Hi all,

I'm looking for some information on deep water bait fishing in the sea for species such as snapper and groupers etc. I want to put a couple of sets of gear together to fish 300ft to 900ft of water for these species. I suppose the biggest fish are in the 100lb grouper range as we will be fishing the Mediteranian.

My current thinking is for something like a Penn International 80 sized reel loaded with 80lb braid to minimise the ammount of weight required. Beyond that I'm thinking of something like a 50lb-80lb class stand up rod. does this seem on the right track for those in the know?

I'm also interested in what rigs are used to get a bait down to these depths? (especially at the deeper end of the scale) as I'm assuming the limited light means bait is better than artificials?

My main concern is that the rig can get a bait to the bottom without spinning it about and making it unfishable. Of course we'd be drifting over the marks.

Any hints would be appreciated.

BTW, how long does it take to get a bait down 500ft?

Rgds,
FB

The question isn't how long it takes to get down it's how can you get it back. To get down over 500 feet requires a lot of weight and some real work to get it back up. Consider one of the Dendoh type electric assist reels. If you want to stay manual don't get an international type reel. Too heavy and expensive. Two speed graphite lever drag reels can handle the stress of deep drop fishing and have the line capacity you need. You should try to get some more specific information about how deep you fish and how big the fish are before you make up your mind on expensive tackle. Deep drop weights are usually flat sided to avoid spinning. A three pounder will be ok to 500 feet, fives are better deeper, even with braid. Eighty pound braid is ideal, I use Spiderwire Stealth. If you do go for an International reel get one of the VSX models. They are made for braid. Even the 16VSX will handle 500 yards of 80 lb braid. The 30 probably would be better though. Shorter rods are best for this IMHO. A stand up rated for fifty should be ideal. A lighter rod with braid would make working the shallow end of your range a lot easier. Many rigs are suitable for fishing down to three hundred. Deeper is where you eally need to go heavy.

80# test mono is fine for tuna and billfish but is way too big in diameter when going straight down...any current will put a big bow in your line. Go with thin braided line when fishing up & down.

An electric reel drive on a Penn Senator is what most die-hard East coast US fishermen use.

http://www.captharry.com/product/Reels-Accessories-Elec...620XP/Reels/117.html

Most Grouper won't be down that deep !.

They prefer light dark zones 80-150 Ft. normally .
Also prefer caves or rocks reefs so a line like

spectra is premiere in my opinion as it's abrasion resistance is top notch . Spider Wire !.

A stand up rig with 80 lb. line is just fine .

A reel with a large handle is Ideal as it gives
a comfortable hand fit to minimize fatigue .
Best of Luck !!.

I used to fish with conventional boat rods, but find that jigging on them all day just wears you out. While we typically don't fish deeper than 200', the strong tides result in us using relatively heavy jigs and sinkers. I've had times where I couldn't hit the bottom in 150' of water using a 5# cod sinker! I simply waited until the tide stopped ripping to fish, 5# sinkers are no fun.

Anyhow, I've gone to a slightly lighter rod and line and find it works quite well. I use a seeker blue lighting 30# rod, 2 speed shimano tld 30 (avet mxl would be better), back the reel with 80# dacron and top it with 300 yds of 50# power pro.

The rod was plenty for bringing up this 40# ling cod, fortunately in only 100' of water



The and a 14 oz butterfly style jig was plenty when I kept jigging while we drifted over 300' of water. One of these days I'll have to try down at over 1000' to see if I can hook a black cod.