How to Bottom Fish in Saltwater
For an offshore fisherman, learning how to saltwater fish is useful and is a straightforward fishing method anyone can do. There are many kinds of fish to catch by rigging your tackle for bottom fishing; in Florida, common fish include vermillion snappers, groupers, and lane snappers.
About Groupers and Rigs
Interestingly, South Florida is known for some of the best grouper fishing on the globe. The fish has a hearty white meat and feed on shrimp primarily.
Regardless of the type of rig you use, the goal of saltwater bottom fishing is to get your bait to the bottom and attract fish by making that bait attractive to them. Thus, it is important to understand which baits appeal to groupers and to other types of fish you want to catch. An important note is that Fish and Game regulations require that you use circle hooks when you bottom fish.
How to Set Up a Fish Under Rig
One type of rigs for saltwater bottom fishing is called a fish under rig. It is by far the easiest one as you only need one weight, one swivel, and one hook. Plus, it only takes a few minutes to set up. The first step is to cut about 5 feet of monofilament of Fluorocarbon line, and then place a sinker on the line that goes to the reel.
Tie on the swivel next. Tie the 5-foot line after that. Use a 3/0-7/0 hook, which you tie to the end of the 5-foot line, and then add your bait. If you want to catch a reef fish, use shrimp or pinfish as your bait. Large grunts are another type of bait to use.
About Conventional Reels
If you use a conventional reel, keep your thumb on the spool so that your line doesn’t get twisted up when you drop your line to the bottom. Feel a bite? Just lift your rod’s tip up high and quickly reel in. As you will be using a circle hook, you won’t want to jerk the line as that can result in losing the catch.
Saltwater Bottom Fishing Videos