Bottom Fishing Guide: Rigs, Bait, and Techniques That Actually Work

That first thump on the bottom is unmistakable. You feel the weight settle, lift the rod tip a couple of inches, and something immediately loads up the other end. The rod bends into the cork grip and the fish is pulling straight down, trying to bury itself in the reef. That's bottom fishing - and when it's on, there's nothing else like it.

Bottom fishing is the oldest technique in saltwater angling and still one of the most productive. It works from shore, from piers, from kayaks, and from boats of every size. The species list is incredible - grouper, snapper, tilefish, sea bass, tautog, triggerfish, amberjack - and the table fare is hard to beat. Whether you're dropping bait on a nearshore reef in 30 feet or deep dropping to 800 feet on the shelf edge, the fundamentals are the same.

Types of Bottom Fishing

Bottom fishing breaks down into a few categories based on where and how deep you're fishing:

Nearshore reef and wreck fishing is the most accessible form. You're fishing 20-120 feet of water over natural reef, artificial reefs, or wrecks. This is where you find black sea bass, triggerfish, grunts, porgies, smaller grouper, and snapper. Light to medium tackle, simple rigs, and readily available bait. Most anglers start here.

Offshore structure fishing pushes you out to 100-300 feet over bigger wrecks, ledges, and reef systems. Now you're targeting larger grouper, mutton snapper, amberjack, cobia, and bigger sea bass. The gear gets heavier, the weights get bigger, and the fish get serious. This is where heavy conventional tackle and strong rigs earn their keep.

Deep dropping takes bottom fishing to 300-2,000 feet. Tilefish, snowy grouper, queen snapper, and barrelfish live down there. You need electric reels, heavy braid, and specialized rigs. It's a different game entirely, but the core principle is the same - put bait on the bottom where fish live.

Bottom Fishing Gear

Your gear should match the depth you're fishing. Here's a breakdown:

Shallow water (20-80 feet): A 7-foot medium-heavy spinning rod with a 4000-6000 size reel works perfectly. Spool with 30-40lb braid and run a 30-40lb fluorocarbon leader. Sinker weight: 1-4 ounces depending on current. This setup handles sea bass, porgies, triggerfish, flounder, and smaller snapper and grouper.

Medium depth (80-250 feet): Step up to a 6-6.5 foot heavy conventional rod with a conventional reel in the 30-50lb class. Spool with 50-65lb braid and run 60-80lb fluorocarbon leaders. Sinker weight: 4-16 ounces. This is your grouper and snapper setup - you need backbone to turn fish away from structure before they rock you up.

Deep water (250+ feet): Electric reels, 80-130lb braid, 150-200lb leaders, and deep drop weights from 2 to 5 pounds. For more on this, our sinker weight guide covers how to match weight to depth and current.

Bottom Fishing Rigs

There are four rigs that cover about 90% of all bottom fishing situations. Learn these and you're set for anything.

The knocker rig is the simplest and most effective bottom rig for grouper and snapper fishing. Thread an egg sinker or sliding sinker directly on your leader above the hook, add a bead to protect the knot, and tie on a circle hook. That's it. The sinker sits right on the hook, keeping your bait tight to the bottom and reducing the chance of snagging structure. Use a 6/0-8/0 Gamakatsu Octopus circle hook for most applications. The knocker rig is hands-down the best rig for grouper fishing because it lets you fish right in the structure without getting hung up constantly.

The chicken rig (also called a dropper loop rig or high-low rig) runs multiple hooks on dropper loops above a weight at the bottom. Space hooks 18-24 inches apart with 3-5 hooks per rig. Bottom rigs by Bluewater Candy come pre-tied with quality components and save serious time. The chicken rig covers more of the water column and lets you catch multiple fish per drop - essential for party boat fishing and great for sea bass, tilefish, and snapper. It's also the standard rig for deep dropping.

The fish finder rig (also called a Carolina rig in some regions) uses a sliding sinker on the main line above a swivel, with a 2-3 foot leader to the hook. The fish picks up the bait and runs without feeling the weight of the sinker. This is the go-to rig for fish that are picky or line-shy - flounder, red drum, sheepshead, and cobia all respond well to the natural presentation. Use Eagle Claw circle hooks in 5/0-7/0 for most fish finder applications.

The stiff rig uses rigid leader material to hold hooks away from the main line, preventing tangles and presenting baits horizontally. Stiff rig hooksets built with piano wire are the standard for deep drop applications and heavy structure fishing. Connect components with ball bearing snap swivels at the top for quick rig changes.

Bait for Bottom Fishing

Bottom fish eat what lives on or near the bottom. Match your bait to your target and you'll catch more fish.

Squid is the universal bottom fishing bait. Cut it into strips for smaller species or use it whole for larger fish. It stays on the hook well, produces scent, and just about everything eats it. Squid is the starting point if you don't know what's down there.

