Carl Liederman couldn't believe his eyes. The president of Capt. Harry's Fishing Supply in Miami had just seen some underwater footage of a dredge-like device rigged with reflective baitfish images, and had called to tell me about it. "The video was scary!" exclaimed Liederman. "Those fish decals were flashing from side to side, looking just like of a school of frantic baitfish. It's the most realistic bait-ball illusion I've ever seen!"
Liederman was so impressed that he later brought the teaser with him on a trip to Guatemala, where he cleated it off to the transom corner and trolled it some 12 feet behind the boat. The teaser raised plenty of sailfish, but Liederman was more impressed by the reaction of the local dolphin. Apparently the mammals were so fascinated by the realistic-looking teaser that they wouldn't leave it alone. "You're not going to fool a dolphin very often," Liederman points out. "So what does that say about this teaser?"
The Stripteaser consists of long strips of clear vinyl bearing multiple baitfish images. When rigged on a dredge, they're deadly on sails (above) and other billfish.
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The device is called the Stripteaser, and it comes in three versions. In its basic form, the Stripteaser consists of a small, plastic head with three strips of clear vinyl attached to it. Each strip is decorated with two, three or five highly reflective fish images, depending on the version. The fish decals for the six- and nine-fish models come in either green or blue. A combination of the two colors is available only on the 15-fish strips.
The decals are double-sided. The side that affixes to the vinyl strip is pure chrome, which can be seen because the vinyl is clear. Add in the flexibility of the strips, and you can imagine how lifelike the flashing baitfish images appear as they're pulled through the water.
Dredge 'Em Deep
Although the strips can trolled in various ways, they appear to be most effective when rigged on a dredge. A dredge, incidentally, is a weighted trolling device bearing multiple stainless or titanium arms with "droppers" that accept hookless teasers - sort of like a gigantic umbrella rig. The Stripteaser-rigged dredges range from a fixed, four-arm model with five multi-image strips to a collapsible, eight-arm model sporting a grand total of 171 fish decals.
Designed to be trolled beneath the surface, dredges are often pulled on a 30- to 60-foot, 200-pound-test monofilament tow line secured to a transom cleat. The business end of the tow line includes an in-line trolling sinker weighing between two and four pounds (based on the size of the dredge) and a snap swivel that clips to the head of the dredge. The goal of the Stripteaser, and other dredges, is to create the illusion of a tightly packed school of bait swimming between two and six feet beneath the surface. When a fish rises to the teaser, the angler must immediately reel up a trolling bait or drop back a pitch bait to create the illusion of a single bait that has been separated from the school. If successful, the game fish will notice the isolated hook bait and attack it.
The Stripteaser's prismatic baitfish decals flash and flutter when trolled, creating an incredibly realistic bait-school imitation.
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Why would one opt for a Stripteaser dredge over those rigged with soft-plastic or natural baits? According to Liederman, the Stripteasers are much easier to work with, because you don't have to worry about rigging or changing baits. "You don't have to invest a lot of time in rigging one," he says. "Furthermore, the fish decals create much more flash and simulate the real thing better than plastic- or natural-bait dredges. When you're done fishing, just hang up the Stripteaser dredge, rinse it with fresh water, let it dry and put it away. That's all there is to it."
Where to Fish 'Em
As mentioned, dredges are teasers that should be positioned close to the transom and outside the prop wash, so the captain and crew can see them and any fish that come up behind them. On a big sportfisherman, there's plenty of room to play around with the positioning of the dredge. On small- and mid-sized boats, outboards in particular, a good setup is to run the tow line through the outrigger eye closest to the cockpit. When it's time to fish, attach the dredge to the snap swivel and drop it overboard. It should track straight behind the outrigger eye and to the side of the prop wash. When a fish is hooked, the dredge can be reeled up to the outrigger eye to keep it out of the way.
The Stripteaser dredges are so new that anglers are just discovering them. So far they have proven effective on sailfish and white marlin off Stuart, Florida; Ocean City, Maryland; the Gulf of Mexico and throughout the Caribbean. However, I'm sure they will also attract tuna and dolphin anywhere you find them.
I'd troll a rigged bait just behind and above the teaser, or perhaps ahead of and off to the side of the dredge. I can only imagine how dolphin would react to a Stripteaser dredge trolled along a weed line, and I plan to try it. Who knows? It may be the ticket to getting reluctant fish to feed, such as after they've been pounded by lots of fishermen on a nice spring or summer day. This could be a very good thing.
Where to Get 'Em
Once sailfish have been drawn to the flashing, subsurface action of the Stripteaser, the challenge is to feed them a hook bait.
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Cap't. Harry's Fishing Supply in Miami carries a full line of Stripteasers. They also sell individual components, such as the dredges, vinyl strips and fish decals. (800) 327-4088, www.captharry.com.
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