Blackfish beatdown in the middle sound NY - tautog fishing from kayaks

Waters are cooling fast and it's prime time for fall blackfish. We tried fishing shallow to start but didn't find too much life so instead of searching other shallow boulder areas we moved into deeper water while the current was changing from ebb to flood. On the way in, I started marking something very nice near the boulders I wanted to try so we dropped down and to our surprise found a bunch of blackfish, seemingly patrolling the area. We weren't even over what I would consider a good bottom for blackfish, but it didn't seem to matter. Every single time I could position into the area where I was marking fish, we would get bit immediately.
Heavy Spinning Setup:
Rod: St. Croix Triumph 7'-0" Med/Heavy Fast (last eye cut) amzn.to/3Q1TMg3 (affiliate link)
Reel: Penn Clash 4000 (older model) www.tackledire...
Mainline: Spiderwire Ultracast 15lb. amzn.to/3pZfLd2 (affiliate link)
Leader: Ande mono 40lb: amzn.to/3SGw36C (affiliate link)
Jig: 3/4oz. blackfish jig
Light Spinning Setup:
Rod: modified shimano TMSX66M • Cutting the last eye o...
Reel: daiwa KGLT2000D-XH • Daiwa Kage LT 2000D-XH...
Mainline: Berkley x9 8lb. crystal amzn.to/38sLXjA (affiliate link)
Leader: Yo-zuri Hybrid Mono 20lb. test: amzn.to/3QNrH08 (affiliate link)
Lure: 3/4oz. blackfish jigs
Light Jigging Setup:
Rod: stellar lite fast taper SG410FT70 star rod
Reel: shimano stradic ci4+ 3000
Mainline: Berkley x9 8lb. crystal amzn.to/38sLXjA (affiliate link)
Leader: Yo-zuri Hybrid Mono 20lb. test: amzn.to/3QNrH08 (affiliate link)
Lure: 1.5oz. metal jig (replaced with single hook)
First-Person Camera: GoPro Hero 11 amzn.to/42Refec (affiliate link)
Third-Person Camera: GoPro Hero 9 amzn.to/42y7vCm (affiliate link)
External Battery: amzn.to/3M4xr1l (affiliate link)
Fish Finder: amzn.to/44SZglL
Fish Finder Battery: amzn.to/43CXweL
VHF radio: amzn.to/3oYciyj (affiliate link)
Fish soft cooler: amzn.to/46LGQ7P (affiliate link)
PFD: amzn.to/3pRU2Y0 (affiliate link)
Fish Stringer: amzn.to/3rFGZcO (affiliate link)
Trolling motor (modified): amzn.to/45yw3vC (affiliate link)
Playlist of the Hobie Compass 2021 kayak I use and the modifications I've done to it:
• Hobie Compass 2021 Kay...
check out sopeluv.com/shop for custom logo upf50+ performance fishing shirts
#kayakfishing #jigfishing #tautog #blackfish #seabass #porgy #fishing

[@williamjones8781]

Nice catch

[@Teppei-ow2nz]

It’s really amazing to see you support your dad a lot.

[@lonnelbeechum1296]

It makes me happy seeing how you take care of your father god bless you

[@PeterRanieriII]

It’s the least I could do 🙏

[@tlsmoke23]

Good move on the jig #1 for SB deeper squid/fish-bites Great day with pops

[@PeterRanieriII]

Thanks, yeah totally agree. 🤙

[@EastCoastFishing]

Peter that was a banger vid please come out with more amazing videos

[@PeterRanieriII]

Lol thanks, I appreciate it and I certainly will try to

[@bobthompson9890]

Pops getting it done. I really miss getting out with my dad and uncles

[@JeffreyGuzman-j2q]

thank you so much I am ten years old and just caught my first striped bass I love your videos

[@PeterRanieriII]

congrats!

[@Bass59]

Good morning I'll tell you when it comes to Black fishing you're pretty good even with the sea bass but I tell you this I like your video cuz it's a lot longer than any average fishing video I look at you see I piss you off peers and the surf fisherman and there's tons of Blackfish where I live at out in Staten Island New York keep them videos coming

[@PeterRanieriII]

Thanks, I’m just happy any time I can get out there to fish for these fish lol. That’s awesome your getting them over there, very difficult from shore. Yeah I like to spend some time on the video bc I very much want to look back on them years from now and like to keep the timeline of how the day went as much as possible. I figure ppl can skip if they want and I’m ok with that

[@allseasonfishing4030]

catch them up bro . nice ones would love to see some bass action

[@PeterRanieriII]

Me too man but I haven’t found many big stripers this fall, mostly schoolies around me

[@mattbrown7483]

Great stuff Peter. I enjoy all your videos, but the ones with Pops are special. Nice limit of black fish.

