Rigging question

[kodiakbound]

I'm sure it's been discussed many, many times but I didn't have much luck with the search function.

Trolling spoons for kings, how do you guys rig up. Flasher/dodger? drop back length and leader length? I've never tried it but am going to give it a go next week. Any advice is apreciated. This rookie has a lot of learning to do....:think:

[Abel]

I prefer running my spoons naked, no flashers, about 10-12' from the ball.

[BrownBear]

Same here, especially leaving off the flashers and dodgers in water less than about 70 feet. Spend the money on good swivels, and especially on good replacement hooks. Even when fishing divers or crescent weights, I keep the leaders long, on the order of 6 feet. In deeper water I like less radical flashers movement-wise and a bare minimum of 4 feet of leader behind the flasher, with 6' better.

[Vek]

A million ways to skin the cat, Kodiak. The first spoon rig I'd put in the water out where you are (or where any feeding kings are) would be a 11" hot spot flasher in some sort of green w/ silver mylar or UV w/ prism color pattern, a six foot leader, and a 5.0 coyote or similarly sized silver horde kingfisher in either white pearl, pearl/green, or cop car coloring.

When towing anything behind a flasher in king country, I'd be running 40# leader. Out your way, I'd be tempted to run 50#. Kings can pull really hard on a flasher - it's a substantial water brake to them. Such heavy leader can kill spoon action, and bigger spoon lures start to kill flasher action due to drag, so bear all of that in mind. If you want to run a bigger lure, you might have to run it naked as the flasher won't thump as hard (or at all) dragging a too-big lure. If you run a naked spoon, you can rig with lighter leader that matches your mainline (20-30#).

You can rig a flasher bare 10' or so off the back of your cannonball, and clip your release up the wire a ways and run the naked lure 5-10' above and 5-10' back from the flasher.

If you want some good info on rigging spoons and hoochies, google captain downriggins and check out his rigged hoochies and various articles. Kings are kings - down where he operates the forage is small herring and candlefish - up here you see the same candlefish but also more big herring and other larger skinny forage (eulachon and such). Start with the 5.0 coyote, check stomach contents, and match the hatch. If you find lots of fish with lots of big herring inside, that's when you think about switching things up to bigger spoons - canadian wonders, Tomic roadrunners, Oki'i Titan, etc. These get a bit expensive, but down off the coast of Vancouver Island where the kings eat 8-9" long pilchards, they work great. As do the larger Tomic plugs. That's a whole nuther discussion, though.

[kodiakbound]

Thanks for the info guys. I'll have to check that website out Vek. I have no clue what I'm doing but I've never let that stop me before

[AkKings]

I prefer running my spoons naked, no flashers, about 10-12' from the ball.

Its been years since I've trolled but this is how I trolled spoons and plugs both, sometimes I would drop back as far as 20-25' off the cable.
I also trolled them fast, faster then I would herring, 3 or 4 kts. sometimes, seems to work ok for the commercial trollers ;-).

[kodiakbound]

So here is another question. I'll be going solo next week (weather permitting!) Would you guys start out pulling hoochi's or spoons. I'll have to put all my eggs in one basket only fishing 1 rod. That caption downriggin website had some good info. Thanks again

[BrownBear]

I'd start with a blue tray herring rigged for a slow spin behind a big flasher. Keep your speed down to 2.2 or better yet, 2.0. If you find a bait layer but get into cod when you get into it, raise your rig so it skims along just above the bait layer. Kings are likely in with the cod, but they'll come up a little for your rig while the cod mostly won't come up.

If the herring doesn't produce, then move on to hoochie or spoon, but pick up your speed a little. But so far I've been having much better luck on herring than anything else.

[kodiakbound]

You using whole herring or cut plug? In the absence of bait are you fishing lower 1/3rd of the water? Middle? I know I'm just full of questions......

Thanks again I really appreciate the advice. I'll post the results next week good or bad.

[BrownBear]

Mostly I'm using whole herring right now. Just seems to be working better than cut, even though I usually have better luck on cut. I've got to say that hoochies usually work better for me with a strip of herring inside- I just fillet them, then cut into strips and salt to toughen it.

In the absence of bait, I'm usually putting the spreads down at 60-70 ft and prospecting for bait in all the likely places, then adjusting once I see the bait. So far though the bait layers I've seen have started at 30 feet and the cod with them. Yup. We've got almost all our kings so far this year just 20 feet down. Overcast and a little chop seems to be helping to let them come up so high. Clear and calm, the fishing suffers unless you go deeper.

Even without the bait layer, the cod get real thick if you get deeper than 60-70, and especially if you get anywhere near bottom. More cod than I've ever seen in the spring.

[270ti]

I'm stuck in Kodiak for the next 4 days, due to tagging out early on a brown bear hunt..

I say run hoochies, with a strip of herring, just to make you feel better.. I see you had a few good colors down at the sporting goods store.

[270ti]

They had 1 pack left of the "60" army truck hoochie, btw. That's one you want.

[kodiakbound]

I'm stuck in Kodiak for the next 4 days, due to tagging out early on a brown bear hunt..

If I wasn't working 12 hour night shifts this week I'd grab you and we would go see which option worked the best! Thanks for the hoochie color tip. I wish Macks was open when I get off work at 7:00 I'd swing in and grab em. Congrats on the bear.

BrownBear you sure you don't need an apprentice....

Thanks for the help!

[sls4ak]

Great Thread! I have no idea how long t will take for me to understand all the info you have layed out.
I am very new, first in my family to have a boat in 5 generations at least. Thanks for sharing.