When trolling the vast expanses of open ocean, you need to put everything in your favour when it comes to attracting attention to yourself out there. Teasers are just that, an active means of creating visual and sonic commotion to peak the interest of nearby Marlin, Tuna and other gamefish and draw them up and into your spread.

They can be used by themselves, and then have a hooked presentation dropped back to a fish that is “teased” up, which often results in a better bite and hook set. But more commonly they are used in conjunction with a lure (or bait) spread, and aid in creating that attractive commotion to your immediate vicinity behind the boat.

There are surface teasers that run along the water surface splashing and spraying, such as Black Pete Spreader Bars and Slap Happy's, Pakula Flippy Floppy’s and FatBoy Flying Fish Chains. There are also subsurface teasers such as the iconic Pakula Witchdoctor and an ever increasing range of “dredge” style teasers, which are almost unrivalled in terms of their flash and ability to imitate a tightly bunched school of baitfish.

With tuna trolling applications, an increasingly popular method is to run a hook-rigged skirted lure behind a teaser such as a Moldcraft Soft Squid or Hawaiian Malolo Bird Teaser. This inline teaser/lure combination is used to great success when drawing fish directly to a lure, especially when fishing from smaller vessels or with fewer crew to deal with additional hardware in the water upon hookup.

When heading out wide to chase gamefish of all shapes and sizes, a teaser or range of teasers is an incredibly effective way of increasing your odds of a hookup!