Fish Sniffer On Demand Digital Edition Issue 3717 Aug 3-17, 2018 | Page 28

28 Aug 3 - 17, 2018 VOL.37 • ISS. 17 Rigging Up For Ocean Kings H ot Spot Flashers perform very well when it comes to hooking ocean run king salmon off the California coast and beyond. When utilizing flashers the key decisions a fisherman needs to make are, first the line length between the downrigger release and the flasher. Second, the tail length be- tween the flasher and the hoochie or bait. Third, the weight of the leader to use. And fourth, which bait, lure or hoochie to use behind the flasher. A typical Chinook setup is 18 feet of line between the downrigger ball and an 11” Hot Spot flasher. The lure is run 42 inches behind the blade on 30 lb. fluoro- carbon. These measurements are often utilized by commercial salmon trollers. When fishing shallow water, say water less then 40 feet deep, it is often wise to drop the flasher back to 30 to 70 feet behind the downrigger weight.