By Tim Barefoot
I’ve written quite a few articles on the tactics I used to catch grouper on the edge and inside the edge with bait in a decoy jig in the past, but now is a good time to push out a little further to see what’s up in the 350 to 500+ foot depth range. This type fishing may require you to change gears on your thought process and/or tackle, but you may be pleasantly surprised with the results.
First off, you will want to use a spinning rod with backbone and a lighter braided line. I’m not going to suggest any tackle manufacturer for rod, reel or line, but the line in the jig is the most important part of this equation. I know this sounds crazy, but you can get away with braid, a small is 20 pound test connected to a short 6-foot shot of fluorocarbon leader, and catch the big boys from the deep. When you fish ledges, wrecks and rock homes, you have to use heavier tackle to coerse the grouper and big snapper out of the structure, but in the deep the fish tend to congregate around bait, and there is very little structure out there for them to get you in. The bait out there consists primarily of squid—the universal bait for all the seven seas of this planet, period. Squid are present at all depths, from the surface at night to their migration back to the deep by day; just ask any swordfish. Ha!
This deeper water fishing may also require a change in electronics. In order to mark the fish and bait you need to have enough power to send the signal and get a return. You can run all over creation trying to mark fish or bait in vast areas of water, but having the correct electronics will assist in this greatly. Once you start marking the blue-speckled screen on the bottom, you know you’re in squid. I’ve always said it, but when you find the bait you found the fish. Once you mark the bait, more than likely, it will be squid and it’ll be time to drop in the correct jig.
I’ve made several videos using the 4 ounce (soft plastic) Squid Jig, but I’ve also had a 6 oz. size made. A 10 inch mold crafted squid, trimmed properly, can be very effective at times. Fish like a champ on the 6 ounce headed down deep. The jig stays perfectly horizontal and jumps like the 4 ounce, and everything down there sucks it up. I’ll be publishing videos soon on this.
I’ll close with this: find the bait and you’ll find the fish using the correct electronics. Once you find the bait/fish, drop in the correct jig that imitates what they eat on a daily basis and you’ll get the bite.
And one more very important note. Pay close attention to the MPAs, which are marine protected areas, and seasons you can fish in them. You need to be well informed of where you are when you finish fishing and what you could put in the cooler. You have to play by the rules.
Check out Tim Barefoot’s YouTube channel and website, barefootcatsandtackle.com.
