Tilefish information
Question
Rich,
I read your response on tilefishing and you seem to know a lot about it. My guess is that you did this in the NY area. I'm trying to find more information about my area Ocean City MD, but the information out there is limited. I have a lot of ideas on rigging, but location seems to be a mystery. Reefs and wreck don't seem to be listed on any charts. Any ideas on where to start?
Thanks,
Eric
Answer
-Eric
You are correct about my experiece being in the NY area. From what I have experienced, combined with what I have read about tilefish, they have a very limited natural range based primarily on depth. They live along the slopes of the continental shelf. I did my tilefishing in 400 to 600 feet of water along the edged of the Hudson Canyon that lies some 80 miles Southeast of NY city. Wrecks and specific structure were not considerations in finding these fish. I also fished deep water wrecks and rock piles for cod and polack, but never encountered tilefish on any of them.
My suggestion is to study a chart that shows the Hudson Canyon and look for a similar configuration along the continental shelf near you. Just remember that we did not fish in the canyon, but along the edges. Tilefish seem to have found a very specific ecological niche. For whatever reasons, maybe temperature, amount of light, pressure, or something else, tilefish live in those 400 to 600 foot depths.
Please let me know if you how you make out in your efforts.
-Rich
Full Moon
fishing for tuna in nj from a small boat...