# Deep Dropping questions



## jcasey (Oct 12, 2007)

Got the wife an electric reel for christmas and have a few questions.
What depth of water is considered deep dropping, over 400 feet ?
Are the rigs used the same as say the edge with a carolina rig or do you have the weight at the bottom like a mingo rig. How much weight do you start out with. I realize that current plays a factor. Does anyone anchor while deep dropping ? 
Thanks for any feedback.


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## Captain Jake Adams (Oct 3, 2007)

I would consider deep dropping anything over 400 ft like you said. It is one of my favorite types of fishing as you never know what you may bring up from the depths. I would suggest a mingo type rig with a 3-5 lb weight on the bottom. I prefer 4 hook rigs but anything between 3 and 5 seems to be the most popular. It seems to help to attach a light at the top of the rig as there is very little light down there. As far as the rig goes, we the bottom 3 hooks are 13/0 Mustads and the top one is a 10/0. I like having one small one on top in order to hook the longtail seabass and other tasty smaller fish. As far as places to fish, the elbow and steps contain many rocks and ledges. A good way to find them is to pull some wahoo lures around and watch your bottom machine. It doesn't take much to hold fish, as a 2-3 ft relief ledge can sometimes be on fire. A minimum of a 1000 watt transducer really helps to show the fish in these depths. Good luck and tight lines.


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## jcasey (Oct 12, 2007)

Thanks Captain Jake. wow, I didn't realize you would need so much weight or hooks that big. I guess I am just dreaming of getting to do this type of fishing. My Transducer is only 600 watts and I guess I would lose contact with the bottom from not having enough power ?


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## PaulBoydenCustoms (Dec 3, 2008)

If you know the spots are there you really dont need a 1kw transducer. I have a 1kw, some of my spots are so small and so deep they dont register. pick a nice calm day with as little current as possible, drop and wait for the bite


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## hjorgan (Sep 30, 2007)

We use electrics at the Edge in 200 ft with regular mingo rigs, just a 12 to 16 oz weight when we are on a meat run. Smaller hooks too, maybe 6/0. Quick way to fill the box with tasty mingos before we gear up for bigger fish.


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## Captain Jake Adams (Oct 3, 2007)

jcasey said:


> Thanks Captain Jake. wow, I didn't realize you would need so much weight or hooks that big. I guess I am just dreaming of getting to do this type of fishing. My Transducer is only 600 watts and I guess I would lose contact with the bottom from not having enough power ?


You are not dreaming at all, this is a fishery that is open to anyone but has a learning curve just like anything else. Your 600 watt machine should be able to read bottom just fine but may have trouble marking fish once you get over 600' or so. Just pick a calm day as mentioned above and go do some exploring.


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## Fletch Lives (Dec 12, 2011)

Joe, Lets plan a trip and we can both get out there together with both boats. Better safe than sorry that far out...

Fletch


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## jcasey (Oct 12, 2007)

Fletch Lives said:


> Joe, Lets plan a trip and we can both get out there together with both boats. Better safe than sorry that far out...
> 
> Fletch


 Sounds like a plan....Thanks,


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## Instant Karma (Oct 9, 2007)

It is huge fun. Use a light, "no light, no bite". Go to the elbow, drop in 650' or so and drift around. You never know what you will catch.

Some folks get hung up on the idea of not fighting the fish and using the electrics. Forget about that, its the only way. It will be a 100+ mile ride round trip. That's sporting enough for me.

Go by Sam's in OB and talk to Chris. He is a wealth of information and will share info freely.

You need to hang on to a wife who is happy with a new fishing reel..


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## recess (Oct 8, 2007)

Like everything mentioned above , listen to what Jake says he knows his deep dropping . There is a learning curve , but you just have to put your time in trolling around marking spots . Remember if somebody gives you a number that means they have it and it's been fished go find you a honey hole and have some fun! But I also must say don't overfisha spot grab 4-5 fish then move on to the next spot these fish grow very slow compared to inshore species and you can fish out a spot quick. 
Tim


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## Ocean Master (May 20, 2008)

3 hooks max and at a minimum 3 lbs. of weight. Most of the time 5 lbs. I use hooks around 10/0 and larger. I have caught more fish just drifting away from any relief found in 500 to 800 feet of water.


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## Chris V (Oct 18, 2007)

I found a lot of my spots by blind drifting around the steps and elbow. Over time you can acquire so many spots its impossible to fish them all. 

When I'm Grouper fishing, I usually use a 4 hook rig with 12/0 Mustad wide gap circles although most circles in the 11/0-13/0 size range will work. I sometimes build my rigs with two 12/0s on the bottom and two 8/0 circles on the top for longtail bass and barrelfish (like Capt Adams also suggested). The smaller hooks really help in the smaller mouths and they won't tear out as easy in the soft mouth of a Barrelfish. 

For Golden Tilefish, I go to bigger hooks and ridiculous sized baits. Tiles love big meals and they have the mouth to take it down. I'll use smaller hooks on some spots, but I have about 5-6 spots where the average Golden will be over 20lbs and I can cut out the smaller fish by using a huge strip of cut bait and 14/0-16/0 hook. I make my droppers a little bit longer for Tiles to aid in the hookset.

On any deep drop rig, don't be afraid to use heavy leader. I usually use 300lb and sometimes heavier. Like OM said, use 3lbs of weight minimum. I usually go ahead and throw a 5lb on and may even add weight if there is a strong current.

