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1: Eels Eel What more can you say about eels? They’re readily available; they take fish in the surf, rips and rocks from Maine to North Carolina; and they are simple to store and keep alive. Best of all, stripers can’t seem to resist them, and nothing works better at night. Indeed, the majority of state and IGFA record fish have been taken on eels fished at night. While many anglers score well by fishing eels in deep water (30’ plus) on heavy 3-way or fishfinder rigs, try lobbing them unweighted into shallow (10’-15’) rocky areas without additional weight. The live eels will instinctively head for the bottom—right where the fish are waiting. 2: Diamond Jig Diamond Jig Diamond jigs...

Tautog, also known as blackfish, usually start to move inshore around the end of April, or when the water temperature hits the mid-40s. When it reaches 50 degrees, it’s game on! It’s no secret that tautog like to hang around structure, including rocks, mussel beds, wrecks and pilings. Isolated rocks and wrecks on an otherwise flat and featureless bottom are always prime spots, serving as oases for crabs, worms and other ‘tog food. For example, mostly sandy Nantucket Sound contains several wrecks that produce excellent spring fishing. A section of green crab rigged on an Octopus hook will do the trick with spring ‘tog. Photo Tom Richardson The waters off Gay Head (Aquinnah) on Martha’s Vineyard are ‘tog utopia in...