Holy Hologram: The Abaco Holofish Dredge
Looking for a compact dredge that can be stowed on a small boat, yet help you compete with the big boys? Check out Abaco’s Holofish Dredge.
This six-arm dredge sports 13 eight-inch plastic fish which are filled with embedded reflective strips. When I towed one it glowed with hues of greens, pinks and blues. Note that you can see a bit of pink in the photo shown here, in some of the tails, but not all of them. That’s because the colors change as the angle of the light striking them changes. And as you pull the dredge through the water these reflective strips throw off so much sunlight that the dredge seems to emit a halo of glittering colors.
Small boat canyon commandos will like this dredge because it’s easy to stow in a two foot long plastic cylinder. The lures are attached to the arms with corkscrew wires, so if an attacking fish eventually rips one free replacements are available ($7). A whopping double-dredge with 17 fish is also available.
I’ve used the Holofish dredge for several seasons, and it’s raised both billfish and tunas. I also discovered it was incredibly effective when run in tandem with a Strip Tease dredge. The two differing reflective materials throw off a cascade of multi-colored light at each other and off of each other, and it’s such an eye-grabber that several times through the season, passengers thought there was a school of fish behind the boat.
You’ll need about three pounds of lead (along with a 30’ to 50’ leader, of course) to deploy the Holofish effectively, when trolling up to about seven knots. If you like to go faster then that, you’ll need four pounds to keep it in the water.
Price: $265 single/$380 double
The Highs: It attracts fish, no doubt about it.
The Lows: It’s kinda pricey, but otherwise there’s nothing to complain about.
Who Wants It: Offshore small boat billfishermen looking for a dredge that’s effective but easy to stow. Contact: www.alltackle.com
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