Teasers, Dredges, Daisy Chains, Etc?

[clt_capt]

So the tournament rules state that you can pull any 3 teasers of your choice... What do you pull and why?

Most of the time I pull 2 squid chains from the riggers and a dredge when billfish country, but I'm looking for suggestions - Should I be pulling 2 dredges and a chain, 2 chains and a dredge, or something else?

[mattmcl93]

I would say definitely pull two dredges if your going for billfish. And if you think some blues are around put out a big teaser, like a Mold craft wide range, or whatever big lure you would like. I have found that squid chain bites really decrease when pulling dredges.

[scattered_grass]

a squid chain from each rigger, one pink, one blue or green, and one dredge. I think two dredges is overkill and a clusterfuck waiting to happen

[Chuck Richardson]

All of the pro's on the circuit will tell you "whoever is dragging the most sh$$ wins".

With that said...you should be pulling as much as the boat/crew can handle. A 65ft Viking with a marginal crew...put four lines and a daisy chain teaser out. Sit back in the a/c and wait for a cliker to go off.

A 35 footer with a great crew....put it all out there.

www.tournamentcable.com

[frankypettolina]

Pull what you and your boat/crew can handle. On my boat I am a 2 chain 1 dredge operation. My cockpit is not big enough, nor equipped to handle 2 dredges. On bigger boats with extra crew i opt for 2 dredge, 2 chain, and 1 center teaser.

it all depends.

If I were allowed only 3 it would be 2 chains 1 dredge.

[Squidnation]

As stated above pull what the boat can handle. I prefer Two chains and dredge on my boat. but that is cuz of size and of the cockpit and clearabilty space when a fish is on. But on the Finesse with a wide cockpit we have two dredges. Also depends if you can keep the dredges and chains over the water instead of in the cockpit. I have seen in MExico (cancun) just two dredges and no chains that was on the billfisher and obsession. Put in Costa I see no dredges but rather a couple big plugs and a a chain. Matter of fact most Pacific fishing destinations its 2 or 3 plugs and a chain. I guess that may be because of more marlin present or different speed used for the pacific sails.

[mattmcl93]

I fish a three man crew with two dredges and two squid chains and its not an issue getting the dredges out of they way.For whites and sails you want to keep your baits/dredges in as long as possible anyways looking for multiple hook ups, so as long as you dont freak out and keep the boat going you should have plenty of time to get the dredges up. Only a 34 foot boat.

[Captain Fred Archer]

Before anybody gets all offended and tries to lecture me on "the right way" of doing things, the following is based on my own personal experience. I am merely answering the question raised here and passing on what I learned. First of all, bait and switch fishing was nearly an every day way of fishing for myself and my crew for many years. The fishery was a year-round one, so we did one heckuva lot of teaser fishing, did a lot of experimenting, and learned a lot. We even designed some products based on what we learned.

I'll bet that I have fished daisy chains longer than any but the oldest old timers who come here. Mackerel, squid, and herring meat chains were the first I fished with as a young man. This was many years ago (50) in the giant tuna fishery.

We graduated to molded squid daisy chains so many years ago, I do not remember when we started using them. We used them for many years and raised a lot of fish on them. We no longer used them just for giant tuna, but for a wide range of pelagics.

Then we switched to hollow squid daisy chains, primarily because we could troll them at a wider speed range than the molded models and there were more sizes, colors, and even shapes to choose from.

Then we switched to what we used for many years, composite teaser bars with hollow squids on them.

So, when we ran two rods or teaser reels we were able to run (usually) three "daisy chains" of teasers off of each of them instead of one. In some cases we ran even more "chains". The former, three "chain" bar allowed us to, in essence, triple the number of teasers we had in the wake to create the illusion of a lot of bait back there.

If the main goal of running teasers is to create the illusion of a lot of bait behind the boat, tripling that number should be, and in fact is, a very good thing.

So, tournament or whatever, if I'm bait and switch fishing, I'm running two teaser bars, one off of each corner, and the appropriate size Toad Teaser down the middle, in tight, OR a lightweight composite dredge with artificial teasers, not meat. Most of the time I prefer the Toad Teaser to the dredge.

Again, what worked best for us on literally many hundreds of days of trying.

Good luck, no matter how you choose to do it.

[Marie Maddie]

Thanks Fred for that great disortation (or in your case-page of nonsense). He asked what people drag not how long you have been doing it. Franky and Chuck couldn't have said it better, depends or your crew and boat size. I will say first hand; if you are looking for gear that raises fish reguraly give Tournament Cable a call. Not dismissing you Bill (Squidnation) but i drag quite a few things made by them and they work. Now Fred lets hear what is on sale at your store!

[Pakula]

I don't get it, where did the idea of "depends or your crew and boat size" come from?

You're fishing a tournament........... isn't the idea 'get the shot'?

The Marlin or any other predator doesn't know or care how many crew you have. You put out whatever it takes to get the shot.

There are no boats that can't chase fish forwards. Who cares how much stuff you have out the back, if it's going to get you one more bite, do it!

I've spent most of fishing career competing against bigger and better boats and crews. Lucky I didn't know I was supposed to have limitations.