Poulsen Cascade Tackle

Kokanee & Trout Trolling

Fishing Techniques Videos, Tackle Tips, Talks, and Techniques

What You’ll Need

 

TROLLING: Arrow Flash Dodgers run at a wide range of speeds, from approximately 0.6-1.8MPH. On average, 1.0-1.7MPH is a great range to start with. Let the fish tell you what speed presentation they want that day! Cousin Carl Lake Trolls will run at virtually any troll speed, so experiment to see what the fish respond to that day.

LEADER: When trolling the Arrow Spin Micro Spinner behind an Arrow Flash Dodger, running a leader length from 6-16” can be very successful, with 8-10” often being the sweet spot. When trolling a Wild Weasel behind an Arrow Flash, slightly longer leader lengths are generally used, usually 10-16” in length. When trolling a Cousin Carl Lake Troll with an Arrow Spin or Wild Weasel behind, you can use leader lengths up to approximately 24”.

BAITING: Both the Arrow Spin and Wild Weasel have fish-catching action, but to make your presentation even more irresistible, tip your hooks with your favorite Kokanee or Trout bait. Be careful- too much bait can add drag or block the hook’s point.

Download - Trolling-for Kokanee Tech Sheet Rigging
Trolling

Kokanee & Trout Trolling

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HOW TO RIG

Arrow Flash

From your main line,

  1. String on the Free Slide with the dropper snap closest to your rod tip
  2. Tie your mainline directly to the Free Slide bead chain
  3. Attach the duo-lock of your Techni-Strand to the Free Slide bead chain
  4. Clip an Arrow Flash Dodger to the bead chain/duo-lock end of the Techni-Strand
  5. Clip on an Arrow Spin or Wild Weasel
Arrow Flash How to Rig

Cousin Carl

From your main line,
  1. String on the Free Slide with the dropper snap closest to your rod tip
  2. Tie your mainline directly to the Free Slide bead chain
  3. Using a duo lock, attach the snap swivel of your Cousin Carl to the Free Slide bead chain
  4. Clip on an Arrow Spin or Wild Weasel
    Cousin Carl How to Rig
    Trolling for Kokanee Rigging
    Download - Trolling-for Kokanee Tech Sheet Rigging

    Kokanee Dodger Rig Setup

    Fishing Techniques Videos, Tackle Tips, Talks, and Techniques

    The Best Kokanee Rigs for Trolling

    Start with the Best Kokanee Dodger

    Kokanee Spinner Rig Arrow Spin

    Kokanee Dodger Arrow Flash

    Kokanee Dodger Arrow Flash Silver Sand Shrimp

    Kokanee Dodger Rig Setup

    Kokanee Guides, tournament anglers, and serious kokanee anglers of all stripes will agree that the most essential thing a kokanee dodger setup does is impart action to the bait or lure being towed behind it.

    Color matters, too, as does flash, but the ‘kick’ puts the fish on the bite. Furthermore, the kick helps set the hook when a kokanee does take a swipe at it. 

    The Challenge

    The challenge is finding a kokanee dodger that can produce all the action, kick along with the flash at relatively slow speeds of 1.7 mph or less, and do so reliably every time without fidgeting and tuning the device.

    And since kokanee fishing is generally done with light-action slow taper rods, the dodger mustn’t create too much drag. 

    To complicate the quest a bit more, whatever the actual lure or bait behind the dodger, it has to be such that it will respond to the action intended to be imparted by the dodger.

    • It won’t thrash about sufficiently if the leader is too long to induce a strike.
    • If the drag of the lure is too significant, the dodger won’t kick.
    • If the leader is too light on the material, the lure or bait will just tow along lifelessly, not doing much to get the fish’s attention.

    In short, even with the best dodgers, if the rest of the rig isn’t correctly balanced to produce all the desired action, not much fishing will continue.

    This video demonstrates one such kokanee setup

    Kokanee Dodger Rig Setup – The Results

    This results from input from serious kokanee anglers around the Western United States. The dodger is an Arrow Flash, and the spinner rig behind it is an Arrow Spin.

    The Arrow Spin leader rig incorporates a size 4/0 Bear Valley spinner blade, placed with a few beads on a 12-pound test leader, using VMC kokanee hooks.

    The leader is only about a foot long, maybe a bit less. This is the leader length we found kokanee guides and tournament anglers most often recommended to us.  

    The dodger in this video is a standard-size Arrow Flash, just as it is when removed from the package.

    • No tuning, bending, or other adjustments have been made.
    • The trolling speed is 1.5 mph. As you can see, the dodger kicks like a mule but does not roll over.

    Likewise, the Arrow Spin leader rig is dancing up a storm behind the Arrow Flash. We were looking for this in a kokanee setup based on inputs from those whose kokanee fishing is a serious matter. 

    To sum it up, this sort of kokanee trolling setup addresses all the requirements of action, kick, and flash needed to satisfy the elements of successful kokanee angling. It has repeatedly proven its worth in this arena. And does so without excess drag.

     

    3.5 Class Trolling Spinners Guide

    Tackle Tips, Talks, and Techniques

    What Kind Should You Use?

    All 3.5 spinners are the same, right? Wrong! While there are many similarities, some 3.5 class spinner blade styles have different “spin profiles,” which can significantly change the presentation.

