Flasher Revolving Speed......

[reelfast]

Abe and al was definitely a flasher!! Not a Dodger

would not be the first time i was wrong but when i put one of these on, drop it over the side and watch it's action, what i see is a wobble, side to side, not a rotation along the long axis. give it a try and let me know what you see.

 

[sudsy]

Last year i was trolling around all day varying my speeds between 1-2mph with no luck....ended up getting a double header when i put it neutral, not making headway at all and just dangling the lines, not sure what was going on down under the boat but whatever it was i got a 27 and 18lber outa it.

 

[Birdsnest]

would not be the first time i was wrong but when i put one of these on, drop it over the side and watch it's action, what i see is a wobble, side to side, not a rotation along the long axis. give it a try and let me know what you see.

That is very posable. I use the full sized abe and al exclusively for buck tailing coho's. I pull it with no hooks to it on a cannon ball 5 or 7 feet behind the prop to bring'em in. Once I bent one in an attempt to tweak or fiddle with its action and I ruined it. I could never get it to spin again. Maybe the one you have has been "tweaked" similar to what I did with mine. I threw it out. Just sayin.

 

[jeffywestcoast]

I seem to have the flasher troubles from time to time , one method i have found helpfull is to make sure the flasher is revolving before you let it down, sometimes putting the flasher too far from the release clip n not going fast enough, if it looks like it is just bucking back n forth on the surface chances are you flasher is too far from the release clip, try shortening the distance from the release clip , then let cannonball down only a few feet to see what it does,chances are if it is just bucking back n forth and not making a circle at surface it will do the same at depth, pretty sure lots of people are makin the mistake of putting to much line out before hooking on to the release.

 

[jeffywestcoast]

Also one thing i noticed that helped me trolling was if the ss cable on your downrigger does not have airbubbles coming off the trailing side of the cable when it rocks back n forth chances are your not going fast enough, i know for a long time i wasn't trolling fast enough for the most part, now i seem to be doing 1.8 knots or 2.1 mph , Although i am no Salmon fishing expert i have read that would be optimum speed for chinook 2.1-2.5

 

[jeffywestcoast]

just a smiley i picked up lastyear, cant wait to bag a TYEE ....this is my year..

 

[Seafever]

I've always known about "dropback".....the distance of flasher from release clip and it's effects on rotation.

Any number of 4 or 5 things can affect the rotation speed and effect on lure, of course.

Boat speed
lure leader length
flasher 'dropback'
going with or against the current
brand of flasher used

I have caught fish from one extreme to the other.....from lines hanging motionless to trolling pretty fast (with flashers)

I use braid these days.......I don't really bother looking for bubbles off the line though.

Of course, like every fisherman , I am always looking for the "optimal killer setup".

Lots of things will "work".....but I am never satisfied...I want it to work better.....

Admittedly, when one is fishing where there are no fish, it doesn't matter what you do because there's nothing down there to catch.
And if you are on lots of fish......the choices are not nearly as baffling because for example, you could have 5 boats all fishing side by side using different tackle and they will all catch fish ( seen it done on WCVI).

On ECVI at times, the fish can be there, but scarce. On ECVI , you have two choices:- go where the current hotspot is.....or....finesse your game so well that if you are fishing at a "scarce" area or time you will be 'Dialed in" for the few that are around right then.

That is basically what forced me into constant "experimentation". If I only ever fished out of,say, Ucluelet, I probably wouldn't go to half the length of "tinkering" I do now..........

 

[jeffywestcoast]

Ya i hear ya someday it doesn't matter what your running, everything is catching fish, otherdays you can troll all day without a bite, E.C.V.I. can be difficult to consistently land fish, definitely going to try n get a few days in on the westcoast again this year, Swale rock is one of my favorite hotspots.. cant seem to go wrong out there..

 

[dmurph]

Good thread going here, I think the rotation speed is very important. When I first took up fishing the only resource I had for info was the Internet and most of the info I found from various sites all instructed to let out 20 to 30 feet of line from clip to flasher and to troll 3 mph. It wasn't really until two local vancouver guides Garry and Terry made me shorten it up that I started to catch fish. I wasn't trolling 3 mph at that time as I would match the locals at the cap fishery and the speed was more like 1.9 to 2.3. If I trolled 3mph I think that would have worked with the recommended 20 to 30 feet of line out. Shorter set ip with the slower speed keeps the gear rolling nicely, keeps the tangles down on stacking and makes for solid hook sets. Like some have said though if you just check how the flasher just under the water and it looks right then your good to go. Also I think presentation is very important on the inside.

 

[jeffywestcoast]

One thing i am wondering is ,should i go get the speed/temp mod for my lowrance,ALL i have to go by now is the S.o.G (SPEED OVER GROUND) reading on my gps, and the angle on the downrigger lines, seemed to be pretty good tonight, minus the fish..just wondering if the Actual speed varies from the S.O.G. reading much , probly just second guessing myself , had a steady 1.8 knots on troll tonight, just need more trolling time in i guess, gotta get the big "S' off this boat soon or im going to have to Scuttle it next to the Saskatchewan !

 

[Seafever]

SOG is how fast your boat is going over ground (ocean floor). If you are going WITH the current it could make a difference on line angle /flasher rotation.

Lets's say the current was 2 mph. You are going this fast without doing anything. To get anything to work you would increase your speed from zero to 2 mph.

Now your SOG is 4mph........but the gear acts like it's going 2 mph.

If you turn around and head back INTO the current.....you could be almost not moving and your gear will act like it's going 2mph already.

 

[jeffywestcoast]

trolled for six hours today not even a nibble, couple nice crabs at least..Pass the butter!