[@PeterRanieriII]

Thanks Matt!

[@cjbkjc]

Thanks for sharing. Enjoyed the running commentary.

[@PeterRanieriII]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@robertstorms5539]

Glad to see you are still out fishing. I took out my boat last week. Finished up at Orient point catch some really nice sea bass. Question for you. If you are waiting for a blackfish to swim away with the bait before setting the hook wouldn't a circle hook setup work?

[@PeterRanieriII]

Hey Robert, that’s great to hear the sea bass are still out - hope to get out at least once more. You really bring up a great question. I guess since they don’t always swim away? And maybe their rubbery lips really need a hook set? Not sure though, I can’t tell you it works bc I use a small circle hook on my underwater camera and I’ll hook them no problem. Wouldn’t surprise me to see people start making jigs with circle hooks 1 bit.

[@Captain-Seasick]

Trolling motor works well

[@PeterRanieriII]

Like one with spot lock? I’m thinking to get one…

[@Captain-Seasick]

@@PeterRanieriII I think they all have spot lock

[@gm1937]

Peter that was an awesome fishing trip. Greetings from Gio western Long Island sound. When I fish from shore, I occasionally toss out my Spydro fish cam. You were right about certain spots without structure that seem to have black fish wandering around not necessarily clinging to boulders and rocks. I can see the same thing. I guess the fish figure we better look around instead of staying put or we’re going to go to bed on an empty stomach lol.

[@PeterRanieriII]

Hey Gio! Thank you for corroborating this finding! It’s def new news to me, I knew they would venture off pieces but not to this extent, so cool these fish surprise me all the time

[@BIGYAKRFISHING]

Yeah Pops was killing it, another great vid. Seems like the Taug bite was a little later this year. Maybe the warmer water temps

[@PeterRanieriII]

Thanks. Yeah I think you may be right, it really turned on this past weekend, just insane the amount of fish around

[@outandaboutwithrobnyc]

Where exactly is middle sound NY located? Is this the long island sound/ middle middle island? Where do you launch from. Great video!

[@PeterRanieriII]

This is the middle region of Long Island sound that stretches from port Jefferson to mattituck

[@JLBaits]

I see your a bayville fisherman I would like to give you a heads up to start locking your stuff more because a few cars were robbed by the primary school in bayville

[@PeterRanieriII]

Good to know, You think it’s just kids? the only thing in my minivan are car seats and crusty french fries so they will be disappointed

[@steverazzano]

Great bite, that's wild. I need to venture further east but the bass bite in the harbors/back bays has been so good that I want to get after it while the fish are still around. I launched from Tappan this past Friday morning in the overcast weather and there was blitzing fish and birds for as far as the eye can see in the back bay.

[@PeterRanieriII]

You should when you have the opportunity Steve, the size of the fish is definitely better the more east you go. Get out asap man, I was near there this past weekend and the blackfish were stacked! Not too many keepers but this is the time they really start schooling and feeding

[@steverazzano]

@@PeterRanieriII I want to this weekend if wind and weather cooperate. I just need to do some research on where to launch from.

[@TalkFishTVHawaiianDan]

Epic video Peter, looking forward to fishing together! Keep em coming!

[@PeterRanieriII]

Thanks Dan! Excited for that!

[@SOLYB.]

Peter, thank you for another good video. One of John Skinners videos he painted the diamond jig black and it resulted in catching more sea bass.

[@PeterRanieriII]

I saw that! And it’s so true, dark colors for that deep dirty sound water works really well.

[@benadams4942]

Good for you taking your dad fishing.

[@PeterRanieriII]

I do enjoy it 😊

[@JamaicanSureFishing]

Good one looks a lot cold

[@PeterRanieriII]

It was. But that usually turns the fishing on!

[@waterboy5164]

Hey awesome video, Question im thinking about buying a fishing kayak, If you could start over when choosing a kayak would you rather have bought a kayak with the motor already installed or do you think u would have rather the pedals than added a motor to the front later?

