When stripers are keyed in on small bait, a teaser might save your night!
Attaching a teaser ahead of a plug or tin is a long-standing tactic for surf fishermen that goes way back before I can recall; and I am, by no means, considered young anymore. My introduction to fishing with a teaser or “dropper” started early in my surfcasting days. It consisted of a fairly simple creation of just white bucktail lashed onto a short-shank hook. Although fairly crude, they were very effective.
Over the years more realistic imitations of bait fish such as sand eels and spearing were developed. Some used fancier materials like marabou and saddle hackles, some soft plastics also came into play, such as the famous red gill.
Rigging Options
I have come across many ways for rigging a teaser. Everyone has their favorite method and they all work, some better than others. So after trying every conceivable way, I have narrowed it down to what works best for my needs. My main goal was to have minimal tangling with the leader on the cast and retrieve. Also I wanted options that would make changing teasers easier.
Option 1: Pre-Rigged
This method is to have your teasers tied to 3- to 4-inch piece of heavy stiff mono or leader material, and then tying an overhand loop knot at the other end. When you want to add a teaser to your rig, simply pass the loop through the swivel on your leader and then pass the teaser through the looped end of the teaser and snug it down. This allows easy removal or changing if you want. Make sure to attach it to the bottom or “leader side” loop of the swivel, so if you get two fish on, the swivel is not being overly stressed with forces that could pull it apart. This option works well with the red gill teasers especially, because of the way a red gill is designed. The line must pass through the body before being tied to hook and then pulled back into the red gill. Having these pre-rigged makes things easier.
Option 1A: Loop to Loop
Now when using very small swivels on your leader, the knot of the loop may not pass through the small swivel. A good way to get around this is to tie your main leader to your swivel with a double-line clinch knot, which will leave you with a loop where your tag end would normally be. Now just interlock the loop from your pre-rigged teaser rig to the leader loop. Or you can tie a dropper loop in the leader about 3 inches down from the swivel and loop into that. Both of these rigging options facilitate easy changing and removal and keep the teaser sticking out away from the leader for minimal tangling.
Option Two: Direct Tie
Here is another method that works well. After tying the double clinch knot with your leader on your swivel, simply cut one side of the loop close to knot. This will leave you a short length of line that you can now directly tie your teaser to. It reduces instances of tangling down to almost zero, and I especially like this for light tackle applications. I can keep a small wallet tucked in my surf bag with an assortment flies ready to tie on. If you change out a lot, just re-tie your leader again and you will have a fresh tag end to tie to.
Option Three: Loop to Hook Shank
This final method that I sometimes use is to pass the loop from the dropper knot or double line clinch on my leader through the eye of the hook and over the teaser and cinch up tight. This is probably one of the earliest methods that was used and it works well.
Remember that whatever rigging method you choose and feel confident with will go a long way in utilizing a tried and true addition to your surf game. And on those nights when the fish are keyed in on small bait that you can’t replicate with anything else in your bag, knowing how to tie in a teaser could save your night.
