TAUTOG (Tautoga onitis)

A 34.5 lb potential state recod tautog caught in Virgina waters.

Virginia angler Jonathan Kurowski caught  the new Male Junior record for tautog soaking a green crab on the bottom when the fat 7.34 kg - 16 lb 3 oz fish hit.


It lives in the western Atlantic Ocean from Nova Scotia, Canada to South Carolina, USA., with the greatest abundance between Cape Cod, Massachusetts and all Delaware Bay. It is known to move in and out of bays or in shore and off shore according to the water temperature, but it does not make extensive migrations up and down the coast. It prefers shallow waters over rocky bottoms, shell beds, inshore wrecks, etc., which it often inhabits year round.

DISTRIBUTION:	West Atlantic Ocean
MAX SIZE:	30 lb / 13,5 kg
MAX LENGTH:	23 inch / 60 cm
MAX AGE:	Unknown
ENVIRONMENT:	Saltwater