# CATCH-ALL 101 - Make Your Own Tile/Grouper Rig



## CATCH-ALL

I keep getting a lot of emails from some of y'all asking how to make a Golden Tilefish rig or Grouper rig. So to save duplication, here's a pictorial how-to. This rig works for both Grouper and Golden Tile. The only difference is for Grouper add a 40-60 lb breakaway line to the weight. The only difference for Golden Tile is add a smaller top weight to the snap swivel so the rig lays down. SHARPEN THE HOOKS TIL THEY'LL SCRATCH YOUR THUMBNAIL!

I've run dozens of seminars back when I usedto write fishing articles and after that when we had east coast Florida membership meetings of the 100 Fathom Fishing Club. How-To talks are sorta like show & tells but with beer & wings included. 

Here's all the fixins you need:










Closeup of the fixins, complete with labels:










Step 1 - Making the Main Leg:










Step 2 - Making the Dropper Legs:










Step3 - Adding the Bead, Chafe Tube, Crimp & Hook:










Step 3 - Closeup:










Voila! Just like a Ron Popeil infomercial, "It's just that easy!"

Catch


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## fy01CPO

WOW! 244 views and no responses!



Let me be the first to say THANKS for the info. I now have some questions because I have never used the swivel sleeves. Do the arrows you drew mean that is where you crimp them? Is that how they are attached to lines? I know these are elementary questions but I am still a little grasshopper! :bowdown


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## bluffman2

Mark,GREAT POST.............

1 question....whats the coordinates to that glow bead and snap swivelspot on the chart? oke


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## CATCH-ALL

> *fy01CPO (3/24/2010)*WOW! 244 views and no responses!
> 
> Let me be the first to say THANKS for the info. I now have some questions because I have never used the swivel sleeves. Do the arrows you drew mean that is where you crimp them? Is that how they are attached to lines? I know these are elementary questions but I am still a little grasshopper! :bowdown




Maybe lots of views and no replies is because I covered the subject so well no none had any questions left for me? LOL 

Yes, the arrows depict where you should crimp the sleeves. Good question - you are very observant, grasshopper! :clap



Catch


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## CATCH-ALL

> *bluffman2 (3/24/2010)*Mark,GREAT POST.............
> 
> 1 question....whats the coordinates to that glow bead and snap swivelspot on the chart? oke




Steve - ya don't wanna go there. Trust me. All thats good for is some flounder maybe. Its up north in YankeeLand.


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## CATCH-ALL

By the way, to get a glimpse of what the east coast guys have to put up with, picture #4 depicts the weights used for a light current day and picture #5 shows the weights necessary for a heavy current day. Not fun:doh but a great way to learn.

Catch


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## bill1000

Great post, Just one question. I live in Atlanta and need to order components on-line. Where do I find glow chafe tubes?

Thanks

bill1000


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## BIGRIGZ

I can see basically what's going on here, have a few questions:



What lb test is best?



Is the same lb test on the main line and droppers?



How long about is the main line end to end?



How far apart are the droppers?



How long are the droppers?


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## CATCH-ALL

> *bill1000 (3/25/2010)*Great post, Just one question. I live in Atlanta and need to order components on-line. Where do I find glow chafe tubes?
> 
> Thanks
> 
> bill1000


FinestKind.com (Stuart, FLA - my old stomping grounds)

J&M Tackle - Orange Beach, Alabammy

Capt Harrys - Miami FL

Do a Google Search on all three for their websites.


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## CATCH-ALL

BIGRIGZ (3/25/2010)I can see basically what's going on here, have a few questions:

What lb test is best?

*300-400 mono. I use 300 cuz I cant find swivel sleeves for 400.*

Is the same lb test on the main line and droppers?

*yeah, mainly for chafe reasons from the fishes teefus. Some feel that you should use 300 for main line and 200 for droppers in case of snags. But the problem is that by the time the 200 has broken off so has your braided fishing line and/or your rodblank.* :doh

How long about is the main line end to end?

*my arms' wingspread, which is 6.5 feets. It's Kentucky Windage, not rocket science.* 

How far apart are the droppers?

*about the length of my forearm. Seriously.* 

How long are the droppers?

*same again.*

*--------------------------------------------------*

I had my original Tilefish rigthat was <U>four years old</U> before I finally lost it. One of the droppers had been replaced because of chafe-thru but that was it. I lost it cuz I was deepdropping off Ft pierce on a friend's boat using his gear. His damn terminal knot failed at the swivel cuz he wasn't using an eight-wrap doubled UniKnot. Lost my Lucky Tile Rig(tm), dammit.:doh The guys on 100FFC were always busting my chops about that rig before I lost it - it was the most mangled up, gnarled piece of mono you ever saw but the thing caught Tilefish like crazy. 

Catch


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## BIGRIGZ

Great post CatchAll, Thanks a ton.


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## Bubba Squid

Sweet post Catch-All. Now that's how you post! Dude knows his stuff!


