The author hefts a 15-pound blackfish taken on a party boat in Long Island Sound
Photo Tom SchlichterTricks and tips for targeting trophy tautog in the waters of Long island Sound. By Tom Schlichter If you wanted to create the perfect blackfish habitat, you’d start with a mussel-encrusted rock bottom, pepper it with a generous number of wrecks and large boulders then harden some of the shoreline with jetties, sea walls, docks and bulkheads. Next, add an abundance of crabs, including green, calico, hermit, fiddler and Asian, and mix in a shallow gravel bottom, sloping points and deeper water just a short run from port. What I’ve just described is Long Island Sound, as well as the recipe for some of the best blackfish action on the East Coast. Indeed, each fall the Sound hosts a...