bottom fishing

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  Saltwater Tilefish

  2022, Tilefish - Bottom Fishing Techniques

  Catching tilefish is one of those things where once you know the basics, it just gets easier. That's not to say you are going to catch tilefish every outing, but your chances certainly increase. This is bottom fishing at it easiest. I say that because tilefish live in burrows dug into the thick muddy bottom. With virtually zero chance of getting your tilefishing rig stuck in the mud, you can remove concern of getting snagged. Your biggest challenge will be contending with the current and keeping bait on your hooks. Let's not joke around, bottom fishing is challenging. You can make it a lot less of a challenge if you have a good handle on the basic mechanics of dropping heavily weighted bait rigs hundreds of feet to the ocean bottom. A great way to level up your bottom fishing skillset is to learn from experts. This In The Spread fishing video features Captain Chad Raney, owner of the sport fishing vessel Old Hat. Chad has been fishing the waters off of South Florida for many years. He is arguably one the most successful fishermen in the area. His ability to make everything seem so simple is due to the fact that he has distilled his approach to fishing down to the most basic fundamentals. There is no reason to complicate yourself and what he teaches in this tilefish fishing video is just that. How do you find tilefish, how do you fish them, what fishing tackle do you need, what baits work best and what goes into dropping baits six hundred or more feet to the bottom and drifting them along until you get a bite? Chad will explain all of this, show you his rods, reels, rigs and discuss how to either manage or create current to give your baits a little action on the bottom. If you are not all that familiar with the golden tilefish, it is one of the most unique in appearance and delectable in taste. The meat of a tilefish is combination of grouper and lobster. It is dense, flaky and white. The flavor is sweet, being one of the finest eating fish in the sea. Since tilefish live in a very defined area, your first task will be to locate the muddy bottom that runs just offshore. Some fishermen know the depth to operate in and just go there, while others who know still use their bottom machine to pinpoint good bottom.

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  Saltwater Red Snapper

  2021, Bottom Fishing for Red Snapper

  When you start your day bottom fishing, you can never be for sure what may be waiting for your bait down below. It could be red snapper or it could be grouper or some other species. The one thing to do is drop baits and see what eats. The fish you reel up will tell you a lot about what\'s around. Snapper tend to hang with other snapper and grouper tend to hang with other grouper. Now, it is certainly possible to catch both on the same spot, but you have a good chance of catching multiples of a species once the bite starts. The tactics for bottom fishing red snapper closely parallel those for grouper. If you want to know more about setting up drifts and drift management, check out our Bottom Fishing Grouper video. We go into much greater detail in that fishing video. The processes are the same for both fish. Structure is the common denominator when bottom fishing for either red snapper or grouper. Once you find good hard bottom, rest assured that these two species will be close by. If you are using your bottom machine to mark hard bottom, don\'t worry if you find it and there are no fish marking. They are there. The best thing to do is drop baits and see if you get bitten. More than likely you will. This In The Spread Bottom Fishing for Red Snapper video gives you a quick run down of rigs, baits, fishing tactics, drag management and fish preservation.

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  Saltwater Grouper

  2021, Bottom Fishing for Grouper

  Bottom fishing for grouper is all about being over the right type of sea floor structure. Off the west coast of Florida lie some of the most productive bottom fishing grounds in the Gulf of Mexico. For the fishing we cover in this In The Spread fishing video, we will be in 150-200 feet of water. We will be dropping from our boat as we use the current to drift across targeted structure. This structure is made up of a combination of natural reefs and wrecks. The reef consist of a series of both high and low relief limestone ledges and pinnacles. Kevin Adney, our featured instructor for this video, has fine tuned his bottom fishing program over many years. He has a very simple approach to bottom fishing for grouper and snapper. The most technical part of this type of fishing is drift management. Kevin will share his knowledge and experience on all aspects of his style of fishing, so you can go out and have the same level of success as he enjoys. The beauty of bottom fishing is that you never know for sure what may take your bait. You could very well hook Vermillion Snapper, Mangrove Snapper, Lane Snapper, Red Snapper, Gag Grouper, Scamp Grouper, Red Grouper, Amberjack, Kingfish, Cobia or sharks. While we set out to target red snapper, we quickly found ourselves on a really good grouper bite. Once you have a clear understanding of what\'s biting, you can then dial in your offerings. So, this video primarily covers bottom fishing for grouper.

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