Does a simple spread catch more billfish?

[Anthony of the ARK]

ive been thinking about this question for the last few days. over the course of this amazing summer in OC i got a chance to fish on a number of different boats all of which approached billfishing differently. spread, and cockpit set up and rod placement in the cockpit. and what i think of them

1. 56 sportfish. the boat i primarily worked on.
Our marlin spread consist of:
Two ballyhoo/mullet double dredges, one pulled off an electric reel in the back left corner of the cockpit. and another pulled off the right rigger using a down rigger in a rocket launcher on the bridge.
Two squid chains, pulled off the riggers using electric reels mounted in the hard top.
6 dink baits, two flat lines, a long left out of the chair and short left rigger in the covering board. and one on the bridge rod down the middle.
2 big baits long right and short right.
here are a few problem i felt we ran into. 1st having 2 teasers, a dredge, a bridge rod and complete control of the boat is way to much stuff for the captain to have to deal with. 2nd having a big bait on the long rigger, when a white came up on this bait it was difficult to get it away from him while dropping a flat line back.
in hindsight i say lose the big bait on the right long and lose the bridge pole. the number of white marlin to blue marlin bites this year i estimate was about 30/1. so why pull two big bait if the chance of see a blue verses a white are that small. all the bridge pole down the middle does is get in the way all day. third the dredges both were a problem the down rigger was hard to get up while still moving forward and the electric reel in the cockpit had to be moved every time we hooked a fish or two. i also felt having so much stuff in the water confused the fish.

2. 50+ sportfish
2 dredges both on electric reel pulled from each side of the cockpit.
2 squid chains off each rigger using electric reels
5 dinks: left long and short both out of the chair. right long on bridge and two flat lines.
1 big bait right short out of the chair
this setup made it really easy for one mate to work the pi, which i like. i liked the fact that i could pull each dredge up and let them hang from the rod tip.

3. 40+ sportfish.
2 dredges off the riggers using penn 80w. pully system
2 squid chains off each rigger using electric reels
5 dinks: right long and left long out of the chair. right short out of the covering boards and two flat lines
1 big bait left short out of the covering boats.
this set up made sense for this boat. but the dredges were hard to get out of the water. 80% of the spread was controlled by the cockpit which left the boat driver with time to work fish on the squid chains and drive the boat. i feel this led to catching more fish.

4. 50+ sportfish
2 dredges out of each side of the **** pit, electric reels
2 squid chains off each rigger using electric reel
5 dink baits: two flats one left long in the chair, right short in the covering board and right long up on the bridge.
i felt this was the best set up, no big bait to get out of the way. dredges were out of the way when pulled up. easy to get to everything. i felt was the best

these are just a few of the set ups i saw this summer all had good points and bad points about them. what would you guys change about any of these spreads or what would you change about your spread.

[SeaMent]

I think for most boats a simple spread is more effective in catchin Billfish. I personally like fishin 4 Lines with Dink Baits for Whites and Sails. 2 Flats and 2 Short riggers off the launcher in the pit. I also like to pull a Plug short down the middle off the Launcher in the Pit White Marlin fishin. The Plug will tease in Whites as well as catch em, and it's there to switch off if a Blue One comes in the spread. Once I find em the Plug comes out and turns into a pitch. I think on a Hot Bite you can catch more fish with a simple spread and get it done much quicker. I also think everything with a hook in it needs to be fished from the Pit, and the Bus Driver needs to be Drivin the Bus not tryin to hook fish. As far as Teasers I like to pull Dredges or Chains but not all 4 in the water at the same time. It is less confusin for most Crews that lack the experience to get everything cleared in a timely manner. I have also seen numerous times when someone is tryin to feed a fish off the Dredge and end up with the line wrapped around the Teaser Lines. I'm no PRO but the few I've caught have always come on the days when we were keepin it really SIMPLE !! JMO

[frankypettolina]

Try not to confuse whitey- Dale Brown told me that years ago- anything more than 3 or 4 baits and a couple of teasers will confuse whitey.

THink about it, how many times have you been feeding a fish the flat or the pitch only to have him switch to the rigger??? A simple spread helps eliminate this.

My white marlin spread in OC is: mullet dredge on left side fished on a lectramate out of the pit. 2 ***** hoos on the flats, squid chain on each side, 1 ***** and 1 chugger headed dink on the riggers. If the bite is slow, I will drag a plug or a big bait on the right short. If the bite is on, I keep a big pitch in the bucket.

Even though I am only fishing 4 dink baits I try to have 2 to 4 more dink rods ready to go. These can be used to switch out for fresh baits or to pitch or to prospect with.

I know prospecting is a hot "new" technique, but honestly this has been around since the mid 90's or earlier. In the mid 90's in Mexico we would dump baits all afternoon whenever we went into a turn, or hooked a fish, or saw birds. It would turn singles into doubles, doubles into triples, trips into quads all afternoon long. THe one thing I noticed prospecting whitey this summer was that you needed to have someone on the riggers when you cranked your uneaten prospect bait back into the spread. Many many times it would get followed up and the fish would switch to the rigger. Obviously whoever is prospecting will have their hands full so there needs to be someone else manning the other baits.

Also there always needs to be a pitch on the dredge side- many many times whitey or whitey and his pals would follow the dredge in when you were clearing it, or just checking it for that matter. Prettiest dredge bite I had this summer followed it right up til the weight hit the swivel tip- kept his face in the mullets the whole way.....

