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The sun was just coming up over the calm water of Taylor’s Marina in Bourne. It was a cool and clear late October morning - perfect for my final group fishing trip of the year.
This would be my second trip in a row with Captain Tyler. Last month we went after stripers with live pogies, catching some oversized beasts and our limit of slot fish. Today was going to be very different. We were hunting tautog.
The one thing both trips had in common, of course, was Tyler. He has a well-equipped boat and takes us right to hot spots for finding the fish. He is also an excellent instructor, with a friendly manner and tips and techniques for anglers of all levels. He got to work on a big bag of green crabs, trimming and cutting them in half, then demonstrating how best to bait the hooks with them. He told us where to drop the line and how to get a tog on the hook. I had never fished for tautog before, so it took a few tries before I got used to just how quickly they will take your bait from you. Hook it fast and get ready for a fight.
On the ride out I chatted with a couple of the guys on the trip, an MFCC member and a friend of his. It turned out that they were ex-Navy like me, so we spent that part of the trip talking about old times, checked out Mass Maritime as we went by, and lots of other small talk. It was nice to make these connections, something I have tried to do on all my charter trips. There was a relaxed atmosphere and then it was time to get into the business of the day. Time to catch some fish!
About an hour after leaving port it was low tide, and the shifting water brought out some hungry, hungry togs. We anchored at Tyler’s spot and got blitzed for about an hour, pulling in about 2/3 of our boat limit including a couple of impressive ones at 21 inches or better.
Things slowed down so we went to two other spots, catching a few at the first and then hitting our limit at the second. Tyler was pretty busy filleting 30 big fish during those stops and keeping us supplied with crab halves. We headed back, enjoying the spectacular sunny fall morning.
Back home, I portioned out and vacuum-sealed most of the fillets, labeled them and put them in the freezer next to the flounder, striper, and black sea bass fillets from my other trips this summer; leaving one out for that night’s dinner. It turns out that tautog tacos are as delicious as they are fun to say. It was a great way to celebrate the successful outing as I looked forward to enjoying wonderful fresh-caught fish all winter.
I’m already thinking about the trips I want to take next year - I can hardly wait.