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## Pass Time

Thanks for the good info. Can't wait to get out deep and use mine ...and the new bull 1000


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## Chris V

> *bill1000 (3/25/2010)*Great post, Just one question. I live in Atlanta and need to order components on-line. Where do I find glow chafe tubes?
> 
> Thanks
> 
> bill1000


We also sell them here at Sam's in O.B.


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## fy01CPO

> *BIGRIGZ (3/25/2010)*I can see basically what's going on here, have a few questions:
> 
> 
> 
> How far apart are the droppers?
> 
> 
> 
> How long are the droppers?




My other fishing "master" also taught me when making droppers for other rigs that the length of the dropper, including the hook, should not be longer than the distance between each dropper on the main "backbone". If they are longer, there is a chance of a tangle between the two droppers and I can attest to that fact from some of the ones I made that happened too. I would say if you don't have a "Catch-All" forearm stick doh) just make sure the distances are as described. I don't know why they don't tangle when made the way I was shown, but they don't.


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## Chris V

I too keep the arms shorter with twice the distance between them as the droppers are long. Its all a matter of personal preference as well when it comes down to it but this system works for me. I make my drops a little longer than others do since it seems a tilefish needs that much longer to allow the hook to set right. Even so they are only about 10-12 inches long.


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## CATCH-ALL

> *fy01CPO (3/25/2010)*
> 
> 
> 
> *BIGRIGZ (3/25/2010)*I can see basically what's going on here, have a few questions:
> 
> How far apart are the droppers?
> 
> How long are the droppers?
> 
> 
> 
> My other fishing "master" also taught me when making droppers for other rigs that the length of the dropper, including the hook, should not be longer than the distance between each dropper on the main "backbone". If they are longer, there is a chance of a tangle between the two droppers and I can attest to that fact from some of the ones I made that happened too. I would say if you don't have a "Catch-All" forearm stick doh) just make sure the distances are as described. I don't know why they don't tangle when made the way I was shown, but they don't.
Click to expand...

I can understand your concern about the adjacent droppers entangling each other, becoming "chin-locked". I learned how to make this rig from a friend who used to be a commercial rod & reel fisherman off Stuart and he made a damn good living at it until he retired in the late 80's or so. Years back, I asked him why have the droppers "close" to each other. 

He replied that it's for several reasons - he said that often bottomfish become lazy when your drift is faster than 1 knot, whether current-driven or wind-driven. So you don't want to make the fish work too hard to swim up for the top hook on the rig (assuming the little peackers have already pecked the bait off the bottom hooks). He also said a fish on one hook can lure in another fish thats curious. While the newcomer is yelling, "Fred! Fred! What the hell's goin' on?", he sees or smells the next hook and nails it.

Do my hooks tangle each other up? Sure they do....maybe one drop in 20. To me the effectiveness ofthis rig makes it worth the risk of entanglement.

No one rig is the perfect one for every condition. Maybe make the rigs two different ways and see which one works best for you?

Catch


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## 1bandit

Mark, Have you ever tryed putting the heavy weight on top of a lay down rig and a small 1 pound at the bottom? Seems like it might lay on the bottom better in tile areas.


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## CATCH-ALL

You ask an interesting question, my young apprentice.

On the east coast with it's 2-6 knot current, the objective is to pile drive the weight into the marl mud bottom as hard as possible. While the rig is motionless on the bottombefore the current takes outthecatenary in the lineand itcomes taut, thats when the GTiles come out of their burrows and jump all over your shit. So that means you want the rigs initial touchdown to be the heavier weight at the bottom. I and many others have tried the heavy weight at the top and it wasnt as productive.

On the hard mud/gravel bottom we have over here in Gulf Tiley Towns, there may be structure mixed in that will rock up your rig. So before you'veprospected a GTilearea fully and know there's no structure there, you'll need to keep putting the heavier weight at the bottom of the laydown rig.

BUT once you're done prospecting and know there's no structure to hang up on, I dont see any reasonwhy you cant put the heavier weight at the top of the rig.

Hope this helps.

Catch-All / Emperor of Golden Tilefish


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## Bikini Bottom

*??*

Wow, thanks for this awesome information.. why do you need the two weights, do you want it to completely lay on the bottom and do you think the light really makes a difference... why wouldn't you use just a single heavy weight at the bottom of the rig?

Thanks for the info.


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## FenderBender

Bikini Bottom said:


> Wow, thanks for this awesome information.. why do you need the two weights, do you want it to completely lay on the bottom and do you think the light really makes a difference... why wouldn't you use just a single heavy weight at the bottom of the rig?
> 
> Thanks for the info.


 
I'm still pretty novice at this deep drop stuff, but from what I understand the golden tiles especially are very hesistant to go far off the bottom to get your bait. It does seem that almost every one I have gotten (most any fish actually) have come off the bottom hook. The reasoning with putting a weight at the top is that it makes all the hooks lie flat across the bottom so the fish don't have to work as hard and swim up. And yes, a light is really important. Its dark down there at 700 feet +


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