Cut bait - mackerel, bonito, bluefish belly strips, menhaden chunks - works great for grouper, snapper, and amberjack. Oily fish produce more scent and draw bites from farther away. Cut your strips 4-6 inches long and make sure the hook point is fully exposed.

Shrimp is deadly for inshore and nearshore bottom species. Sheepshead, black sea bass, triggerfish, and snapper all hammer live or dead shrimp. Thread a whole shrimp through the tail or use the head as cut bait.

Live bait is the top producer for big grouper and mutton snapper. Pinfish, grunts, pilchards, and blue runners are all proven live baits for bottom fishing. Hook them through the back or nose with an Epic circle hook and let them swim naturally near structure. For a full breakdown of when to use live vs artificial bait, check out our live bait vs artificial comparison.

Clams, crabs, and worms are essential for northeast species. Tautog eat green crabs and Asian crabs almost exclusively. Sea bass love clam strips. Bloodworms and sandworms work for just about everything inshore from Maine to Virginia.

Technique: Anchoring, Drifting, and Working Structure

How you position the boat determines how many fish you catch. Period.

Anchoring is the standard approach for reef and wreck fishing. You want to set up current of the structure so your baits drift back over the fish. This takes practice - anchoring 50-100 feet upcurrent of a wreck in 80 feet of water means accounting for scope, current speed, and wind. When you nail the position, you'll be right on top of the fish all day. When you miss, you'll fish dead water and wonder why the bite is slow.

Drifting works better in some situations, particularly over scattered reef systems or when you're trying to locate fish over a large area. Drift fishing lets you cover more ground, but you need a slow drift - under 1 knot - to keep your bait near the bottom effectively. Deploy a drift sock if the wind is pushing you too fast. Drifting is also the standard approach for deep dropping, since anchoring in 600+ feet is impractical for most boats.

Reading structure on your fishfinder is the most important skill in bottom fishing. Look for irregular bottom - ledges, drop-offs, rock piles, and wreck profiles. The best spots have hard bottom adjacent to soft bottom, where fish stage along the transition zone. When you see a haystack of marks rising off the bottom on your sounder, that's a school of fish suspended over structure. Drop right into the middle of it.

Current is your friend in bottom fishing. Moving water activates the bite - fish feed more aggressively when the current is pushing bait across the structure. Slack tide often means slow fishing. Plan your trips around the tide change and be ready to fish hard during the first two hours of moving water. The difference between slack and running tide is night and day.

Common Bottom Fishing Mistakes

• Using too little weight. If your line angle exceeds 45 degrees, you're not on the bottom effectively. Add more lead until your line goes relatively straight down. For help matching weight to depth, see our sinker weight guide.
• Not reeling fast enough on the hookset. Grouper head for the rocks the instant they feel the hook. You have about 2 seconds to get them off the bottom or they'll rock you up. Crank hard and lift - then fight the fish in open water.
• Fishing dead structure. Not every reef or wreck holds fish all the time. If you're not getting bites in 10-15 minutes, move. Good spots produce quickly.
• Setting the hook on circle hooks. Just reel tight. Circle hooks set themselves in the corner of the jaw. A big hook-set pulls them right out of the fish's mouth. To understand when to use circles vs J-hooks, read our circle hooks vs J-hooks comparison.
• Using old bait. Bottom fish can be picky about bait freshness. If your squid strip has been down for 20 minutes, reel up and put on a fresh piece. The difference in bite rate is substantial.

Tips for More Fish on the Bottom

• Fish the tide. The two hours before and after a tide change are consistently the most productive periods for bottom fishing. Plan your trips around the tides, not the clock.
• Chum when legal. A slow drip of cut bait or chum creates a scent trail that pulls fish to your boat from downcurrent. Even hanging a mesh bag of crushed clams or frozen chum blocks makes a measurable difference on sea bass and snapper.
• Use bank sinkers for rocky bottom. Their rounded shape snags less than pyramid sinkers in reef structure.
• Match hook size to species. 4/0-6/0 for sea bass and porgies. 6/0-8/0 for snapper and smaller grouper. 8/0-12/0 for large grouper and amberjack. Oversized hooks cost you bites on smaller species.
• Check your leader after every fish. Structure abrades fluorocarbon fast. Run your fingers along the leader and retie if you feel any nicks or rough spots. One frayed section is all it takes to lose the best fish of the day.
• Use Billfisher snap swivels for quick rig changes. When the bite is on, speed matters. Snap swivels let you switch rigs in seconds without retying.

Bottom fishing is the foundation of saltwater angling. The gear is straightforward, the rigs are simple to tie, and the species are some of the best eating fish in the ocean. Match your rig and bait to the depth and target, put your time in over good structure, and fish the tides. Everything else is details. Tight lines.

Know Before You Go: Regulations change frequently. Always check current size limits, bag limits, seasons, and gear restrictions with your state fisheries agency before heading out. For Atlantic species, visit ASMFC.org for interstate management updates.

Questions about tackle? Call us at 888.453.3742 or email help@thetackleroom.com.