"Lest I forget, use sufficient sinker weight to hold on the bottom when there's a strong current running, as is often the case during the winter months. Many anglers use upwards of 8- to 10-ounce sinkers, so they can maintain their line perpendicular to the bottom. By keeping the line taut and straight up from the bottom, they immediately feel when a tautog inhales the green-crab bait and begins to crush it before swallowing it.

"Then it's just a matter of timing, to set the hook and -- with firm drag pressure -- get the tautog away from bottom debris that it can get tangled in if you have too light a drag."

By the way, John notes that anglers who visit the Sea Isle City area during the winter months pay ridiculously low motel rates, at $40 to $50 per night. He's pleased to arrange a trip during January and February when the tautog bite is hot.

Why in the world, you might ask, would anyone want to go fishing in the cold winter months?

Well, it's because the blackfish are such fine table fare. I much prefer catching the 2- to 4-pound ones.

I fillet the fish and skin the fillets. That gives me two generous portions, which my wife June turns into the most delicious seafood dinner you could ever ask for.

First, she coats a Pyrex baking dish with cooking spray and places the fillets in the dish. Next, she smothers the fillets with a homemade sauce made with mayonnaise, mustard and ground horseradish, adjusting the quantity of each ingredient to suit our taste. Then the fillets are broiled until they flake to the touch of a fork.

Served with a tossed salad, baked sweet potato and a side of baby lima beans, it's a dinnertime treat even veteran culinary chefs would find difficult to top.

While this fishing is fun, it can be very uncomfortable if you don't go forth properly prepared.

Capt. Charlie Eble of the 100-foot Doris Mae IV out of Barnegat Light advised, "Always bring more clothes than you think you'll need. You can always shed a layer or two if it's a pleasant day."

With that goal in mind, all the captains we spoke with while preparing this article suggested monitoring the Weather Channel before planning a blackfish junket. Avoid northeast winds of high velocity, as well as the prevailing winter northwesters.

Often after a couple of days of huffing and puffing, the winds blow themselves out, and you'll experience calm seas and pleasant temperatures that make for fishing fun.

I regularly wear a pair of long johns, loose-fitting trousers and a flannel shirt, topped with a hooked sweatshirt and hooded outer jacket. Insulated knee boots make for warm footing. And to finish off, I don a foul-weather suit. Most of these boats have heated handrails, but a pair of warm gloves keeps my fingers from getting numb when the temps are hovering around the freezing mark.

A warm woolen ski hat completes the outfit and keeps my ears from turning beet red!

All the boats that specialize in this wintertime fishing have comfortable heated cabins, with a galley that provides lunches from hot dogs and hamburgers to warm soup. Often I'll bring along a plastic container of homemade soup, which I love to prepare during the winter months. That soup warms me for an afternoon spent at the rail trying for bucktoothed blackfish swimming among the rocks and wrecks below.

As you know, blackfish usually offer plenty of action during the winter season. Hopefully, one or more will find the green crab bait on my hook!