A couple things I'd like to add:

-You will commonly catch several species of Dogfish while deep dropping. The Dogfish have two very sharp, nasty spines in front of both dorsal fins. use a long handled dehooker to remove hooks and avoid grabbing them if possible. They are very flexable and will try curl their body to jab you with their spines, especially the one in the second dorsal fin. 

-Be reasonable on your take. As Tim mentioned, once you catch a few fish in a spot, MOVE ON! You will ruin your spots if you fish them more than a couple times a season. These fish are slow growing and are not extremely active. If you bomb a spot out, it may take a couple seasons for it to recover.


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## DreamWeaver21 (Oct 3, 2007)

Captain Jake Adams said:


> I would consider deep dropping anything over 400 ft like you said. It is one of my favorite types of fishing as you never know what you may bring up from the depths. I would suggest a mingo type rig with a 3-5 lb weight on the bottom. I prefer 4 hook rigs but anything between 3 and 5 seems to be the most popular. It seems to help to attach a light at the top of the rig as there is very little light down there. As far as the rig goes, we the bottom 3 hooks are 13/0 Mustads and the top one is a 10/0. I like having one small one on top in order to hook the longtail seabass and other tasty smaller fish. As far as places to fish, the elbow and steps contain many rocks and ledges. A good way to find them is to pull some wahoo lures around and watch your bottom machine. It doesn't take much to hold fish, as a 2-3 ft relief ledge can sometimes be on fire. A minimum of a 1000 watt transducer really helps to show the fish in these depths. Good luck and tight lines.


 This is solid advice. The only thing I can add is pick a calm day to do your "looking" trip dragging wahoo lures and watching the sounder. It is going to be hard to find 2-3 of relief when the boat is bouncing around in 2-3ft seas.

I also often get away with lighter weight (2-3lbs) but have used commercial gear with window weights as well. It goes without saying to use braid for the no stretch.

I haven't messed with lights so I can't say from experience whether they help or not but I don't buy the "no light, no bite" theory. Caught too many fish without lights for that to be true.


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## Chris V (Oct 18, 2007)

I wouldn't call "no light, no bite" a theory. For some of us, it's tried and true and I never deep drop anymore without lights. To each their own though and I'll always say if you're being successful, don't change a thing


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## Ocean Master (May 20, 2008)

As far as lights are concerned I always use lights. One trip we loaded up on nice Snowy's but forgot to turn the light on one of the rigs. I guess on that trip it didn't matter or the other lighted rig was enough to get them excited. The depth was at 600 + feet. We were using large disco lights.


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## jcasey (Oct 12, 2007)

Thank you to everyone who chimed in with their input. next step is for me to get out there on a calm day and spend the day riding around while pulling some trolling lures and hitting the MOB button whenever I see any relief. Thanks again.


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## recess (Oct 8, 2007)

that's the way to do it Jcasey. As for the light .......to each there own , I have tried the no light theory many on times and had a lot of trial and error over the years and there will be a light at the top of every rig I drop as well as glow loop connectors and beads.


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## jcasey (Oct 12, 2007)

One more question which is probably important, Is deep dropping good year round ? Does it matter if it is winter or summer because it is already so deep anyways ?


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## sealark (Sep 27, 2007)

I fished the deep water from Pensacola to Mississippi for 12 years never used a light. Caught tons of fish from 230 to 1200ft. They could help but no one used them years ago.


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## recess (Oct 8, 2007)

jcasey said:


> One more question which is probably important, Is deep dropping good year round ? Does it matter if it is winter or summer because it is already so deep anyways ?


 Year around yes.
DOes it matter what time of the year . = yes for better results


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## destincabo (Nov 4, 2007)

What kind of lights are using on the rigs? Cylume sticks? or LP sword lights?


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## Chasin' Tales (Oct 2, 2007)

jcasey said:


> Thank you to everyone who chimed in with their input. next step is for me to get out there on a calm day and spend the day riding around while pulling some trolling lures and hitting the MOB button whenever I see any relief. Thanks again.


If tilefish is what you want, you do not need a spot with relief. Tiles burrow in a mud bottom. My first time deep dropping I went out to the elbow and started ~500'-600' and drifted over featureless mud bottom. In three drops I caught this beauty:









Don't be afraid to pic a spot on mud bottom and start drifting here:









And yet something else to consider...GOM tilefish has been reported to have the highest mercury levels. It's not a fish that I would consume on a regular basis.


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## recess (Oct 8, 2007)

destincabo said:


> What kind of lights are using on the rigs? Cylume sticks? or LP sword lights?


Cylume sticks will explode at that depth so you have to go with a battery powered light , we like the large led ones that you can change out batteries.


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## sealark (Sep 27, 2007)

Come on tim...
Implode not explode


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## recess (Oct 8, 2007)

Potato potaato. That's what I meant. Implode.


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## jcasey (Oct 12, 2007)

Chasin' Tales - That is a nice Tile you got there. thanks for the info. I did not know that the Tiles were that full of mercury. So, they have twice the amount of mercury that a king may have... I know you would have to eat a lot of it to affect you but do they taste good ?


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## recess (Oct 8, 2007)

lots of mercury usually means yummy !!!!! goldens are among my favorites.


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## JoeyWelch (Sep 25, 2009)

recess said:


> lots of mercury usually means yummy !!!!! goldens are among my favorites.


I'm with Tim. You'll never see me let one go...Not on purpose anyway.

Some of the best eating you will get.


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## destincabo (Nov 4, 2007)

recess said:


> Cylume sticks will explode at that depth so you have to go with a battery powered light , we like the large led ones that you can change out batteries.


Thanks Tim. I was wondering if those cylumes could handle the pressure.


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