I spoke with many veteran anglers and skippers along the coast. Many are of the view that the big blackfish get to reach their ripe old ages because recreational anglers never fish their primary residences. Indeed, divers I’ve spoken with have often told me of observing big blackfish year after year on patches of bottom barely the size of a car.

Just a few boulders extending up from the bottom, or a hulk of an old dory, or other debris on the bottom often provides enough forage to satisfy a big blackfish’s appetite.

Most of the party boats fishing the northern grounds throughout the winter had pool-winning fish averaging from 8 to 10 pounds, although a few fish weighing into the teens were landed.

Indeed, those tautogs over 15 pounds are the exceptional pool winners. Here, too, the skippers feel that the commercial pots and traps on key bottom areas off the northern coast have taken many of the bigger fish.

The waters from Atlantic City south to Cape May contain lots of prime blackfish-holding bottom.

Much of this water is miles offshore, where there is only limited fishing pressure during the winter months. I suspect this contributes to the southern area of New Jersey producing heavyweight blackfish regularly. Indeed, there are myriad spots that seldom see any fishing pressure at all.

While catching blackfish is fun and sure beats being a couch potato in front of the television set, the real delight is in the eating. I like to fillet and skin blackfish. I set aside those fillets we’ll be using immediately for dinner. Then I package the rest in meal-size Food Saver vacuum bags, which removes all the air from the bag, and freeze them.

This keeps the fillets in prime condition until my wife June is ready to prepare them for dinner.

She then makes up a sauce of equal parts of mayonnaise and mustard and just a touch of horseradish. The fillets are placed in an aluminum-foil-lined pan, smothered in the sauce and dusted with Parmesan cheese.

Fillets one half to an inch thick take only eight to 10 minutes to broil. You’ll know they’re finished when the sauce takes on a golden color and is bubbling, with the cheese turning a light brown. Serve them with a baked Idaho potato and a liberal helping of sour cream, with a side of broccoli with a butter and breadcrumb sauce, you’ll have yourself a midwinter delight that’s a super bonus after a day on the water.