Deep drop suggestions

[BugEye Chris]

Looking for suggestions on rod and reels for tilefish
Rose fish and whatever else may live over 800 feet
I would like real life suggestions on what you use
Instead of go talk to Dave at the reel seat I have been
There and he runs an excellent business and has given
Me a lot of information not looking for electric anything
And don’t want to spend crazy money on a setup I will
Only use a few times a year
Thanks in advance
Chris

[Pauls1976]

I am not by any means an expert on this fishery but have done it a few times in various locations. The one thing I will say is you need to be spoiled with braid. The rod and reel can be anything your budget allows. Reel wise, I have used everything from old Penn Senators to Electric Reels including Torsa’s, TLD’s and Canyon reels. They all worked just fine. The rod should be stiff enough to handle double digit ounce sinkers but enough give to feel the bites. I know this isn’t a huge help but thought it helps enough letting you know you don’t need to break the bank if you don’t want to. IMO, if you have a set up that can handle winter sea bass, you have a combo that can handle nice water tile fishing. I am sure the guys who are hard core into this fishery could add more, add specifics and have their opinions.

I was out in the Hudson in December, I got bored drifting around with few bites. I used a Shimano Trevala rod, my torsa and tied a rig more like a ling rig with butterfish chunks for bait. I was trying for ling for bait, I filled the box with tilefish.

[Jigman13]

Bogan rods

[Dave A]

Originally Posted by BugEye Chris

Looking for suggestions on rod and reels for tilefish
Rose fish and whatever else may live over 800 feet
I would like real life suggestions on what you use
Instead of go talk to Dave at the reel seat I have been
There and he runs an excellent business and has given
Me a lot of information not looking for electric anything
And don’t want to spend crazy money on a setup I will
Only use a few times a year
Thanks in advance
Chris

Sorry Chris,
I did not realize my tackle suggestions were not "real life". I have bee n tilefishing since 2006 and average 30 - 35 days a year tilefishing and thought I had some idea as to what works and what doesn't...guess I was mistaken.

[BugEye Chris]

I apologize if I insulted you Dave that wasn’t my intent I was just
Looking for some info from other sources. Such as I know you would
Recommend reels with a medium gear ratio 4.5 to 5.0 to 1 but
After watching hours and hours if internet videos a lot of people out
There recommend higher speeds. You do spend a lot of time fishing
The deep and run an excellent business but at the end of the day I
Was looking for some other opinions

[Capt. Lou]

Any reason why ? Dave is very knowledgable and just set up,a very good friend of mine and after a couple of trips he said his suggested tackle was spot on !
in my opinion hi speed reels in that fishery make you work twice a hard , it's like two speed reels don't need em' !

[Garone Custom Rods]

Anyone who tells you to use a higher retrieve reel for deep dropping flat out DOES NOT KNOW WHAT THEY ARE TALKING ABOUT! 4:1 with a tall spooled reel is perfect IMO as you still pick up plenty of line and can turn the handle with ease. Some of my smaller reels that I use to deep drop are slightly faster ratio 5.1:1 (jdm saltiga 35N and Ocea Jigger 200NRPG) but i only use them with less weight or for jigging. Personally I like a rod that is softer than most because I fish J hooks.

Dave definitely gives advice based on real world experience on the water and has curated what he has in the shop based on that experience. A lot of videos you see with guys using higher ratio reels may be using what they already had or may have been sold on based on bad advice.

[SaltLife1980]

When 9 out of 10 guys tell you to talk to Dave, its for a reason....

[Meat Hunter]

I have the minimum for tiles. Ugly Stick BWB112080, Penn Squall 40 spooled with 50 lb. Power Pro....

Couldn't do one single trip this year with my schedule and weather.


Meat Hunter

[Ryelof]

I don't know if this will matter to you, but on my first tile trip, I borrowed a set up from Mike Garone. It was a Penn 113 reel with an 8' rod ( I don't remember the make of the rod) It was an amazing trip I think I caught 6 tiles to about 15 lbs. we easily limited out the boat. 2 guys were using electric reels, which made that possible. We switched over to tuna and caught an over and under blue fin and a couple of yellow fin. When we got home, I went to talk to Dave, at that time he suggested a Daiwa Saltist 40 reel (very affordable) and I took a class at Jersey Coast on rod building. So I ended up with a 8 foot custom acid wrapped rod with a reel that would hold 600 yards of 50 lb. braid for about $400. I have enjoyed this 4 about 6 years. However, I am now 64 years old and if I go again, I will buy an electric reel.