[@PeterRanieriII]

Thanks! For me personally, I love having pedals. If I could do it over again, I would still buy a pedal kayak and add a motor. The kayaks with just a motor are limited in that you really shouldn’t take them too far bc if the motor dies, manually paddling back would be a nightmare and they also can’t be launch in rough conditions like the surf. I enjoy the small amount of exercise and feel very confident having pedals at all times. I’m actually planning to do a bow mount trolling motor in the future. But that’s just me

[@waterboy5164]

Thanks for commenting back, what size kayak do you use? And is there any brands you recommend? Im fishing the south shore mostly around bridges, the inlet and maybe some ocean on decent days. I was thinking about maybe getting a 10ft old town pdl but im not sure if that size will be ok in the strong current

[@PeterRanieriII]

@@waterboy5164 I use a 12’ hobie compass and I sometimes use a 10.5’ hobie passport. I think 12’ is a good all around size, depending your weight/height 10’ may seem a little small. I’ve only used hobies bc the mirage pedals don’t hurt my knees like the pdl drive does on old towns. But those are great kayaks too. You should really test both drive systems out first if possible. Lastly just keep transporting in mind, if you plan to move it around a lot on land or car top it you may want to consider the actual weight of the kayak. No kayak is meant to be in strong current, it’s best to time the tides so that you aren’t fighting them. That’s also when a trolling motor will help too

[@waterboy5164]

Do you have any suggestions on where I could test some of these out on the island?

[@PeterRanieriII]

@@waterboy5164 check out empire kayaks - which is on the south shore does rentals of hobies, not sure about old towns though. Give them a call though, he may know where you can

[@fishydubsfishing6516]

Seabass got to be 16 1/2 now that is unbelievable what the heck is going on I remember when they put the size limit and it was like nine or 10 inches to start now it's 16 1/2 somebody's got to get real

[@PeterRanieriII]

yeah a 16.5" seabass is pretty big and not easy to get either

[@JeffreyGuzman-j2q]

Hi! Would you mind telling me what rod you would suggest for jigging and fishing off the beach? I am in 4th grade just in case that helps with size. Thank you

[@PeterRanieriII]

Hey Jeffrey that’s awesome you watch the videos, I would def recommend going to your local tackle shop to support them and ask them for a good setup based on where your fishing. But likely a 7’-8’ medium heavy rod will be just fine paired with a 3000 sized reel. The lighter the better, it just gets more expensive the lighter you go.

[@francus7227]

PETER ! ! ! Diatribe warning: 1) To quote you at 37:14 "I've never experienced it like that." While watching this clip, I started thinking,"These type of days are rare." I know these type of days..... EVERY boat at the ramp caught fish. A shoestring on a hook will catch fish on these days. 2) Did you hear yourself giggling when you were editing? 3) A 18" trout, red or flounder all weigh about the same.... 1.75 pounds and all fight about the same. I never see you weigh your fish. Do you know what an 18" blackfish weighs? 4) It looks like they fight much harder than trout, reds or flounder. I'd say an 18" jack crevalle fights like those blackfish. They're like pulling up a sheet of plywood. Uhhhgg. 5) Sooo stoked you had an "all time" day with Pops. Having a day like that solo is great. But nothing like with someone..... especially dad and son. Thanks

[@PeterRanieriII]

Lol francus I know exactly what you mean on all points. 1: for many species of fish there seems to be this feeding window for whatever reason that they just hit about anything and it’s absolutely silly fishing. I love those days. 2: yes haha couldn’t help it. 3: yea I don’t have a good scale that is waterproof, I’ve weighed a 19” blackfish back at my house and it was about 4.75lbs so on average 18.5” is likely between 4 and 5lbs. They fight like a sheepshead more than anything else down south. Jack crevalles may fight harder lb for lb honestly but they swim outward. Blackfish dig down hard so they really put your rod bending to the test. 5: agree wholeheartedly. Appreciate you man 🤙🙏

[@JeffreyGuzman-j2q]

what kinda rod are you using brand and length? thank you

[@PeterRanieriII]

I put all the rod setups in the description,

[@kellyliang1194]

How can you tell whether is a female or male?

[@PeterRanieriII]

The males are grayer color, whiter bellies and chin. Females are brown and have a vertical pattern. Sometimes males have a yellow streak and 1 or 2 white spots also

[@anon-e-mouse988]

How old is your dad

[@PeterRanieriII]

Turning 70 in May 🙏