Last week Vinney Simms, Jr’s huge tautog made a total of four runs back down to the bottom. He managed to keep the fish off the bottom and got it into the boat, it was a record breaking 22 pound 5.28 ounce, 31-inch tautog. By Wednesday of last week the State of Rhode Island had it verified and posted it as the state’s top tautog.
Simms, a resident of Hamilton, New Jersey, landed the huge tautog while fishing with Capt. Rob Taylor of Newport Sportfishing Charters, one of the State’s premiere tautog and bluefin tuna charter captains.
“Vinney did a good job, but you also need a lot of luck to land a big fish like this. With big fish I tell anglers to just keep reeling, even if the fish is talking drag you are slowing it down (Simms’s drag was set at a very heavy 18 pounds),” said Capt. Taylor. “The aim is to prevent the fish from returning to where it came from, meaning the rock cluster it lives in. We had a lot of current and strong tides Monday so this fish fortunately may have gotten disoriented a bit coming up and down four times.”…