How do you use marlin teasers to raise and switch a blue marlin?

Marlin teasers are hookless lures or baits trolled close behind the boat to bring a fish up where the crew can see it. When a marlin rises on one, the crew pulls the teaser away and puts a rigged bait in its place, so the fish turns onto a hooked bait. This is referred to as bait and switch.

On a pinnacle about 40 miles off Pacific Costa Rica, Mike Hennessy works his teasers and dead baits before any live bait goes in: "I'd rather get 'em on a teaser if we can." The blue on camera came up on the teaser instead of the flopper. The crew pitched a mackerel, yanked the teaser, "and he just switched over to it just like he's supposed to."

What is a flopper, and why do Costa Rica blue marlin eat it?

A flopper is a dead skipjack with its mouth sewn shut, trolled slowly so it flops across the surface like a bait trying to get away. In a lot of places marlin will eat only live bait, but off Costa Rica Hennessy gets more bites on flopping skipjack than on live ones.

It has to flop flat; one that spins was sewn with the hook off center. The crew fishes it on a loose drag. When a fish grabs it, Hennessy takes it away and makes it skip, "and he'll just come up super angry," then drops it right down his face.

How fast should you troll teasers and baits for blue marlin?

Blue marlin lures and teasers usually run around 7 to 9 knots, and natural baits go slower so they don't wash out. Hennessy calls 7.5 to 9 knots "normal marlin speed," slows to 6 to 6.5 with ballyhoo or a rigged mackerel, and runs floppers at 5.5 to 6.5 depending on the current.

The slower speed changes the bite: "You're not just going on a reaction bite, it's a reality bite. They look at it and they actually become hungry."

Inside the video

• A pinnacle about 40 miles out, its current slick and the drop-off into deep water
• Why a drifting log is "probably the best thing you can find" off Costa Rica
• Teaser color matched to the bait, purple when skipjack are thick
• The blue on camera: the switch, about 600 yards of line, and the chase back in reverse
• Sailfish on circle hooks, and how he sets up a fly cast to a teased sailfish

Questions About Marlin Teasers and Baits

Marlin Teaser Setup With Mike Hennessy

In this video Mike Hennessy works the switch from start to finish: raising a blue marlin on a teaser, pitching a bait as the teaser comes out of the water, and flopping dead skipjack when the pinnacle is thick with bait. The setup behind it, how far back he runs his teasers, which colors he picks and at what speed, is in Mike Hennessy's marlin teaser setup.