The Outdoor Line Forum

hey guys im new here just wanted to say hello to all !
i have a few ? about leader length and how far to set ur lure back from down rigger . now i have heard diff things about how long to make ur leader from your flasher to ur lure so any advice would be awsome as i cant catch a fish for the life of me also how far should i put my line on the clip from the down rigger ? now im not new to fishing but am not a pro either i have caught fish before but that mite have been luck lol any way any help would be great and thanks for your time and ur advice and all ur welcomes hope to see some of u out in the sound tight lines

Welcome aboard Anthony!
Salmon fishing can be a bit frustrating at times but if you follow a few simple fundamentals, you'll catch fish!
When flasher gear fishing for chinook: keep your leader length from 28" to 48" (Between flasher and spoon or hoochie/squid) Don't go light on breaking strength either! Fourty (40 lb test) is a minimum!

Run your flashers 15 to 20 feet behind the clip, replace hooks that look rusty, keep your troll speeds around 2mph and watch your wire angles to guage your speed.

Do what your sounder tells you to do! Fish at or above the fishes depth and when in doubt, scrape the bottom.

Last tip: check our Fishing Reports page for the latest, breaking news and post a pic and report of your catch!!!

Good luck and we'll see you on the water!!!

Darn Nelly, there ya go again giving away the secrets! Good advice!

Good stuff Nelly, what would determine length within that 28 to 48 inches? Some guys are very specific as to how far they run behind a flasher.

Darn it Tobeck! You're supposed to be answering questions! Not asking them!

However, that is a pretty good question...

First, let's agree on a term: The leader between the flasher and lure is known as the "tail leader", it's measured from knot to knot and is a MINIMUM OF 40 pound test for summer chinook.

Much of the tail leader length question is personal preference but there are a few guidelines that can influence your choices:

- Shorter lengths impart greater action to your lure and longer lengths give your lure less action. This is due to the rotation of the flasher and you can visualize that something attached directly to the flasher would really be whipping around and be difficult to catch with your mouth!

- Lures without their own action are entirely dependent upon the flasher to provide fish-attracting motion. Therefore, squid or hoochies and small spoons should be rigged with shorter tail leaders.

- Herring and larger spoons have their own action and so you can fish a longer tail leader with these offerings.

- In general, the bigger your quarry, the longer the tail leader. Chinook can get flasher-shy and finicky at times so that indicates it's long tail leader time.

- Actively feeding chinook, like those that we will hopefully be encountering Saturday on the MA 9 & 10 opener will agressively chase a bait and so shorter leaders might be a great call!

- Keep in mind that salmon are competitive predators and a flasher is intended to represent another salmon slashing at bait.

The attraction of a flasher is undeniable, but so is the water friction.

I've gone entirely over to Jim's Breakaway Flashers by QCOVE. These flashers "release" and allow you to play the fish without the drag!

Take a look at: http://www.qcove.com/

ok sweet thanks but one more question with the qcove break aways theres some extra line that the flasher comes with how do you rig that type of a flasher and spoon or what ever lure ur using .
thanks for all the advice i will be putting it to good use.!!!!

Hey Anthony,
Don't worry about that extra inch behind the QCove Jim's Breakaway.
Just subtract an inch from your tail leaders and you'll be in business! Good luck and you're on the right track with your attention to details!!!

I generally fish Neah Bay and it seems you can catch salmon there with an old sock trolled behind a banana sinker. That said, I have used "E chip" flashers (small size) for years. I understand fish fighting benefits of Q Cove, but is there any merit to echip technology? Also, my go too lure this year (Kings, silvers) has been king fisher light spoons (cop car in afternoons, something green in the morning rigged with a small hoochy and a 40" leader length). These lures seem to produce a more erratic pattern than a heavier Cyote which seems to produce strikes whether fish are feeding or not. Last, great success switching out factory hooks with gamagatsu razor sharp long shank hooks in 2/0 to 5/0 sizes - just try to match size of usually worthless factory installed hook and also attach hook to swivel and then split ring to increase landing rates. Particurlarly helpful with silvers which tend to twist in water as main strategy to evade capture. These hooks seem to stay sharp all day long, and are definately sharper out of the package.
So, in sum, e chip small flasher, 40" leader, kingfisher light spoons rigged with hoochy and gamagatsu hooks will catch salmon in a bathtub based on my experience. This assumes there is something to Echip technology (supposed to make some sort of clicking sound similar to crippled herring?).