Packing line on my 114H/ElectraMate Combo?

[Capt.XXX]

Hi, I just came across this site yesterday and joined. very interesting stuff. I do quite a bit of tilefishing out of Long Island, NY, and will be outfitting an electric rig for deep drop tilefishing. I will be fishing in 400 to 600 ft of water and was thinking of putting 130 spectra on the reel. My question is how much line can I pack on this reel, and can you let me know which brand of line I should use?

My next question is how should I rig the hooks, I would like to fish at least 10 on the rig and was wondering if there are any tilefishermen in this forum that could help me out here.

Here is my last question, what is the LP light everyone is referring to and where can I get them?

Thank you,
Capt. Freddy

[jerry]

I think the 114 is the 12/0. If so, I pack 1500yds of 200lb powerpro on my 12's. The 130 may take a bit more to fill. Or you can use some cheaper backing like dacron or mono. I use primarily power pro or tuff line. There are a lot of brands out there. I stay away from the spectron as it very abrasive and will take some skin off your fingers.
I dont tile fish but i do a lot of deep dropping for snappers in the islands. I limit my traps to 7 hooks as this allows me to pick up the entire trap and weight at the same time without having to feed it out of and into the boat hand over hand. Something about circle hooks and fish in the water at the other end doesnt sit well with me should the tax collector (sharks) come along at the wrong time. I use 3 way swivels, most of my traps are built with single strand wire (again for sharks) and I use 150lb mono to tie the hooks to the third ring of the swivel.
I find LP lights a bit expensive just for deep dropping as we do lose a few rigs to snags and to sharks. Try the deep line lights that are clear and shaped like a cone. They are fairly cheap, about $6-8 apiece compared to 30-40 for swordfish type lights.

[Capt.XXX]

The 114H is the 6/0, like I said I'll only be working in 400 to 600 ft. I'm guessing it will hold about 900 yards of 130 power pro. Where we are catching the tiles you don't really get hung up on bottom as we aren't fishing the hard stuff and sharks shouldn't be a problem. My concern is that the tiles stay close to the bottom and my rig needs to stay along the bottom, so I really need to place weights on both sides of the hook line as opposed to just putting a weight at the bottom of the rig. I don't want the whole thing getting fouled up as I drop it down to the bottom either. For my rig I was going to use 400 mono and attach the hooks with those crimp swivels. The branches to the hooks would be crimped 150 pound mono with glow beads above the hook. I will also snap on a light as you suggest. For the rod I will convert an old sharking standup I made a few years back. I'm going to swap the butt for a standard bent butt and just fish it out of a swivel rod holder. I have both 15 and 30 degree swivel rod holders on my boat -- all of them have backing plates and my washboards are like 2 inches thick -- very solid. For weights I will put some shrink tube around 5 pound sash weights. I will let you know how this all works out. Right now I fish the tiles with a 4/o packed with 50 pound power pro and we fish a two hook rig with 40 ounce sinkers -- and we catch pretty good. We actually like tile fishing better than tuna fishing, and you can't beat the taste either. Thanks again.

Capt. Freddy

[quack quack]

Give Tek a call at reel pro shops 561-654-7873. He is the best and will help you out with any ? you may have. What part of LI are you from. Most of my tile fishing had the word tubs for tackle I,m from Montauk originally.

[Capt.XXX]

Hey Quack, I live in Sea Cliff, but I'm docked and sail out of Freeport. Years ago I used to do a lot of codfishing out of Montauk at Cox Ledge. We started Tilefishing a few years ago and really enjoy it -- but you have to know how to find the tilefish as they are not eveywhere. I was very fortunate to have been mentored by someone who taught me a great deal about catching and locating these fish. I will give Tek a call, and will post my results.

Thanks again,
Capt. Freddy

[quack quack]

Capt xxx good luck with everything. My dad used to run the Viking fleet in Montauk. I grew up on cox's ledge! The sword in my avatar was harpooned on cox's from the Viking Star in 1977.

[Capt.XXX]

I remember... The Viking boats use to keep harpoons up on the bow incase they came across swords or giants up on top. It's a shame what happened to the fishery at Cox Ledge. The fishing used to be GREAT! I just might try for Swords myself on a trip out to the deep. - Freddy

[Capt.XXX]

600 yards of 130 spectra will fit on a 6/0 -- I just came back from the shop now. I put my bent butt inplace, so now all I'm waiting for is my ElectraMate. I'll post a pic once it's all set up.

- Capt. Freddy