Anyway, I am really in favor of keeping it simple. Save 8+ rods and junk for tuna fishing.

[frankypettolina]

apparently N A K E D is a taboo word

[Squidnation]

A very good captain once told us when asked of a blue marlin bait in a white marlin spread. Do you want to white marlin fish or blue marlin fish. Well - whites are biting so lets white marlin fish. OK. 4 ***** dinks, 2 teasers, 1 dredge. Its that simple. I asked him about the big bait on the short rigger or down the middle and his response was we already have a teaser on that side. Now you want to put a big bait with a hook in it that will probably scare away the fish if he gets stung. Isn't there a hookless teaser on the side? If the fish comes in the pattern he will eat the teaser.

[WillW]

I believe simpler spreads are more effective. Billfishing 2 flat ***** ballyhoo, two blue marlin baits (or lures) on the shorts, and two ***** ballyhoo long riggers. Somtimes a small ***** ballyhoo or blue marlin bait down the center under certain conditions. Two teasers and dredges on both sides also.

Sometimes a long rigger or both is fished from the bridge.


When it comes time for white marlin fishing teasers and dredges on both sides also, two ***** ballyhoo flats, two ***** ballyhoo on the riggers, and somtimes a ***** ballyhoo small bait down the middle or a big bait if there are some blue marlin in the mix.

Teasers are pulled from the bridge and dredges pulled from pit from a pulley system off the rigger or from the rod tip. I prefer rod tip so that when you hook up and put the boat in a turn you can still work your dredges under the flats.

[Roddy Hays]

I can't speak for a white marlin fishery (as all of my whites over the years have been accidental catches while blue marlin fishing (and yes, they'll try and eat the short corner bait as well as a big blue will), but for blue marlin, I'm happy with just four lines, 2 short and 2 long.

I'm done with teasers for blue marlin when lure fishing. Seen too many fish lost and missed because of them. If I'm blue marlin fishing then that is pretty much all I am doing, for to start mucking around with the spread is a recipe for disaster. Lost an 800lb class fish once to a small 4 bait we put out long for a skipjack, and it was the only bite of the week for that charter, and I knew better even at that time !

I hate fenders, I hate bowling pins, and I see no gain in pulling anything that a fish can eat if it does not have a hook in it. The only exception for me is when bait&switching, when my lures should be regular sized, easy to run and easy to pull in a straight line towards my pitch bait arena.

People who pull a mixed spread and put the big bait long, sometimes fail to understand what it happening. They may think that the big fish is there because that is where she wants to be, but in fact she was almost 90% certainly in front of the boat when you passed her and she swam down the spread till she found the big bait, which interested her, and which she came in on. The problem with a big bait long is that it can act as a blocker, and a fish will rarely come past it for another bait, and if Mrs Blue fouls that bait then your chance is lost.

Far better to put your big bait on the short corner. It is easy to see and control there, and if you're fishing a mixed spread than you have a prime "exciter" right there on the corner for a smaller fish. Have a pitch bait handy there just for the white or spear that comes in on the big bait. Almost with out fail every big fish you run over will come up from around and under the boat and smack that short bait.

You'll find that most of the very good blue marlin boys rarely fish more than four straight lures - sometimes they'll fish a centre line of they have enough hands on deck, but most of them will stick to the four. They've been there and done it, they know just what a blue marlin is capable of and they want to be back and on the fish with as little fuss as possible, something impossible with dredges, fenders and a host of other extravaganzas in the wake. The boat is your main attraction for the fish, and most of the time (as you are moving forwards) you will bring the boat to the fish - even if you see them back in the wake behind the lure, be assured that you've run them over most of the time. The fish that comes in from astern, as eight knots or more to catch you up, is a rarity, don't trust your eyes.

Simple is good. For blues you want one bite to turn into a decent hookup. You're unlikely to have a bunch of fish every day to play with, and so you really want to make your chances count, so I highly recommend a four line spread for blues. They'll find something in your spread they want to eat if you run them over.....

[Patudo]

Most of the fishing I do is also for BM. Any spread with even one dredge looks complex to me!

Even the most simple spread mentioned above (Squidnation) has one dredge in it. Is it really necessary to fish one to be even remotely competitive these days?

[Wound Up James]

Most of the fishing I do is also for BM. Any spread with even one dredge looks complex to me!

Even the most simple spread mentioned above (Squidnation) has one dredge in it. Is it really necessary to fish one to be even remotely competitive these days?

Patudo- for whitey - yes you need dredges and need to have them dialed into be competitive........But for us, like yourself and Roddy, white marlin are by catch.

Our whites are thickest when the real big blues are here....

Not meaning to derail this thread....but especially with increased release $ in tourneys, we could discuss risk/reward....

Is it worth fishing a 50 or an 80 in somewhere like Bermuda with a lower profile/ stealthier rig that'll increase your hook up ratio on smaller Blues knowing you might miss that chance at a real nice one ??.

Is it worth the risk ?

[Roddy Hays]

Is it worth fishing a 50 or an 80 in somewhere like Bermuda with a lower profile/ stealthier rig that'll increase your hook up ratio on smaller Blues knowing you might miss that chance at a real nice one ??.

Is it worth the risk ?

Well, in Bermuda, probably yes - you don't get that many big fish over there anyway, right ?