay tog!
We had the privilege of using tog jigs that Matt himself had made—ranging from 0.75 oz up to 2 oz, if I remember correctly. I used a 0.75 oz jig the whole time and could keep in contact with the bottom easily enough. Since we started fishing not long before slack and ended shortly afterwards, we didn't need much weight to hold bottom.
It seemed the area that Hunter was dropping his jig tended to have the biggest fish, and so there was a lighthearted push and shove to get to that spot and catch those fish before he did! This was a special trip for Hunter—he caught his first tog ever, and on top of that, he got the award for biggest tog of the trip! He and his dad took it to get weighed officially afterwards, and it came to a solid 6 lb 4 oz! Way to go, Hunter!
The Unexpected Bonus
Since we got our limit in approximately the first two hours, we decided to go on the hunt for stripers. A boat anchored near us while tog fishing pulled in a striper, said they were around, and that they were finicky. But once again, Tyler had a plan—find the birds diving on bait, chase them, and throw plugs and soft plastics at the same area and see if anything bit.
We bombed around Buzzards, shooting around after the birds and throwing at them—mostly white and pink Albie Snax. A few of the guys said they saw flashes and a fish bust on top—I saw nothing. But I trusted the other guys who know more than me about such things. We kept at it for a while. Nothing. Chase another flock of birds, throw lures, nothing. Rinse and repeat.
A white Albie Snax (bottom left) ended up being the ticket to Kyle's first striper of the 2025 season.
I have no idea how many times we had tried this before luck changed. I had a white XL Snax on my trusty MFCC rod, and I cast it to where Brett told me he saw some flashes. I felt a bump, but I assumed it was a twist or tangle in my line. I had probably fouled up the Snax somehow in the melee of us running and gunning in pursuit of the fish of seven stripes.
Well, as luck would have it, I felt another "soft" pull on my line, and while I assumed it was again the fouled lure dragging in the water, I was suddenly greeted by a bit of drag peeling off the reel and a decent bend in the 7-foot rod. I was tight on a striper!
I got it to the boat and Tyler hauled it aboard—a nice slot-size fish at 28.5 inches! It had sea lice on it and had been eating fairly well.
Well, now everyone was hurling plugs at the area, but we couldn't entice another bite. They were there for a few seconds, then seemed to dissipate—only to show up a hundred yards away. We kept at it for a bit longer until Tyler called us to bring them in and head for the dock.
Reflecting on an Amazing Morning
I was in a mixed state of excitement and peace! I got to leave behind the cares and worries of life for a few hours on the water with a great group of guys and a great captain to guide us.
As I sat on the front cushion, letting myself get doused with sea spray every so often, I reflected on just how awesome this morning had been. I made three new friends, saw a young gun bring in his first and largest tog of the day, the weather was sunny and warm, Matt had fed us with sandwiches and supplied us with jigs, Brett pointed me to where to cast, and Tyler tore around the bay after the birds to put us in a position to catch stripers (after getting us our limits of tog).
We traded stories, jokes, had some friendly competition, and all went home with fresh fillets. And, of course, as an unexpected bonus—I got my first striper of the season!
If you've been thinking about joining one of our tautog group trips this season, then please enter your info here so you don't miss out. Registration for spring tautog trips opens March 14th at 9am. Consider this your preview!
Thank you for the write up Kyle. Less than 2 months until the tog return!