I need a slammer to add to my box of lures that don't catch fish.
So far all my success has been with a 4/0-5/0 hook tied on holding a chunk of mack or clam.

my lures only seem to catch the same dumb fisherman... me.

miket, have you tried useing a teaser with your plugs. i have had more fish on the teaser then the plugs, if your unsure about the setup get some saltwater fly's ( blue & white have worked great )
tie it on the bottom of the swevil with about 6" of mono or whatever your useing for a leader. your luck should change.

What is the best way to tie a teaser to a leader? What kind of knot, distance from plug, etc. ?

capt. don's in charlestown had a pile as of 2 weeks ago.

rwilhelm, i tie the teaser with a cinch knot. i run 3 feet of leader with a westcoast snap, 50lb mono is what i use. i then cut about 6 or 7 inches of mono tie it to the fly and then tie to bottom of swevil right next to the plug leader. i use needlefish, kastmasters,poppers and swimming plugs. the teaser works every time, i have had great results with this setup. at times i dont care what plug i have on cause they all seem to love the teaser. stripers bluefish and hickory shad all take it, i had my fist double header in may one striper on the teaser and one on the plug. what a blast yeeehaaaaa :D

but i used the same mono leader # on plug leader and fly leader. should i use it each differently? and also every time i cast, it seemed to tangle up. and what sort of retrieve should i use?

notaro, i use the same pound mono on both 50lb. sometimes it may wrap around the plug leader but for the most part it does not. i find the heavy mono is more tangle free, if it tangles alot for you try a shorter length for the teaser. i have used as small as 5" of mono for it with little issues, right now i would say i use 6 to 7 inches for the fly. i seem to catch more fish if i drag the lure through the water with a pull to the side then pause then pull pull pull pause then reel in slowly. works every time :cool:

how about a quick diagram?

miket, i wish i could show a diagram but im not that computer savy. i have no idea how to post diagrams on the computer, i'm sure someone could do that on the site here. teaser's are no secret and the setup i use is pretty standard. all i know is it works and thanks to fisherwoman here on s-b i never fish without it, run a search on teasers we had a good topic going in march here on s-b. also joe lyons article in the august edition of on the water talks about teasers, dont be shy ask away. if you fish rhode island at all send me a pm i go every saturday, we can meet and fish. always like to fish with other s-b members these people are great, and the knowledge they share if asked correctly will sharpen your skills as long as your willing to learn.:)

how bout this:
bout 36" from swivel to plug
and depending on who here I listen to, anywhere from 5-15" from swivel to teaser. How strong should that barrel be?
Should I tie directly to the plug or use a snap-swivel?

thats it miket, i do use a westcoast snap for fast easy plug changes and when i use storm wild eye rubber shad i like to tie direct. i use 130lb spro barrel swevil these are so small you would not belive it (about as big as the smilies faces) they are tiny and dont attract as much seaweed as the larger swevils.
try different lengths for your leader and see what is comfortable for you. i use a long leader cause i get more power from the rod with the longer drops. i use this with my 7' spin setup and my 9' conv. setup. i find the longer the leader to the teaser the more prone it is to wrap it self around the main leader when casting, find what works best for you nothing is written in stone you can adjust the length to your liking. everyone adjusts to what works for them so by all means try what you like.