# any tips on catching tilefish



## gigem87 (May 19, 2006)

Can anyone share some tips on how to catch tilefish?

I went to the swordfish seminar last spring, and we have tried deep drops a couple of times without success yet. Plan is to try it more this summer.

I don't remember hearing anything about tilefish at the seminar, but I was locked in on learning about trying for swords.

Where do I we go to target tiles? Same areas as swords? How is the terminal tackle setup, and what bait?

I know our bottom machine setup is a limiting factor. If I have to see fish on the screen to catch them in 1600+ feet of water, we are going to have a problem.

Any tips would be appreciated. It would be nice to have a backup plan in the event our quest for a sword continues to not bear fruit.

Thanks.


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## Lippy (Mar 22, 2011)

Have a lot of line! 

900'-1200' on a muddy bottom (basically anywhere). Cut Squid works well for bait. We cut up the leftover squid that get slashed up by swords. JB offshore tackle has tile rigs already made, just add a couple of weights to each end and some lights and your ready to fish. No light, No bite!


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## teckersley (May 25, 2004)

Your bottom machine won't help a darn bit on tiles, no matter how much you spend on it. Thats the good news. The bad news is that tile fishing just takes time. I learned from one of the best but still had to study bottom to find areas of potential then put in the time on the water. Sometimes you get lucky immediately and sometimes you have to search. Tiles are colony dwellers, once you find them, they are there every time. I have caught them from 650' to 1,500'. Just don't overfish a particular spot. Spend the time to find several. Yes, drifting and bottom bumping in the sword areas is a good start. You will also find other great species along the way like yellow edge grouper, Barrel fish, and oilfish. Your best investment will be an electric reel as you probe the bottom. For tiles, yellow edge, and barrel fish, you don't need a super high dollar electric. The Tanacom Bulls work just fine. Make sure you have a light and/or glow on the bottom rig. Its not totally necessary but I can tell you it WILL improve your chances greatly.

Good luck!


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## AirbornXpress (Sep 27, 2006)

*Listen to this*



teckersley said:


> Your bottom machine won't help a darn bit on tiles, no matter how much you spend on it. Thats the good news. The bad news is that tile fishing just takes time. I learned from one of the best but still had to study bottom to find areas of potential then put in the time on the water. Sometimes you get lucky immediately and sometimes you have to search. Tiles are colony dwellers, once you find them, they are there every time. I have caught them from 650' to 1,500'. Just don't overfish a particular spot. Spend the time to find several. Yes, drifting and bottom bumping in the sword areas is a good start. You will also find other great species along the way like yellow edge grouper, Barrel fish, and oilfish. Your best investment will be an electric reel as you probe the bottom. For tiles, yellow edge, and barrel fish, you don't need a super high dollar electric. The Tanacom Bulls work just fine. Make sure you have a light and/or glow on the bottom rig. Its not totally necessary but I can tell you it WILL improve your chances
> 
> Good luck!


great advise, this man knows the bottom out yander.


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## Trouthappy (Jun 12, 2008)

I had the state record for about 20 years. We just stopped in 1100 feet of water and I let drop down five baits on circle hooks. With an old window sash weight. We knew the bottom was sloping, but that's about all. South of the Flower Gardens a few miles. After a little while I cranked up four fish on manual gear, and then we cruised off. The biggest weighed 21 pounds. We documented the biggest fish with TPW and then cooked it at my house in Beaumont.


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## Fisheramen (Jun 28, 2010)

Trouthappy said:


> I had the state record for about 20 years. We just stopped in 1100 feet of water and I let drop down five baits on circle hooks. With an old window sash weight. We knew the bottom was sloping, but that's about all. South of the Flower Gardens a few miles. After a little while I cranked up four fish on manual gear, and then we cruised off. The biggest weighed 21 pounds. We documented the biggest fish with TPW and then cooked it at my house in Beaumont.


Whoa. Hats'off, thats killer.

We hand-cranked up a couple just for grins last trip...~990' of water...and then went back to the electrics.


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## Captfry (May 21, 2004)

Tile fishing is a great time to eat lunch. Find a mud bottom in 900-1200'. Drop two rods with JB's 5 Hook "Tile Fish Leader" weights at both bottom and top (lighter on the top) with small chunks of squid. Drift the slope and eat! 10-15min later start reeling!!! Secret, keep it on the bottom!


