Golden Tilefish out of Stuart 4/28 & 29

[Catch-All]

I took my POS out of Stuart on Saturday and hopped a ride on a friend's boat out of Ft Pierce on Sunday.

Saturday I got a 13 lb Golden Tilefish and a 5 pound schoolie dolphin out in gulfstream water.

Sunday the four of us limited out on GT's; I got a 5 pound Golden Tile after a long day on the water. The inshore bottomfish had lockjaw due to the cold water.

Mark
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100FFC

[krisis7]

What depth and technique/bait were you using to catch the Tilefish. I've been wanting to do this as well..

[Sailfish1]

While I am no expert, I have been increasingly fond of deep dropping.

I'm sure there are many techniques, but they all have one thing in common....DEEP water.

If you can find a ledge in 600+/- feet of water there is a good chance tile will be nearby.

Stout rod, electric reels are a plus.

Rigs consist of 300# mono, multi-hook (13/0-16/0 circle hooks), 4#-8# weights (or more depending on current), a light source.

Squid hangs onto the hook real nice, you can try other baits.

Try to hold the boat over your drop zone.

I have yet to work this theory out yet but rumor has it that the tile hang more toward the outer fringes, away from the hard stuff.

Serach the web for deep drop supplies there are alot out there

Good luck

[Catch-All]

I've been deepdropping for well over 3 years now. It's a lot of fun.

As for Golden Tiles and ledges? Maybe in other parts of the coast but not here on the east coast of Florida. They prefer mud bottom and avoid sandy or hard bottom like the plague.

One of the guys in my fishing club is a lead scientist for an oceanographic institute and he's seen Golden Tiles in their native environment from a submersible at great depths. He says off Florida where "Tiley Town" is flat, their burrows look like a bomb crater with a prairie dog hole in the middle of the crater and Mr Tilefish poking his head out waiting for a meal to happen by. Since they are in current, they will not swim up to grab prey but they will swim out, hugging the bottom. That's why it's key to have your tilefish rig as close to horizontal as possible.

One way to keep your rig horizontal is to have an 8lb stick lead onn the bottom of your three-hook chicken rig and a 3-4lb lead at the top of the rig where the snap swivel and strobe light is.

Good Luck,
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[Seth]

Your adventure sounds intriguing. Any chance you have any pictures of the tilefish?

[Catch-All]

D'oh! I forgot to post a pic. Thanks for the reminder.

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[Sailfish1]

Here's one

off or perhaps very near (the drift was strong that day) a ledge in 650' in south Florida.
We actually had a pair on; at 30' from the boat somehow another got off

[Seth]

Nice pics, thanks..

[Catch-All]

Sailfish - several things can happen that'll allow a tile to get off.

First, if your hooks are duller than a conversation with Al Gore, sharpen 'em up until they'll scratch your thumbnail. (on a separate note, the same goes for gaffs too.)

Second, tilefish have thick jaws. You have to allow them to bang! bang! bang! at a bait enough times til the hook's barb goes all the way through it's jaw and sticks out its cheek.

Third, while reeling up never ever give the fish a moments rest. Don't stop cranking. If you stop cranking it may allow it the chance to get off and any predators following it up to the surface will find it easy to grab it while it's stopped.

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