So what are your suggestions for bottom fishing in about 300ft. of water for snappers, aj's, groupers, etc. up to about 30 or 40 lbs? What I mean is, what would you use in the way of rods, reels, line, rigs, etc. Would love some help!
[signature]
Out on the West coast, we use a 6 1/2 to 7 foot medium to medium/heavy rod, 20 to 30lb test line with a single or double dropper loop. A #1 to 2/0 bait hook on each dropper loop with strips of squid. Depending on the current, you will need enough weight to keep your line fairly stable but allow for minimal drift on the bottom.
I usually set my loops at 12 and 24 inches from the bottom. You can generally get away with 8oz in 1/2 kt of current without too much problem. When you have 1 kt of current you can use 12 to 16oz of weight.
Out here we wont bother with more than that because the fish prefer to eat when the current is from .3 to .6 kts. Occasionally they will bite at the .8kt range but they wont bite well.
On the East coast the current is usually higher and the fish are used to it so you may want to start with more weight depending on the current. You can also make your dropper loops longer as they will drift in the current like a flag in the wind.[cool]
[signature]
Right you are Steve, we use mostly up sized tackle over on this side of the hill. The grouper get big over here. 30 lb line wouldn't last but a few seconds before you would fall victom to the sharp edges of the reef and the untaimable power of a big Grey. If I know i'm in a good hole for grouper, nothing but 80lb tackle will do. Most of the time, I also prefer an electric reel in that deep of water. I noticed that tubn2 didn't mention that, LOL, he's just trying to be mean. [
] After you reel in 2 or 3 fish that are 300+ feet down, you're going to start feeling a pain in your forearms and shoulders; sometimes in your back. 114HLW's work quite well though if you want to do it the hard way. I also like Shakespear Tiger Stick in a medium Heavy action. It's got a very sensitive tip for feeling the bites, and plenty of horsey back bone for hausing them out of the rocks.
If you're in a snapper hole, you can use a reel with a little less size, and a whole lot more gear ratio; which makes the retrieve a snap from the depths and it's not so hard on the back. I suggest a reel WITH a level wind in this application, hints you don't need such heavy line for snapper. However, if you wanted to upsize the line, this is a good situation to spool up a smaller reel with a tough braid line and a topshot of mono.
A hungry grouper will eat just about anything that is kicking. I prefer live cigar minnows freshly jigged up at the reef bouy.
While you're chasing the bottom fish, make sure and sling a live bait out on top attached to a balloon. This will be a good task for that level wind reel you have. You never know what's lurking around on top.
[signature]