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## gigem87 (May 19, 2006)

Great stuff guys, thanks

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk


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## Trouthappy (Jun 12, 2008)

Here's a picture of my tile record. Back then nobody fished for tiles. I used a bicycle rig to crank it up, so I think it was kept in the unrestricted record division. That boat is _Hannibal _out of Port Arthur. We made five-day trips way offshore and never saw another fishing boat. It seemed like a month out there. One trip we had 8-9 species not listed with TPW, like red hind, yellowedge, yellowfin grouper, marbled grouper, horseye jack, tile, graysby grouper and black jack. We only claimed the yellowfin grouper and the tile as record, the crew didn't want to mess with any more paperwork. Here's the red hind in the right photo, taken at midnight at the Flower Gardens. Should have had that one mounted; we didn't even claim it for a record.


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## Tiny (Dec 19, 2006)

Nice Fish TH!


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## cadjockey (Jul 30, 2009)

Why use five-hook rigs? Just curious. Our low catch rate on the top hooks plus the added pain of dealing with five hooks flying around beside the boat led us to making and using only three hook rigs years ago.

Aside from that, start your prospecting anywhere on the slope of the shelf with a mud bottom in 800-1200ft of water. Drop a rig with a 6-7# sash weight on the bottom end and a 2# weight and strobe on the top end. Weight will vary with current/drift speed. Cut bait or squid works fine for bait. No need for a rig that is strong enough to lift a car either. There are few hangs on mud bottom and tiles don't fight much, particularly after you get them about a third of the way off the bottom. Drift slow and keep the line as vertical as practically possible. You must maintain bottom contact with your baits or you are ******* in the wind. And don't waste you time tile fishing at night.

That's a nice grouper pic Trouthappy.


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## gigem87 (May 19, 2006)

Question... do I rig the sash weight to drop off when the bait hits bottom, or do I need it to stay attached to the bottom of the rig?

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk


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## teckersley (May 25, 2004)

gigem87 said:


> Question... do I rig the sash weight to drop off when the bait hits bottom, or do I need it to stay attached to the bottom of the rig?
> 
> Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk


Leave them on there. When you find them it will be a lot of up and down.

I agree. 3 hook rig max. I actually build my own with just 2.

We are headed out this weekend to put some in the freezer.


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## ML56 (Dec 30, 2008)

I'm going with Integrity1 to damage the tilefish, watch the video I posted in this thread
http://2coolfishing.com/ttmbforum/showthread.php?t=793777
and you can see how we make our bottom rigs. I do not use the two weight system, just a 4-5 lb weight on bottom and keep contact with bottom during drift. We can actually see our bites(even at 1400') with the tightline set up, and catch plenty tiles.Here's a good one from Trev's boat-Mike


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## mredman1 (Feb 4, 2007)

*Red hind*

That is the most spectacular red hind I have ever seen!

Mike


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## CHA CHING (May 21, 2004)

We use JB Offshore 5 hook rigs. Lights and weights top and bottom. Keep it dragging. I scope out depending on the drift speed. Sometimes we will bump the boat in and out of gear to slow us down a little.
Tile fish are all over the shelf out there. Once you learn what the bigger fish like as far as bottom you will replicate it in many areas. I have a 3 KW Simrad chirp sounder and yes I can see what I'm catching in 1100 ft.


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## Klesak1 (Aug 29, 2012)

that is an awesome screen shot of your sounder.


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## ML56 (Dec 30, 2008)

Klesak1 said:


> that is an awesome screen shot of your sounder.


x2, but somehow GPS numbers not on there(lol) atta boy Cat. Jeff nice pics:cheers:-Mike


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## teckersley (May 25, 2004)

CHA CHING said:


> We use JB Offshore 5 hook rigs. Lights and weights top and bottom. Keep it dragging. I scope out depending on the drift speed. Sometimes we will bump the boat in and out of gear to slow us down a little.
> Tile fish are all over the shelf out there. Once you learn what the bigger fish like as far as bottom you will replicate it in many areas. I have a 3 KW Simrad chirp sounder and yes I can see what I'm catching in 1100 ft.


Dang Jeff. I stand corrected. Is that sounder view of confirmed tiles? I have never been on any boat, any depth where we saw tiles on the sounder. Even CHIRP. Must be that high dollar transducer making the difference. If so, I may have found the next upgrade. Congrats, those are some nice fish.


