How to Rig a Dredge: Setup, Hardware & Retrieval Systems

You've watched tournament boats stack up releases all week while your spread sat quiet. Odds are, those teams were pulling dredges. A well-rigged dredge simulates a baitball swimming behind your boat, and billfish can't resist it. If you want to raise more sailfish, white marlin, and blue marlin, you need to know how to rig one properly.

Dredges have become the single most important teaser in competitive billfishing. Whether you're running natural mullet and ballyhoo or going the artificial route with squid and rubber fish, the setup requires the right hardware, the right retrieval system, and the right maintenance routine. This guide walks you through every piece.

What Is a Dredge?

A dredge is a subsurface teaser designed to mimic a school of baitfish swimming below the surface behind your boat. Most dredges use an umbrella-style frame with six arms that hold 12 baits per tier. Stack two or three tiers together and you've created the illusion of a dense baitball that draws billfish up from the depths.

The concept is simple: billfish like sailfish and white marlin work together to corral bait into a ball before picking them off. A dredge triggers that feeding instinct. Even blue marlin crews have started pulling dredges after noticing the results.

Natural vs. Artificial Dredges

This is the first decision you'll make, and it matters. Natural dredges built with fresh mullet and ballyhoo are still the gold standard for raising sailfish and white marlin. In tournament settings where you're trolling at 4-6 knots alongside other boats, natural bait outperforms artificial almost every time. The scent, the look, the action - nothing fake matches it when fish are picky.

The downside? Natural dredges are expensive and labor-intensive. At roughly $5 per mullet, a three-tier dredge with 36 baits adds up fast. You'll need 150-200 fresh mullet per day for your dredges alone, plus another 100 ballyhoo for hook baits. Crews start rigging at 4 a.m. for a reason.

Artificial dredges using rubber fish or plastic squid like the 9 Inch Squid by Epic Fishing are the practical alternative. They won't outfish naturals head to head, but they're better than pulling no dredge at all. Many top crews now run one natural and one artificial dredge as a compromise. You can also mix natural baits into an artificial dredge frame to stretch your bait supply.

Artificial dredges also serve as essential backups. Dredges get destroyed - makos hit them, billfish pile on and swim away wearing your rig like a hat, or a bad break-off sends $500 worth of gear to the bottom. Having an Epic Compact Squid Dredge rigged and ready means you never miss a beat.

Essential Dredge Hardware

Cheap hardware loses dredges. The strain on your system at 5-6 knots with a multi-tier natural dredge is enormous, and a single weak link will cost you everything.

Pulleys (Blocks)

Use sailboat-grade hardware from Harken or Ronstan. These "blocks" are engineered for heavy continuous loads and come in swiveling configurations that adjust as your boat changes angle. Check the rated load capacity and make sure it exceeds what you're pulling. Replace pulleys every season or every other season depending on use and sun exposure. A cracked pulley mid-tournament is a nightmare.

One critical detail: use pulleys with plastic frames instead of metal. Monofilament under load tends to twist, and a line twist meeting a metal-framed pulley will chafe or cut your dredge line. That's how you watch a $500 rig sink into the abyss.

Swivels

Heavy-duty ball-bearing swivels are non-negotiable. Mono at speed twists constantly, and without quality swivels your entire system binds up. Use Epic Ball Bearing Snap Swivels at every connection point. Many top crews prefer escape-proof leg-splitter-style swivels because they're smaller and stronger than standard snap swivels at the same rating. Regular snap swivels have been known to pull open and fail under dredge loads.

Dredge Line and Connections

Most setups run 400-pound monofilament as the main dredge line, often spliced into 200-pound Dacron backing for added line capacity and easier changeouts if the top shot gets damaged. Use Epic Double Crimp Copper Sleeves for all crimped connections. Double-barrel copper sleeves work best for lines up to 130-pound test, while heavier applications need appropriately sized sleeves.

The Epic Dredge Connector Cable simplifies the connection between your dredge tiers and the main line. And don't forget Epic Fast Clips Dredge Snaps for quick swaps when you need to replace a damaged tier or switch from natural to artificial mid-day.

Retrieval Systems: Direct Pull vs. A-Frame

How you get the dredge in and out of the water matters as much as the dredge itself. There are two main approaches, and the right one depends on your boat.

Direct Pull

The direct pull connects your electric reel straight through a single pulley on the outrigger and down to the dredge. This setup retrieves faster, which is critical when a billfish is hot on your dredge and you need to clear it for the bait-and-switch. The latest high-speed electric reels from Lindgren-Pitman (the SV-2400 specifically) have enough power to handle even heavy dredges on a direct connection.

