Go Deep or Go Home

The pros and cons of deep drop fishing

Part of the thrill of fishing for me is the feel of the fish on the other end of the line. There is both skill and chance in getting the fish interested in the bait, but once it is, the angler is the key factor in landing it.

I’ve fished from the Gulf Stream to small mountain streams and have come to the conclusion that a six-inch trout (about the size of the ballyhoo we use to troll for dolphin) is as much fun to catch as the larger species. What makes this possible is matching the tackle to the prey. A keeper yellowtail snapper (12”) puts up a heck of a fight on a lightweight spinning outfit. I’ve caught big dolphin with light tackle as well and each fish is a memorable experience.

Mac Travis tends to keep with this philosophy. In Wood’s Chase, he’s introduced to what he calls the dark side of fishing—deep dropping—by Pip.

Mac, and I, have deep dropped before, but this scene and my current experience were different for both of us. For Mac, it’s the first I’ve written about it. For me, it was the first time we did it on our own boat (a friend, the real life Pip, leant me the reel).

Deep Dropping, fishing the bottom in hundreds of feet of water, requires specialized gear. Most use electric reels with heavy line. The picture is the rig I used to catch the Snowy Grouper above. From the bottom up: a five pound weight, a chicken rig with 5 hooks (I used whole squid for bait), 120# leader, and braid line leading to the electric reel. It is expensive with the weight alone costing $25-.

The rewards are the size and quality of the fish. The meat of the deep-water bottom dwellers is top quality. The snowy grouper fillets are almost translucent. We caught a tile fish as well which is also superb meat.

That’s the good part. The bad is that deep dropping is not exactly sporting. Drifting over bottom structure is the common method and is akin to dragging a net. The rod, due to it’s weight and drag of the hundreds of feet of line plus the weight, is fished from a rod holder. A strike is indicated by observing the tip of the rod, then a lever is engaged and the reel starts winding in the line—and fish. It’s a long process, probably at least a couple of minutes to even check baits. A heavy fish can take much longer. By the time the reel brings the fish to the surface it is pretty much done, requiring little expertise to bring it aboard.

Mac and I share several other views on this kind of fishery. A main problem is the mortality rate of released fish. Descending devices, which release a fish at a predetermined depth are required, but there are no stats on recovery rates. This is made worse by the limits placed by the feds (most deep drop areas, and all in the Keys are in federal waters). Most species have one and two fish limits. That is good for the fishery, but there is no telling how many are caught and returned—and if these make it. It’s hard to imagine a fish brought up from 600’ live after being released.

We also don’t have data on the fishery. Deep dropping had been around for a long time, but only recently gained popularity with recreational anglers. Charters are careful about rotating their spots and not over fishing and area, but recreational anglers are notorious for fishing out a favorite spot. It will take years before it can be determined how healthy the fishery really is.