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## oltexboots (Jun 12, 2014)

Tilefish were discussed in great detail at the swordfish seminar this spring. I spent the entire day there, learning everything I could...have been out five times now and I've had great success...so here is what I walked away with...2 hooks or 5 hooks, they have to be spaced so they don't tangle. Ryan at FTU on I-10 makes some really nice rigs, but they are pricey. Weight...you want two weights something 5-7 lbs on the end, something 2-3 lbs on the front.(attach your weights with 30lb mono..if they get hung you allow them to be the weak link in the chain to break away.) Your rig must get to the bottom and stay on the bottom... lights are a must. I run a big deep drop light at the base of my main line, and a diamond light between each hook. Use the most expensive materials (ie line, hooks, swivels, and crimps possible!) Prior to Ryan's leaders I straightened out hooks that I thought were good...the next time out I found out those hook destroyers were grouper. window sash weights or rebar weights work well...lead has become too $$$$ to use...we self limit ourselves to five fish each...some say there is a limit, some say there is no limit...but on my boat I like to come home with a nice mixed bag of fish. Tilefish have a great flavor, I gut them quick, put them in big plastic bags and get them on ice as soon as I can. I have caught tiles at night, catching is much slower, and many 1/2 eaten fish will be brought up. One other item to share...someone mentioned the Diawa 1000 electric reel...if tile fish were the only critters down there it worked fine, however I burned up my new Diawa 1000 trying to bring up a grouper. My workhorse is now a Penn130vsx, with the dolphin electric conversion(see pic above-the day I unboxed it), on a custom "Savage" deep drop rod. And yes, it could lift a big block chevy off the bottom in a couple thousand feet of water. (However, I met a guy that hand cranks a big old senator to bring up the tile),...1000-1400 ft of water is where I have found the tile... and for most guys that is over 8 minutes of cranking(and that is a long way to check bait, so I continue to run 5 baited hooks..) like anything there is a balance between luck and skill...Good luck


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## cadjockey (Jul 30, 2009)

A diamond light between each hook,breakaway weights,and high dollar leader material for tiles? Wow, that's all kinds of jacked up. Was the guy that taught you this rigging method sponsored by a company that sells deep drop lights, another that sells e-reels and heavy mono, and perhaps another that makes rebar weighs? Take the blinders off dude.


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## saltaholic (Feb 19, 2005)

So what kind of bottom do the larger tiles prefer? 
Sloped?


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## ML56 (Dec 30, 2008)

Here's where I found the answers to many of the questions being asked in this thread. Good read, lots of info, research $$$ spent to get to the science of it. Most is related to east coast studies, my finding is they inhabit same type structure/areas here. When your eyes glaze over with all the data, stop and have a beer, set it down a while and pick it up later!-Mike

http://www.nefsc.noaa.gov/publications/tm/tm152/


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## broadonrod (Feb 26, 2010)

cadjockey said:


> A diamond light between each hook,breakaway weights,and high dollar leader material for tiles? Wow, that's all kinds of jacked up. Was the guy that taught you this rigging method sponsored by a company that sells deep drop lights, another that sells e-reels and heavy mono, and perhaps another that makes rebar weighs? Take the blinders off dude.


Just catching up on a few post here. Been in Costa Rica for a few days and headed back tomorrow trying to pick out Booby Trap II.. Man it has been a blast. 
This is a pretty cool thread. 
Look for the next issue if Gulf Coast Mariner Magazine. The July issue has an article (5-6 page spread) on deep dropping for tilefish, grouper and barrel fish. I think it looks pretty good.

As for the guy at the swordfish seminar. That was Preston. Preston has fished with us on the Booby Trap and also makes his living catching tilefish and grouper. He was kind enough to share his tips and tricks even as a commercial fisherman. I would say if he likes multiple lights I may be adding some to our leaders.. That guy catches a lot of fish ..

Here is a shot from last trip. The fish on the top are barrel fish the fish on the right are large tilefish. 5 drops produced 7 tilefish 20 to over 30 lbs. there are more big tiles down there than you would think. There are some tricks to catching them. And the big ones will come off the bottom as high as. 200'. Squid is best but other baits work. Looking for big tiles is like anything else. Target them fish are pretty stupid and electronics make it easy. Don't overthink fishing . It is rare for us to ever catch tiles deeper than 1350' but we have seen a few at 1400+.

Find any slop from 1000-1200' down current and you will prob find your tiles. The really big tiles 40 plus lbs will most often be solo and out of or above the large schools feeding. 40 lb tiles are not that rare if you fish for big ones. 5-30 lb tilefish cover the bottom and prob the easiest most aggressive deep water bottom fish to target in the gulf. The better the structure rock to mud the better chance at bigger fish. Get away from heavy targeted areas and find a better chance at big tiles..

Just an opinion.... 
Hope to see everyone out there this week we are not going to make it out until I get back in the states. Hope to head out Sunday.. Don't forget to try and pick up the Gulf Coast Mariner Magazine.. It has diagrams of leaders and pics of bottom structure.. They did a good job on it..  Capt. Ahab / Brett Holden

Picture is Furuno Navnet 3D with 3 K Transducer ..