    The most common “3.5 spinners” use a 3.5 size Colorado style blade, where the name “3.5” came from. Even so, most blade styles of similar size use unique sizing scales. The shape, contour, length, and width make the difference, rather than the number on the blade.

    The term “3.5 Class” is used to identify spinners and spinner blades that are appropriately sized to fish well behind a 360° flasher.

    Each of these 4 blades are considered 3.5 Class Spinners:

    Spinner Guide
    Download the Spinner Guide

    3.5 Class Trolling Spinners Guide

    Blade

    Shape & Size

    Lift – Angle Between Blade & Shaft

    Colorado

    Round
    1-1/8” Long x 3/4” Wide

    Moderately dished contour provides high lift.

    Colorado

    BV Cub

    Round
    1-1/4” Long x 7/8” Wide

    Pear shape provides a medium-lift.

    BV-Cub

    Baby Back

    Round
    1-1/8” Long x 3/4” Wide

    A deeply cupped lip provides an even higher lift than a Colorado.

    Baby-Back

    Wise Guy

    Narrow ‘double-ended’ profile
    1-5/8” Long x 3/4” Wide

    Moderately dished contour and unique shape provide a lower lift for a tighter rotation around the shaft.

    Wise-Guy

    Ever notice that some spinners have different wire shaft lengths? 

    Here are a few reasons why …

     Longer wire shafts:

    1. Allow for easier tuning
    2. Can aid in protecting your leader because the fish’s teeth will more often be scraping on the wire and not on your leader line

    Short wire shafts:

    1. Don’t bend as easily, which may allow more time before you have to straighten or re-form the wire

    Take the spinner shaft between your thumb and forefinger and twist it back and forth. Your treble hook should spin straight with the wire shaft without moving side to side.

    If it is off-center, make minor adjustments until the hook aligns with the shaft. This is often best done by moving the hook within the hook tubing.

    Download the Spinner Guide

    What’s the Big Deal About 3.5 Spinners for Salmon?

    Fishing Techniques Videos, Tackle Tips, Talks, and Techniques

    3.5 Spinners for Salmon

    What Size Spinner for Salmon is Best?

     

    Not so long ago, spinner fishing for salmon was a matter of large spinners with a distinctive ‘thump.’ Anglers in the know wanted to see their rod tip bouncing to the beat of the spinner blade as they trolled the rivers and bays in pursuit of king salmon.

    The ‘thump’ accomplished a couple of vital functions:

    • First, if it was thumping, it was working. The thump would change or stop entirely if the spinner got fouled with weeds or even on its own line. You knew it was time to reel it in and clear the mess. 
    • Second, and probably more importantly, if the thump stopped and the line went slack—even a little—you knew your spinner had likely been picked up by a salmon headed toward your boat. For those who could recognize these ‘slack-line bites, ’ the time to set the hook had been signaled. 
    • Finally, there is speculation that the thump generates additional attraction as it sends low-frequency sound waves out into the water.

    Those large spinners like the old T-Spoons and Cascade #7s will still produce just like they always did. But trends change, often for a good reason. Such is the case for the 3.5 salmon spinner craze.

    Some years ago, serious salmon anglers and guides discovered the benefits of 360° flashers (those with agitator rudders). Although they had been used for trolling with bait set-ups since they hit the market, it took the innovative thinking of a few to discover how effective they were when rigged with a spinner.

    The problem was that most traditional salmon spinners were too large to allow the flasher to rotate as designed.  

    The solution? A smaller spinner!

    Sounds simple enough, but the right balance of attraction and action had to be coupled with a hook that was not so large as to throw the whole works out of balance, yet strong enough to handle a battling Chinook salmon.

    Through trial and error, guides and serious salmon anglers developed a spinner that employed a 3.5 size Colorado style blade with a size 1 or 1/0 hook. That allowed the desired action and just enough hook to handle the target fish (most of the time). And thus, the 3.5 spinner craze was born. And so was a mindset that only a 3.5 spinner would work.

    While perfectly understandable, this thinking obscures the fact that other spinner styles and sizes will also work behind a 360° flasher. The issue is that every spinner style has its own unique sizing scale. Also, the actual size of the spinner that will allow a flasher to rotate properly depends as much on the shape and contour as the length and width. The 3.5 designation applies primarily to Colorado style blades. But other spinners and sizes also work.

    For example, while a slightly different shape, a size 1 Bear Valley style blade is approximately the same length and width as a size 3.5 Colorado. Furthermore, since it is more pear-shaped than the rounder Colorado, it actually trolls with a bit less resistance and so allows a slightly freer rotation of the flasher.

    Here’s a different comparison. A Wise Guy blade is longer but has a slimmer profile with a shallower-cupped contour.  Because of the hydro-dynamics of the longer Wise Guy blade, the flasher can still rotate well, but the spinner will have a much different profile and look to a salmon.

    You can see in this video how even though the Wise Guy 3.5 Spinner Blade appears larger than a 3.5 Colorado blade, it still allows a 360° flasher to rotate freely.

     

     

    To simplify the whole 3.5 mindset and reduce confusion about actual spinner sizes, it can be helpful to think of all spinners that troll well behind a 360° flasher as 3.5 class spinners. It is not the stated size for a spinner or spinner blade that counts, but rather how it behaves when trolled behind.

    To help illustrate, click to check out the >>> ‘Tech Sheet’.

     

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