Bottom Fishing
Rigs, weights, baits, and tactics for sea bass, tautog, tilefish, and deep-drop species.
Descending Devices: Why They're Required, and How They Actually Work
What barotrauma actually does to a fish reeled up from depth, why a descending device is the SAFMC-preferred fix, the 16 oz/60 ft rule, and how to actually use one.
Chicken Rig vs. Knocker Rig: The Grouper and Snapper Breakdown
Two rigs cover most grouper and snapper bottom fishing — the knocker rig for heavy structure and the chicken rig for multi-species drops. Here's how each is built and when to actually tie one on.
Hogfish on Hook and Line: Shrimp, Crab, and a Chum Slick
How to target hogfish with rod and reel instead of a spear gun — fishing shrimp and crab tight to structure, and using a shrimp-head chum mix to pull them out of the rocks.
Cobia on Near-Shore Wrecks: Look for Sharks and Rays, Not Structure
How to find and catch cobia around near-shore wrecks — chumming structure to draw them up, and why the fastest way to find cobia is to find the sharks and rays they shadow.
Scamp Grouper's New Math: One Per Person, and the Rule of 3
South Atlantic scamp grouper regulations explained — the one-scamp-per-person limit, how scamp fits inside the 3-fish grouper aggregate, and the tilefish gotcha most anglers miss.
Black Sea Bass Rigs: What Actually Outfishes the Party Boat Standard
Hi-lo rigs, bucktail-teaser combos, and the details — hook size, weight, braid — that separate a limit of knotheads from a cooler of shorts.