Golden Tile Fishing with an E-Rod

For the 2025 Atlantic season opener, Florida Sportsman joined Jeremy Lund of Dominion Rods and friends Aaron Wallace and Chris Capoletti for a golden tilefish trip targeting prime habitat, mud bottom in 700 to 900 feet of water, roughly 15 miles off Hobe Sound.

The crew fished two primary setups. The E-Rod Bent Butt was rigged with a triple hook chicken rig featuring glow circle hooks for standard deep dropping. The E-Rod F-Series, a versatile jigging-style rod compatible with kite, trolling, and dredge rods, was paired with a double hook chicken rig, two glow attractors, and a 24–30 oz sinker, light enough to fish comfortably while still getting to the bottom. Two additional rods were set up for jigging with 600–800 gram jigs. The E-Rod's built-in power supply (a 5 amp hour battery with a 21 amp cutoff using LiFePO4 chemistry, the safest available) made setup fastm pre-rigged and fishing within minutes of arriving on the spot.

Fishing 20 lb test was a key advantage, reducing line scope, allowing lighter weights, and making bites noticeably easier to detect. When a smaller fish was brought up, Jeremy demonstrated proper catch-and-release technique using a barometric descending device set to its deepest setting to give the fish the best chance of survival on the way back down, a process made easy by the E-Rod retrieving the device back up effortlessly.

Moving slightly deeper produced larger fish on the jig, with the lighter rod setup proving its worth in feeling subtle bites even in challenging wind conditions. There is no minimum size for golden tilefish in Atlantic waters, with a one-fish-per-person bag limit during the season. For current regulations, visit MyFWC.com or download the Fish Rules app.

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Original Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NmNqeDQr_aE