With a direct pull, you can fish your dredges further back - 100 feet or more if conditions call for it - and still clear them quickly. The tradeoff is more strain on a single point of your outrigger setup.

A-Frame System

The A-frame uses two pulleys to create a mechanical advantage that distributes the load across multiple points on the outrigger. A retrieval line runs from the A-frame with a small pulley at top and a loop at bottom, letting the crew control the dredge close to the boat for weed clearing or bait swaps without fully retrieving it.

Most tournament crews on larger sportfishers still prefer the A-frame because it's gentler on outrigger hardware and lets anglers fight fish on one side while keeping the opposite dredge in the water. If you're running dredges all season, the distributed load saves wear on your rigger system.

Center Console Setup

Center consoles typically use a downrigger-style application with a 4-foot boom extension acting as a mini outrigger. This keeps the dredge clear of the hull and props while giving you a workable angle for deployment and retrieval. It's simpler than a full sportfisher setup but still effective.

Rigging Natural Bait for Dredges

If you're going the natural route, preparation is everything. You'll need pin rigs, lead weights, waxed line, and a lot of patience.

Mullet get pinned with 3-ounce egg leads and tied up with pre-cut waxed line. Ballyhoo use chin weights - plan on 300 egg leads and 400 chin weights for a four-day tournament. You'll also need 500-600 pre-cut wire lengths or pre-made pin rigs. The Epic Ballyhoo Pin Rig comes in wire, mono, and fluoro options and saves serious rigging time.

Use fresh or brined-and-flash-frozen bait only. Tired or washed-out baits on a dredge look wrong and don't swim right. Swap them throughout the day as they deteriorate. Adding colored skirts to your dredge baits can help them stand out - many crews use different color patterns on each tier.

For a detailed walkthrough on rigging ballyhoo specifically, check out our How to Rig Ballyhoo for Saltwater Trolling guide.

Dredge Weights and Depth Control

The dredge needs to stay completely submerged to work. If it's porpoising on the surface, you're wasting your time. The weight you'll need depends on your trolling speed, the size of your dredge, and sea conditions.

There are several weight styles available: fish-shaped weights that act as secondary attractors, standard drone weights, and bullet-shaped weights with a hole through the center that butt up directly against the front of the dredge frame. The bullet style eliminates extra connections with multiple weights, crimps, and swivels, which means fewer potential failure points. Browse our Dredge Weights collection to find the right size for your setup.

The plug (weight) does double duty - it carries the dredge down to depth while acting as a secondary fish-attracting teaser itself. Getting the depth right is a matter of experimentation. Start with enough weight to keep the dredge 10-15 feet below the surface at your normal trolling speed, then adjust from there.

Tips for Better Dredge Fishing

• Carry backup dredges. You need a minimum of six rigged dredges ready to deploy, plus another six as backups. Bad things happen - wahoo, makos, and overenthusiastic billfish will destroy your gear.
• Inspect hardware constantly. Check pulleys, swivels, crimps, and line condition before every trip. A $3 swivel failure can cost you a $500+ rig.
• Match your retrieval to conditions. At speeds under 6 knots, direct pull retrieves faster. At higher speeds, the A-frame offers similar speed with less reel strain.
• Run squid chains over the top. Many top captains pull squid chains or Epic Flash-Banger Daisy Chains above the dredges as an additional attractor layer.
• Store dredges properly. The Epic Dredge and Spreader Bar Storage Bag keeps your gear organized and prevents tangles between trips.
• Use bird teasers on the surface. An Epic x Clarkspoon Resin Bird Teaser or 5 Inch Teaser Bird on the surface above your dredge creates splash and commotion that draws eyes down to the baitball below.

Putting It All Together

A standard competitive dredge spread includes two dredges (one per side), squid chains or daisy chains running above them, and bird teasers creating surface commotion. Some crews run three tiers per side in heavy tournament situations. Add your actual hook baits behind or beside the dredge spread and you've created a convincing predator-prey scene that billfish have to investigate.

Dredge fishing is the most labor-intensive and expensive style in offshore fishing. But it works. Boats running properly rigged dredges consistently raise more fish than those without them. If you're targeting billfish competitively - or just want to see more fish behind the boat - building a solid dredge system is worth every dollar and every early morning rigging session.

For more on building an effective trolling spread, read our Trolling Lures for Beginners guide and our Trolling Speed Chart for dialing in your speed by species.

Need help choosing the right dredge setup for your boat? Give us a call at 888.453.3742 or email help@thetackleroom.com.

Know Before You Go: Regulations change frequently. Always check current size limits, bag limits, seasons, and gear restrictions with your state fisheries agency before heading out. For Atlantic species, visit ASMFC.org for interstate management updates.