CC dredge fishing

[Hroonk]

I have a World Cat and fish a strip teaser from a planer rod. When I get the weight dialed in right, I can drop it back into a clean pocket and have it sitting right under my flats.

Jon,
Can you describe your set up a bit more? I'm assuming you place your planer rod straight out the back. What weight were you using?

What I've done on our 270TE World Cat is use a rod rigger type holder with a 50 and about 42 oz weight. I troll with only one engine and keep the dredge on the side with the engine turned off = cleaner water on that side.


SeaDraggin,
Did you use any weight at all off your mini dredges? I thought about doing something similar, but figured the dredges wouldn't run right without adding enough weight that would over come the riggers.

Larry

[Sea Draggin]

SeaDraggin,
Did you use any weight at all off your mini dredges? I thought about doing something similar, but figured the dredges wouldn't run right without adding enough weight that would over come the riggers.

Larry

If memory serves correctly, just a 4 oz. trolling weight, which was enough to keep it just under the water.

[Captain Fred Archer]

Tuna Teaser,

See the "Need help with blue marlin spread" on the big game board...you might find it of interest.

[Jagsare1]

After years of fishing inboard sportfishing boats, I am now fishing a 31' CC. I use Penn downriggers on swivel bases and pull a strip teaser on one side and a double dredge with plastic paddle tails on the other side. I have the downriggers out 90 degrees. I also pull squid teasers off the teaser reels through the outriggers. When the dredges need to come in, we pull them, still attached, all the way to the front of the boat.

I try to keep it simple with just 5 baits in the water. I find a new challenge every time we fish compared to the inboards I am used to. My transom is lower than an inboard so I have to be very careful in rough water that the dredge and flat line don't get tangled. Another challenge, the space between the dredge and squid chains is narrow and I find that the spread never looks right to me as far as where I want my baits placed in relation to the teasers.

I find this style of fishing much more difficult on the CC than on the sportfisherman. Without the height of the bridge or tower, it is close to impossible to see fish on the teasers. It continues to be a work in progress as we try to perfect what we are trying to do but we are getting it done so far. Sailfish have been non-existent so far this year for us so I can't tell you if we are doing it right or wrong. The only sailfish being caught are by accident but that will change when the water cools a little.

[SharkJP]

Jon,
Can you describe your set up a bit more? I'm assuming you place your planer rod straight out the back. What weight were you using?

What I've done on our 270TE World Cat is use a rod rigger type holder with a 50 and about 42 oz weight. I troll with only one engine and keep the dredge on the side with the engine turned off = cleaner water on that side.


SeaDraggin,
Did you use any weight at all off your mini dredges? I thought about doing something similar, but figured the dredges wouldn't run right without adding enough weight that would over come the riggers.

Larry

Larry, I have a bent butt planner rod with a swivel tip that i angle away from the gunnel or sometimes straight back depending on conditions. I use both engines when trolling and generally fish the dredge a little further back in my spread then most do, but I feel this is the best way to keep it 2-4' under the surface. The weight I use also depends on the conditions.

I will admit this. Fishing a dredge on my boat is a big pain, and I cant begin to imagine how many lookers I might have missed on the dredge and never even knew they were there. I generally do not pull it and use bars and chains as teasers, BUT, I can remember a couple days when I firmly belive having that in the water made the difference in the fish we caught.