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## saltaholic (Feb 19, 2005)

Thx Brett- I appreciate that info.

Quick question.... What is the preferred depth for yellowedge grouper? I have caught some randomly but can't tell if I'm too deep to catch them consistently?? Or maybe the grouper like structure more??


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## CHA CHING (May 21, 2004)

saltaholic said:


> So what kind of bottom do the larger tiles prefer?
> Sloped?


So what steep slopped bottom. Clay shells along a ridge or break. We always have sticky clay on our weights.


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## broadonrod (Feb 26, 2010)

400-1000' on the yellow edge. They will move on you from side to side on high spots and usually best on the rim more so than the very top. We don't catch many any deeper than 1000'. Those are some good eating suckers!


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## broadonrod (Feb 26, 2010)

CHA CHING said:


> So what steep slopped bottom. Clay shells along a ridge or break. We always have sticky clay on our weights.


I like solid rock to mud/ clay.. We look for solid hard rock at pretty steep areas. Lots of times you have to drop deep off the spot and drag the baits back into the bigger fish. Many times the bigger tiles will come up way off the bottom to feed when the small ones will not. The bigger tiles we caught last trip were about 50'-80'off the bottom and the 10 lbers where solid below them. 
It took us several drops to figure a rout out of the barrel fish. The last drops produced the big tiles.


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## broadonrod (Feb 26, 2010)

This picture is before tuning in on the tilefish but you can see me marking them with the bottom line. Look at the tiles coming off the bottom feeding.


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## Klesak1 (Aug 29, 2012)

I had one 40" tile last year and he was 50' off the bottom. Last time out we could not keep the barrel fish off. No matter what we did. Tried on the bottom and up off the bottom. That spot was covered up.


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## broadonrod (Feb 26, 2010)

Sorry I hit the wrong pic .. Those were swordfish


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## Gluconda (Aug 25, 2005)

Looking to rig up for tile and wanted to know what your thoughts about these lights from Ebay?

Guy said they are good up to 2500ft.


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## [email protected] (Jun 27, 2012)

Preston was top notch at the seminar! Between that info, and the info Brett just gave, you should be tight as a tiger. Good stuff on here


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## Lippy (Mar 22, 2011)

broadonrod said:


> Sorry I hit the wrong pic .. Those were swordfish
> View attachment 1442713


How many people went back to page 3 to check out that pic of the swordfish marks? I DID! :biggrin:


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## Toledo (Mar 6, 2006)

Gluconda said:


> Looking to rig up for tile and wanted to know what your thoughts about these lights from Ebay?


I find most of those little diamond lights to be the same. Some places just charge more for them or put them in a different package. They work well enough but some of them will flake out on you. Sometimes you get one that wonâ€™t turn off, wonâ€™t turn on after one use, or sometimes the insides will be shattered making them dimmer than the others. Donâ€™t expect more than one or two uses out of them but thatâ€™s fine at that price. They catch fish for sure.

Just attach a 4" peice of assist cord beforehand and loop it over itself at the swivel.


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## Klesak1 (Aug 29, 2012)

Lippy said:


> How many people went back to page 3 to check out that pic of the swordfish marks? I DID! :biggrin:


I have looked at it a couple of times today!


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## ATXSalty (Nov 5, 2010)

*1k ft down over mud.*

My first time for tiles - last weekend in May after we limited on AJs. Ended up with 8 with a bonus grouper and barrel. Time intensive. Glad to check it off the list. Maybe the only Selfie with a Tile ; )


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## POC Transplant (Feb 26, 2008)

Ernest, don't be giving away the secret spot!


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## ATXSalty (Nov 5, 2010)

The bean bag is my secret spot.:brew:


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## Charlietunakiller (Jan 30, 2013)

lippy said:


> how many people went back to page 3 to check out that pic of the swordfish marks? I did! :biggrin:


 i did too! :d


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## broadonrod (Feb 26, 2010)

Gluconda said:


> Looking to rig up for tile and wanted to know what your thoughts about these lights from Ebay?
> 
> Guy said they are good up to 2500ft.


There are tons of knock offs out there. I have bought a few my self. Many have copper wires that corrode very fast. The cheaper ones I have found were around 4 for 20.00 they busted on us or the batteries were so week compared to the LP brand we never bought them anymore. LP diamond strobes are the best. They are super cheap and last a long time. Ours have lasted longer on average than LP advertises.. Green, white, blue and multi color are all good. We really like the multi color lights but they stay on continuously so the battery life is not quite as long a the strobes. The LPs seem to be the brightest also. We have never had one break even under pressure to 2500' and fish them every trip to 1800'... Brett


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