GO DEEP, AND I MEAN REALLY DEEP!

You will hear smallmouth anglers talk about fishing Lake Ontario or the mouth of the St. Lawrence and taking fish deep- in 50-60 ft. water. Anglers on NY’s Lake George fish smallmouth down to 80 ft.  Fellow bass anglers gathered at the bar all nod their heads in agreement, “yep, that’s deep”. So why is that guy at the end of the bar laughing? “He hunts Tilefish offshore,” the bartender informs them. At this point most bass anglers are scratching their heads asking “What’s a tilefish? “

Tilefish live at the bottom of the ocean, hiding in crevices and ledges waiting for lunch to swim by. An area hospitable to tilefish often resembles an undersea Pueblo village. They generally stay on or near the bottom, relying on their keen eyesight to catch their prey. If approached, the tilefish quickly dives into its constructed labyrinth. The name "tilefish" comes from the scientific name Lopholatilus chamaeleonticeps, meaning resembling the crested tilus, or head of a chameleon because fleshy crests sprout from their blocky heads. Fishermen shortened the name to "tilefish".

Due to their culinary properties, tilefish have earned the nickname “poor man’s grouper”. Their flavor is mild and sweet, with a firm texture. For chefs, tilefish is easy to prepare, and easily adapted to new recipes. Having eaten tilefish twice this year- once on the Delmarva Peninsula and once in Mobile AL, I can attest to their “familiar” taste being very similar to grouper or snapper or other mild saltwater fish.

The most common and most fished of the sub-species is the golden tilefish.  They are fished from late August through May, avoiding the hottest months of the year in their most common range- Nantucket MA south to Cape May NJ.  There are also small populations that live off Florida and into the Gulf. Goldens grow to 60-plus pounds, but any fish over 30 pounds is considered a good one. The Blueline tilefish, named for their cyan “eyeliner”, do not grow as large as goldens, maxing out around 20 pounds. Any catch over 10 pounds earns accolades. They lack the crest, but they are equally delicious.

Popular recipes being featured in restaurants include pan-seared tilefish with wild mushrooms and asparagus; pan roasted tilefish; and herb-crusted tilefish with lemon leek risotto. Tilefish can be baked, sauteed, steamed or poached, and pan-friend. It also freezes well. As is common with bottom dwelling fish, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration warns pregnant or breastfeeding women against eating tilefish due to mercury contamination.

Most recreational anglers fish for them on “deep-drop” charter or party boat trips. Once called the “great northern tilefish”, the name was the focus of a rebranding campaign like that which renamed the goosefish as monkfish. Golden tiles live in the deep waters of the western Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico. They live in depths from 400 to 1,200 feet. With food relatively scarce at those depths, tilefish eat whatever they come across, including urchins, starfish, shrimp, squid, crabs, and the occasional fish. Fishermen are wise to select a bait that will stay on the hook through repeated short hits to avoid the hassle of reeling up bait-less rigs from 800 feet. For this reason, some fishermen opt for electric reels that handle up to 1,000 feet of line.

There are two basic rigs for tilefish: multi-hook deep-drop rigs, and large, heavy jigs. Deep drop rigs should have at least five or six 8/0 to 12/0 circle hooks. Anglers often add a small plastic glow-in-the-dark tube at or near the hook. For bait, squid and fresh cut strip baits such as bonito and barracuda are hard to beat. Try to cut strips in a narrow triangle shape about 6-8” long.

Tilefish anglers have the same preference for brightly colored, “flashy” rigs as fluke fishermen. Pinks, greens, and glow-in-the-darks prevail in high-low rigs fitted with soft-plastic squids,

silicone skirts, beads, spin ‘n glo’s, and other flashy add-ons. Fishermen look for any edge to get their rig noticed in the almost totally dark depths where tilefish live. On tilefish trips, lead measures in pounds, not ounces, to get the rig to the bottom, and keep it there. Start with 2 pounds, bumping up to 3 if the drift picks up, and more if conditions dictate to reach and stay on the ocean floor.

Tilefish trips are cooler-filling missions, with anglers set on returning home with some of the tastiest fillets in the Northeast. Needless to say, catch and release is rare on a typical tilefish trip. Given the great change in pressure between the bottom and the surface, the trip from the deep results in distended stomachs and bulging eyes usually making it “one way”.