Fishing

World Record Tautog on a Fly Rod. An Unexpected Catch Turns Into a Fish of a Lifetime.

Here's what happens when luck, foresight, and skill come together when an angler is out fly fishing for Striped Bass.

Ken Baldwin

World record tautog (blackfish) caught by Sam Alsop.
World record tautog (blackfish) caught by Sam Alsop. / photo provided by Sam Alsop

Sam Alsop made history on June 28th, 2024, by catching an 8-pound tautog on a fly rod. He set a new IGFA Men's 12 pound Tippet Class World Record by skillfully enticing a tautog to take a green crab fly. The impressive catch took place in Long Island Sound in Connecticut.

Fly Fishing for Tautog Is a Real Challenge

Catching a tautog, also called a blackfish, on a fly rod is no easy feat. You usually find the fish around rocks and boulders 20 to 30 feet down. The bite turns on when the current is moving, so it takes some weight to keep your bait in the strike zone. They are partial to real bait vs. artificial. They are an extremely strong fish, and when hooked will head straight for the rocks.

With all that stacked up against a fly angler, how did Sam Alsop manage to hook and land a world record blackfish? The usual suspects: luck, skill, preparation, and foresight.

Targeting Striped Bass

Sam was targeting striped bass in the shallows. He was wading and sight casting to cruising bass when he spotted two dark fish slowly working the area. This is the luck part of the equation. He knew they weren't striped bass, but he couldn't figure out what kind of fish they were.

An Unexpected Surprise

He made a cast with a large crab fly pattern and saw that one of the fish showed interest. He also realized it was a tautog, a fish he had been wanting to catch with a fly rod.

Fly Fishing with Foresight

Over the winter, Sam purposely tied some nickel-sized crab flies in green because he wanted to be prepared in case he spotted a blackfish while fishing for striped bass. He made the crabs green because he knew that the Green Crab is a favorite food of the blackfish.

Because the blackfish didn't commit to the large crab pattern, Sam made a decision to replace the fly with one of the smaller green crabs. This is where the skill comes in. Under pressure and limited time, he had to take off the large fly, retrieve the smaller fly from the fly box, tie it on, get the line out, load the rod, and present the fly before the fish moved on or spooked. I've seen buck fever happen way too often to discount the skill and coolness it takes to accomplish this. I've choked under pressure a few times when speed and calm were required to catch a big, moving fish.

The Tautog

Tautog are members of the wrasse family and are found in the northern Atlantic Ocean. Hooking a tautog is like trying to wrestle a bulldog out of its doghouse. They are known for their stubborn resistance and powerful head-shakes. When hooked, they run for the nearest rock or structure, and if they make it, they use their broad, powerful bodies to wedge themselves in tight. They are not big fish, but pound for pound they are extremely strong. You'll feel every ounce of their weight as they pull against the line. Landing a tautog is never a sure thing.

Sam Alsop with his world record tautog he caught on a fly rod.
Luck and Skill: If you've never tried to pull a tautog out of the rocks, a 9 weight fly rod is the minimum I would use. Sam Alsop was fishing a 7 weight. A blackfish is a lot of fish for a 7 weight. / photo provided by Sam Alsop

The blackfish picked up the crab on the third cast, and Sam set the hook. The fish instantly headed for some rocks and got wedged into a crevice. Game over, but Sam kept his cool and used his hand to follow the leader to where the fish was hiding in the rocks. This worked, and the blackfish came rocketing out and headed for deep water. Sam was nearly down to his backing before he could slow the fish down and apply some pressure. A lot of back and forth between the angler and fish, each time Sam gaining a little ground. Luckily the fish stayed out in the deeper water where there weren't any rocks. Sam was safe to play the fish out.

Tautog have some serious teeth that they use to capture and crush hard-shell prey. If Sam's 12lb tippet came in contact with these teeth it would have been game over.

From the photos, you can see Sam was successful in landing the world record 8 pound tautog. The fish was released to spawn and fight another day. One other thing should be noted: This world record is also the first blackfish that Sam has ever caught on a fly rod. His first blackfish on a fly rod and it's a fish of a lifetime.

What is the famous saying about luck? "Luck is when opportunity meets preparedness." KB

More World Record Fishing Stories

“The gods do not deduct from man’s allotted span the hours spent in fishing.” - Herbert Hoover

Published |Modified
Ken Baldwin
KEN BALDWIN

Ken Baldwin career in fishing and the outdoors started twenty-two years ago. For twenty of those years he guided anglers in remote Alaska. Along with his work as a guide, he created a TV show called Season on the Edge, which aired on NBC Sports, worked on the nature documentary Our Planet 2, for Netflix, specialized in photographing the Alaskan brown bear, and has published his photographs and writing in several magazines. Ken Baldwin is a graduate from the University of Washington.

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