A Presidential Fish—The Tautog or Blackfish 21 
There is an old saying among fisher- 
men, that the tautog begin to run when 
the willows commence to turn green, 
and it seems verified, for the first of the 
these fish are usually caught about 
the middle of April, and they continue 
their visits to our waters until late 
in October, those taken latest being 
of the finest flavor and of larger size. 
The best near-by localities for early 
blackfish are in Long Island Sound, ad- 
jacent to City Island; in Jamaica Bay, 
opposite the wreck of the Black War- 
rior, and later, on the Fishing Banks, 
but in fishing for them, take heed of the 
bergall. We read that the rhinoceros 
has a faithful companion who assists in 
keeping his thick hide in order; that the 
voracious pike has his chirurgeon—the 
slimy tench—always by his side, whose 
touch cures all fish ills; that the shark 
has his pilot fish, and it seems to be 
an assured fact that the bergall is the 
body attendant of the tautog, and so 
slyly and nimbly does this bergall, 
sometimes called the ‘‘ cunner, ’’take the 
bait intended for his bigger brother, 
that he is anathemized by all good and 
patient anglers, not only for his roguish 
habits, but because of the sharp spines 
in his dorsal fin which ‘inflict an ugly 
wound, if one is not careful in handling 
the fish. 
The average weight of the tautog, 
when caught in the bays and estuaries 
of the New York coast, does not reach 
2 lbs., but those taken off the Fishing 
Banks sometimes reach 15 lbs. In New 
England waters they grow still larger, 
and we do not doubt that President 
Cleveland has killed many noble fellows 
of 5 or 6 lbs., and we hope that he has 
boated a monster equal in size and 
avoirdupois to the largest one ever cap- 
tured, it being 36% in. long and weigh- 
ing 22% lbs. The tautog is blackish 
in color, hence its name blackfish. It 
is, however, tinted with grey, and 
sometimes has distinct grey spots upon 
its body. It is a chunky fish, being 
very stout about the shoulders, and has 
a small mouth, with fleshy lips, well- 
filled with teeth, and there is a heavy 
coat of scales over the whole body, 
which are unusually hard to get off in 
dressing the fish. This difficulty can 
be partially done away with by dipping 
it into vinegar before scaling. 
The baits for tautog are various, but 
the fiddler or ‘‘ nobbler ” crab is the one 
most in favor, as that ubiquitous fol- 
lower of the tautog, the bergall, the 
ereatest, bait stealer of ‘the, -““bitter 
waters,’’ cannot nibble the shell of this 
one-armed crab. ‘The tautog will, how- 
ever, take indiscriminately any kind of 
edible lure that is presented to it, and 
fishermen use white and blood salt 
water worms, crab meat and clams of 
all kinds, in addition to the fiddler crab. 
The common garden worm is also a 
killing bait for tautog. 
The tackle to be used for taking the 
tautog should consist of a light rod, not 
over eight ounces in weight and about 
nine feet in length; a multiplying reel 
holding about two hundred feet of No. 
g Cuttyhunk line, and, if the fish are 
running under 3 lbs. in weight, a single 
six-foot black bass gut leader, to which 
should be attached a stout hook not 
larger than a No. 6 Sproat. If the fish 
average over 3 lbs., use a three-foot 
double leader, and if the tide is strong 
put on an ounce sinker. This will not 
take the bait plumb to the bottom, but 
by casting up-tide it will settle there 
or near it, and if you are compelled to 
work by casting frequently up tide, so 
much the more likely you are to get 
sport out of your fish, which is not 
handicapped by a heavy sinker hanging 
