Seven days and counting.

The tog (blackfish) season draws to a close at 11:59 pm Tuesday, February 28. A short but body shot, as it will re-open for another month-long stint April 1-30 before a significant closure until the following November, date to be determined.

This winter’s beyond-tolerable “being out in the ocean” weather, when it comes to the long-distance late season tog fishing along the southern New Jersey coast (read: 15-35 miles...or farther), has allowed for some hot shot dropping for this rubber-lipped/shell crushing dentition quarry. Big fish, and more than a few four-fish limits.

97.3 ESPN logo
Get our free mobile app

And some of the best eating imaginable. The tog’s crustacean diet dictates this. No mushy fish intake. Just firm, strong-muscle prey.

At this late winter stage of the tog-getting game, it’s about rigs, not so much jigs, as per the depths.

Tom P.
Tom P.
loading...

Top baits include the omnipresent green crabs, white leggers (Jonas crabs; a high-end $$ purchase as per the party boat; the price generally included in the charter price), and yes, thawed frozen shrimp.

Shrimp?

“Yeah,” enthused a south Jersey skipper who makes the many miles journey to have the double-digit tog thumping and banging the cooler and livewell.

Rigs or jigs. Crabs or shrimp. It’s a late-season prime-time shot at specimen blackfish.

And it’s all about the conditions via the winds; heavy rollers on a quick pace, or a flat, salty skin and a direct line to the toothy tog.

The daily limit is four blackfish at a 15-inch minimum.

7 reasons why you need to kill the spotted lanternflies infesting NJ

LOOK: Here are the pets banned in each state

Because the regulation of exotic animals is left to states, some organizations, including The Humane Society of the United States, advocate for federal, standardized legislation that would ban owning large cats, bears, primates, and large poisonous snakes as pets.

Read on to see which pets are banned in your home state, as well as across the nation.

More From 97.3 ESPN