Seems like a lot of downrigger talk lately. Question: Has anyone perfected a downrigger technique that eliminates the flasher drag on the fishing line? As my name implies, I am strictly a moocher. I tried downrigging many years ago but abandoned it because I didn't like the drag of the flasher in playing the fish. I tried attaching the flasher to the ball - but it didn't prove very productive. I also clipped a line with bait and no attractor or weight - and that was good but not any more productive than mooching and just added more gear to deal with. Any tips would be appreciated, including gear, lure, length of line, etc.

Silver Horde makes the Xtractor which supposedly eliminates or greatly reduces flasher drag. The Xtractor is an in-line flasher that slides up and down the line. I have tried it however, I couldn't seem to get it to rotate. So I gave it away. Other than sizing down to a 8" flasher, I am afraid you not going to rid the flasher drag.

Another option is to run two downriggers... one side with the flasher(s) and the other with a single bait or lure..


On a final note, on fish 10# or larger, I don't notice flasher drag however, I feel the "wave."
I don't mind.....

Downriggin'

I've had very good luck trolling just a herring w/a "hat" on. It's a blast catchin blackmouth w/no weight. I'm sure that a flasher run off of the ball would've increased my hookups.

Sincerely,
Roger

I used a triangle rotating flasher last season for Coho, I can't remember the name of the brand. However, they spin on a center axis, so you can't feel them when you are fighting a fish. Someone out there knows what I'm talking about and I'm sure even has a picture.

Kev

Fish Flash

Haven't used one yet... I'll have to give it a go this year.

Downriggin'

Thats what I'm talking about, thanks DR...

Kev

I started fishing this year with the flasher hanging off a line hooked to the downrigger ball. The lure is 10 foot above that off of a release hooked to the downrigger cable.

Last year we had the flasher back 30 foot behind the ball and the lure also 30 foot back where it was above the flasher.

This year I'll play with that distance and try it a little shorter.

We were using light rods that way and it made it easier to fight the fish and also easier to see when we had a shaker on that couldn't trip the release.

Spoons fish great without flashers. Coyote and Sonic Edge.

Sometimes the point of having the flasher is to impart action, not just to attract fish, although it does that too. Particularly with a hoochie, action like you get with a Hotspot is real important - you wouldn't get the same result with a Fishflash or if you hung the flasher on the wire.

Lately when I've had a buddy on board I've been fishing one rod with a flasher and one without, using an active lure like a Coyote spoon on the rod without the flasher, and it seems like we both get bites. I particularly do this with my wife, and she really hates yarding in that flasher. Of course, she hooks more fish than me no matter what she's doing, so the results otherwise may vary

Now for sockeye fishing, that's where I really load up the wires with flashers. Basically, I use Fishflash or Herring Dodgers, as they don't deflect and tangle like Hotspots do, I put them on a 4 foot line and space them 5 feet apart with halibut snaps. I then put the lines with dodgers and bare hooks above them. My typical Lake Washington rig uses flashers all the way to the the bottom of the school with lines located near the top of the school - at times I have put 6 dummy flashers on each line at 5 foot intervals to cover everything. But for sockeye I never even pull the wires out of the water - it would be a reall mess doing that for king fishing

Hey Drifter~~~~ Up North

There is another "new flasher" on the market now. It is called Jim's breakaway flasher. It is like the gibbs but looks like it would work better. I bought a couple and haven't tried them yet. They sell them at outdoor emporium in Seattle for $8 or $9. We had the guy that made them come to our PSA meeting. He said they are made out of the exact same materials as the hot spots. Hot Spots copyright ran out so he builds them identicle in dimesions and says he uses the higher quality plastic as only he and the hot spots use. It has a heavy mono that goes through the front swivel's ring and has a peg that sticks out off of a plastic piece on the rear. There is a hole up inside the back of the flasher. The round peg fits inside the flasher and when the fish hits it, it pulls it loose and releases the back of the flasher. Looks like a good idea. Does it work? Who knows. I will let you know when I try it.

I have had god luck in years past with the lil plastic dealies that you insert a baitfish into. I too am a die hard moocher but have pretty much given it up for trolling and jigging cuz they are (for me) much more effective. I believe the one that I used to use was made by Luhr-Junsen and you had to push a toothpick thru to secure the bait fish. I would troll (sometimes almost motor-mooching) w/ a downrigger. No weight and no flasher is a blast! And. Believe it or not when trolling I would troll down current and then turn around and troll up current. Sometimes I'd get more hits one way than the other and then I would only troll that way, picking up at the end of the drift and runnin back up to the start. I could actually tell when fish were hittin the bait (but not gettin hooked) as I was trollin so would get n idea of where they were. I gotta admit that I caught more fish more consistently when using a flasher or dodger tho.

Hope this helps. Good luck n tight lines

Sincerely
Roger

ps -- Oops, forgot that I had already posted this. CRS I guess!
RRR

Thank you all for your replies. At least a couple years worth of ideas and experimentation - in less than 24 hours. All the ideas sound good. May have to start downrigger shopping.
My best to you Downriggin' too. Glad I was able to get your expert thoughts before taking off. Look forward to hearing from you again when you return.

Spawnout....interesting setup for Sockeye, but it makes sense based on what I've read about them. Just curious, have you ever tried that setup in the salt targeting some of those Lake Washington sockeye before they enter the locks?

Hi LF, I haven't tried this for sockeye in Puget Sound yet, every year at that time I seem to either be out of town, it's not open, or something else comes up. Gotta try it this year though. Maybe there are some other saltwater sockeye experts out there that can fill us in

Well here is something that I a friend and I have been doing........ We have a nice little cable hooked directly to the ball with some good swivels.. at the end approx (15 ft back) we have another good quality swivel with the flasher hooked up to it.. a dodger or anything.... We drop that down approx 5ft Then we hook on the quick release for the line.. we let out about 20-30 ft of line. (sometimes it is better to have it closer sometimes farther back..) Then hook it on and drop it to the depth you want.. Theory is the flasher attracts and then when the fish are backing off they see the bait. Mostly we use this on plugs and herring. We have had fairly good luck with this method. and no flasher to deal with drag.. very nice.
dave

I am strictly a bait fisherman and prefer to mooch as you do, but it is sometimes not as productive as trolling, ecspecially when the fish arent schooled up feeding. Under those circumstaces I will troll a similar setup as some have mentioned with a little twist. I tie teh flasher onto my downrigger ball with a sereis of swivels about two feet long. I run a release clip about five feet above the downrigger. I use about a 8 ft leader and hook the release clip right above the swivel. That way my bait is as close as possible to the flasher.

I started doing it as an experiment to prove that fish are not scared of the cable being pulled through the water. My productivity went through the roof.

The problem is finding a bait hookup that will wont shred the bait at the speeds necessary to troll in order to get the flasher to work properly. I recomend an Abe and Al flasher and a whole herring. You can troll them around until the scales wear off.