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By Captain Ron Callis, Former World Record Holder - Great Northern Tilefish
Q: I’ve noticed that tile fishing has grown in popularity in recent years. How do you get started in this fishery? What techniques do you use? -Rick Wagner, Baltimore, MD
A: Tile fishing is a very precise fishery. These fish don’t move. They are resident fish that live in small groups inside cone-shaped burrows at the bottom of the ocean. They are very temperature sensitive and can be found all along the East Coast in 49 to 58-degree water. Golden tilefish, or Great Northern tilefish, live in 600 to 850 feet of water. I find blueline tilefish in 380 to 450 feet of water. If you want to fish deeper, you can hook blackbelly rosefish, a very tasty fish, in water greater than 850 feet deep.
Not too long ago, there weren’t many fishermen into tilefishing, and those that were didn’t do too much talking, but I was able to get a few coordinates of good tilefishing grounds from a local captain that started me on my way. It’s not easy, but it is extremely rewarding. It took me 4 years to catch my 1st golden tilefish!
The easiest way to get started in tilefishing is to get some good latitude/longitude numbers from a fisherman who has honed in on good tilefishing grounds. Good luck doing this, because, like I said, fishermen aren’t usually willing to give up their numbers, and rightfully so. It’s not hard to clean out a good spot if you get a lot of anglers fishing an area.
If you can’t get the numbers from someone, then you need to invest in a very good depth finder. I purchased the Furuno FCV 585 and absolutely love it. I can see the fish right on the bottom and it has a good bottom-lock feature that gives me good details of the bottom 15-feet of water, which is critical.
Having the tracking feature enabled on your sounder is key. Obviously, if you get into tilefish on your drift, follow the same track. Otherwise, just move your drift 25-feet until you get dialed in. I write down the latitude and longitude of every fish caught. I will also mark the direction of the drift. All of this helps me get the most out of every trip.
After you get a good sounder, then you want to get a good offshore chart and look for contour lines where the sea floor drops off, then levels off and drops off again. You also want to find locations with a green mud bottom. Most people don’t know that the type of bottom is marked right on the chart. Look for spots marked “gn M”.
Ideal conditions will be calm waters that allow you to get a nice, consistent drift. Minimum current, between .5 and .8 knots, is good since it allows you to use less weight. It should also be very sunny, since this pushes baitfish to the bottom.
As far as tackle is concerned, it depends on whether you are going to use electric reels or hand-crank reels. These fish are deep, but for the first couple of fish you can actually out crank an electric reel with a hand crank reel. However, this doesn’t last long. You will get very tired! Electric reels are also great when you are fishing a new area. You will be dropping a lot of times, looking for fish, so the electric reel definitely makes it easier. Remember, electric reels make your catch ineligible for a world record.
If you decide to use an electric reel, I would recommend spooling it up with 130 to 150 lb. braided line. I like the fluorescent yellow braid because it is easy to see. You will need the heavier braid because you will probably be using 5 to 6 lbs. of lead weight. I would put the reel on a bent butt rod with a swivel tip.
If you use a hand-crank reel, purchase a 2-speed, high retrieve reel and spool it up with 65 to 80 lb. braided line on it. I like the Penn 70 reel. You will need lighter braided line because you will use weight in the 3 1/4 to 3 1/2 lb. range. For the rod, any good stand-up rod will do.
Tilefish are not leader shy, so you can use heavy line for your leader. I like 300 to 400 lb. clear, hard leader. Momoi is my favorite. Your rig will consist of 3 to 4 hooks in the 9/0 to 13/0 size if you are going for golden tilefish, 5 hooks around 6/0 will do for blueline tilefish. Starting from your bottom weight, you will come up to a dropper loop with a 6-inch leader. Your leaders will be spaced every 18-inches until you have the appropriate number of hooks on your rig. The larger hooks will allow you to use a bigger wad of bait will result in larger fish being caught. I’ve found that 80% of your bites will come on the bottom hook.
Start fishing in 850 feet of water and work towards shallow water, 25 feet at a time until you locate the fish.
It is very important that you keep your rig constantly on the bottom. It can bounce very slightly, but you want to make sure you play out enough line to constantly keep your rig on the bottom, especially if you are drifting into deeper water. Sometimes, I will put a 1 lb. weight at the top of my rig to keep the rig parallel to the bottom. I will also attach the bottom weight to 60 lb. breakaway leader so if I do get snagged, the weight will break off the leader and I won’t lose my rig.
When you let your rig out, turn off the clicker on your reel and let it drop as fast as you can without creating a birds nest. It will take 4 to 5 minutes to hit the bottom.
For bait, these fish are bottom feeders so they will eat anything, but I like clams. They are soft and don’t interfere with the hook set. Loop the clam as many times as you can on your hook. You can even use a rubberband to attach it more securely. Other good baits to use are tuna strips or squid.
Finally, it is very important to practice good conservation methods when fishing for tilefish. These are slow growing fish that can be fished out very quickly. Golden tilefish were almost wiped out completely from 1979 to 1981. The fish we are catching now were babies back then. Tilefish are delicious, but you really don’t need a lot to have a nice meal. As with any fish, don’t take more than you really need.
Good luck.
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