Deep Drop Fishing is a specialty type of fishing trip. Not many charter boats are set up for it. It is not for everybody. Some of the types of fish that may be caught deep dropping off Key West, FL are: Snowy Grouper, Yellow Edge Grouper, Warsaw Grouper, Queen Snapper, Vermilion Snapper, Silk or Yelloweye snapper, Blue Line Tile Fish, Golden Tile Fish, Rose Fish, Hake, Sharks, and many other denizens of the deep.

SNOWY GROUPER are caught deep dropping over scattered areas of hard bottom and structure. On the left Vaughan Spencer with Snowy grouper of 30 lbs and 16 lbs, plus blue line tile fish and rose fish. On the right is the local Keys 2007 Deep Drop Tournament winning Snowy Grouper of 49.2 lbs. YELLOW EDGE GROUPER are caught deep dropping over scattered areas of hard bottom and structure. Capt. Dave Lewis with Yellow Edge Grouper of 13 lbs 5 oz. and 8 lbs 7 oz. BLUE LINE TILE FISH is the largest fish in this picture at 13 lbs. 2 oz. (would have been the third place winner in the 2007 Deep Drop Tournament had it been entered, topped only by Golden Tile fish) and a mess of smaller ones, Snowy groupers of 5 lbs. 5 oz. and 3 lbs. 6 oz., and Rose fish in the 1-2 lb. range caught by Capt. Dave Lewis and Vaughan Spencer. HAKE like areas of sand, mud, hard bottom and structure. They average under 5 lbs and are excellent table fare with very white meat. ROSE FISH are generally in the 1-2 lb. range and are found everywhere in deep water in the Keys. They are not big but they are excellent fish for eating with very white meat. They have a lot of sharp spines so do not handle them without gloves or a towel. QUEEN SNAPPER average 5-7 lbs but can go over 10 lbs. and are excellent table fare like most deep water fish. This particular fish was from the local Keys 2007 Deep Drop Tournament but did not place since they lumped the snappers in the same category with the tile fish. GOLDEN TILE FISH IGFA world record all tackle is 59 lbs 3 ozs. This one was the winner in the local Keys 2007 Deep Drop Tournament at 39.8 lbs. DEEP DROPPING MIXED BAG WITH SURFACE DWELLERS Sometimes we run across surface dwellers as we are running to the good deep bottom spots so we will stop and hook a few. On this day Capt. Dave Lewis and Vaughan Spencer caught 5 Mahi-Mahi that were hanging around and old ice chest that was found floating then went on to catch Yellow Edge Groupers and Tile Fish deep dropping. DEEP DROPPING MIXED BAG WITH SURFACE DWELLERS AND REEF FISH On this day Capt. Dave Lewis and Vaughan Spencer caught a 21 lb. Mahi-Mahi that came to the boat while deep dropping and fell for a squid pitched from a 12 lb spinning rod. Snowy Groupers, Tile Fish, Rose fish deep dropping and Yellowtail Snappers, Lane Snappers, and Graysbys reef fishing. There were many more fish not pictured. The board will only hold so many... DEEP DROPPING GROUPERS AND TILE FISH On this day Capt. Dave Lewis, Susana May, and Vaughan Spencer caught Yellow Edge Groupers, Snowy Groupers and Blue Line Tile Fish deep dropping. Deep drop fishing is done primarily with a fishing reel that has an electric motor built into it along with a standard hand crank handle. The rod is relatively short and you fish it from a rod holder mounted on the gunnel of the boat. We normally only fish one rod at a time because when fishing on the bottom from 500 to 2000 feet deep two lines would constantly be getting tangled up with each other. For hardy souls in good shape deep dropping can be done with special rigged conventional tackle. If you are looking for world records you would have to go this route because electric reels do not qualify for world records. We have to use from 3 lbs. of lead up to 6 lbs. or more depending on the current and depth. We use a multi hook rig with circle hooks. The line is braid because it does not stretch and is very thin for it's strength. We typically use pieces of cut fish and squid for bait. The weather has to be very good and relatively flat. The higher the seas the more the bait pulls up off the bottom every time a wave lifts the boat. If it is too rough we will have to cancel the trip or do some other type of fishing. It is a rare day in the winter when the wind and seas lay down enough to be able to go but it does happen occasionally. It is best to have a window of opportunity to pick from, say a week's stay in Key West, to try and go the calmest day that is forecast. All fish that we normally catch has some sort of regulations affecting it. The regulations on Snowy Grouper is one per person per day. Warsaw grouper is one per vessel per day. Aggregate of all groupers is 5 per person per day. Anglers must have a current Florida Saltwater Fishing License. Click here to order yours online. We only run full day 8 hour trips for $800. The run to the fishing grounds is generally too far to do justice to a shorter day. We recommend a maximum of 2 anglers and only one person at a time deep drops. Occasionally if there is any fish activity at or near the surface and we have the proper baits with us other lines can be put out. There is space up front on the bow cabin roof for sun bathing if one or two non-anglers wanted to ride along. There is a lot more skill involved than you might think in using an electric reel. All it does is the winding in part. You must decide when to do that. Since there are multiple hooks on the line you have the possibility of catching more than one fish per drop. By feeling the line or the rod you try to figure out if you have a fish on for sure or are you just feeling fish nibbling at the bait? If you have one on and you decide to wait to try to catch more on that drop then you stand the chance of losing the one that you hooked first. Sometimes it is better to bring it up as soon as you know you have a fish so you know you won't lose it if you leave it down trying to catch multiple fish. (This also gives the other angler their turn quicker and more often.) The decision is yours and that is part of where skill is involved. It takes a sensitive touch to try to figure out what is going on say 650 feet away at the end of the line. We will be watching the fish finder bottom machine closely along with the GPS to put you on fish. The boat will always be drifting with your bait bumping along the bottom covering the fishing ground as the boat drifts with the current and wind. To check for available dates for fishing reservations click here. Deep Drop Specialty fishing Fishing Reservations Dolphin Watching Web Site Rates & Times Frequently Asked Questions Location Map Fishing Web Site Custom Charters Web Site Shipyard Condo Web Site For a Site Map of this Web Site click here.