How To Set Up Downriggers For Salmon Fishing

Each fisherman has a finely curated recipe for their perfect angling setup, which generally varies from each kind of fish to the side by side. I thought I'd share my absolute best recipe for catching Kokanee Salmon with you all! This has worked for me countless times, and while I'thou ever open to improving my rig, I haven't found annihilation that beats what I've got at present.

Equipment	Recommendation
Gunkhole	Smoker Craft Freedom 18
Downrigger	Walker Downriggers Lake Chief Transmission Downrigger
Fish Finder	Raymarine Dragonfly four PRO
Rod	Tica KLEA/KLEB/KLEC/KLED Kokanee Glass Fishing Rod Series
Dodger	Shasta Standard Sling Blade Dodger
Flasher	Mack's Lure Flash Lite 4-Blade Serial
Snubbers	Luhr-Jensen Bully Lakes Snubber
Hook	Kokabow Double Hook Spinners
Bait	Shoepeg Corn
Scent	Garlic
Net	EGO S1 Genesis
Line	viii# Maxima Ultragreen

Dodger Setup

Adhere your flashers to the ball that weighs down your downrigger line. With the kind of flashers I employ, which are attached to the ball, I want to proceed my dodger and lure decently close to the the flashers, keeping the activity together.

I employ a line and stacker clip to adhere my line to the downrigger cablevision, making sure I mensurate out my line correctly. Besides long, and the line volition trail out as well far behind my flashers. Too shut, and all the activeness will be in exactly the same place, which I also don't want.

Attach the dodger several feet downwardly the line after it passes through the line prune. How far afterwards the dodger y'all attach your lure usa dependant on the kind of lure it is. If there are any attachments that will give the lure its ain action, yous can attach it farther away. If the lure has no activity of it's own, you're going to want it closer to the dodger, so there is some transference of movement to the lure and/or bait.

Dodger – Shasta Standard Sling Bract Dodger

Example of Shasta Dodger action in the water

The Shasta Standard Sling Blade Dodger is something I found thanks to the internet, and people sharing their success stories. I plant a video that I'll link above then you can meet what kind of action this specific dodger gives when it's being pulled in the h2o behind your boat.

The dodger is meant to provide movement and a "thumping" noise in the water that makes the fish curious plenty to come to investigate. Kokanee salmon are very curious and aggressive fish, so if there's something out of the ordinary that isn't obviously a predator, they'll come to check information technology out. That's what you have a dodger for.

As y'all can see, information technology's incredibly smooth, and even in the video, is attracting fish to the bait. Some of the things information technology'southward been advertised to do that I can't really observe from my boat include smoother action than other dodgers, faster activeness than other dodgers, and it's supposed to stop "slinging" once you accept a fish on your claw, making it easier to bring your fish in, and enabling you lot to more than accurately experience your fish fighting you.

The number one thing that grabbed my attending near this dodger is the raving reviews it has online. Everyone seems to dear this make and this specific model. If you want to check out some of the things people are saying well-nigh this dodger because you're thinking of giving information technology a try, but google the proper noun. There seems to be no shortage of proficient things people take to say, and I personally love it. I'll ever have several in my tackle box, in several different colors.

Downrigger – Walker Downriggers Lake Master Manual Downrigger

Downriggers are an accented necessity when information technology comes to fishing for kokanee salmon. Unless you're ice angling in the heart of the winter, you'll want 1. I know you Tin can catch kokanee without one (like if you have a jigging automobile) and that you could probably TECHNICALLY catch them from the shore if the water is common cold enough, but those are besides many IFS for me. But vanquish out the coin and buy a downrigger, y'all'll be glad you did.

In case you're a little unclear every bit to what a downrigger is, or why you should have one, I'll explicate existent quick.
Kokanee salmon are a very temperature sensitive fish, which means that they will be living in colder h2o that's generally establish deeper in the body of water you're line-fishing, typically between thirty to threescore feet down. This makes the chances of y'all catching one only casting your line out very small-scale. Very pocket-sized. Y'all need to get your tackle and bait down to the fish, which, as I mentioned, is pretty deep. This is where the downrigger comes in. The downrigger gets your gear down deep, so while you troll for the fish, your bait is dragged behind yous at the desired depth, hopefully waving your allurement right in front end of the fish.

I bought the "Walker Downriggers Lake Master Manual Downrigger". It was around $200, which makes me cringe just a little fleck, but it does what I want it to, and I haven't regretted buying it. I definitely wouldn't exist as successful without it, and it was one of the cheaper models. Information technology is a manual, non electric, which could be considered a downside, but I don't accept whatsoever issues with information technology.

Rod – Tica KLEA/KLEB/KLEC/KLED Kokanee Drinking glass Fishing Rod Series

For fishing kokanee salmon, I use the Tica KLEA/KLEB/KLEC/KLED Kokanee Glass Fishing Rod Series (I had to Google that name to make sure information technology was right). This rod is absolutely astonishing.

I paid effectually $threescore for information technology, which is function of the reason I love it so much. At that place are some really expensive kokanee rods out there, and while that generally does mean you lot terminate up with a meliorate product, I definitely don't feel like I traded downwardly in quality for this toll I paid. If anything DID happen though, like if heaven foreclose, the rod broke or got stepped on by a kid, I won't take just lost hundreds of dollars.

The rod is made out of fiberglass, and it's super sensitive. I can tell merely by watching the tip of the rod if I'grand getting hits, which I love. It'southward like an early on alarm arrangement letting me know that I need to become ready to reel my fish in. That being said, even though information technology is sensitive, it'southward super durable, and I don't worry near information technology breaking when I'm in the centre of a death match with a kokanee salmon.

It has a cork handle, which I personally dearest the experience of. It makes the rod feel more secure in my hand, and it reminds me of fishing with my dad when I was little. Aside from loving the personality the cork gives my rod, it too fits perfectly into the stand up on my downrigger.

Boat – Smoker Craft Liberty 18′

This is a semi-recent purchase, simply my Smoker Arts and crafts Liberty eighteen′ is the best thing I've endemic for Kokanee fishing (which isn't hard, I didn't have a gunkhole before this). It isn't fitted out with tons of bells and whistles like your more expensive boats are, only it has everything I need, and it can be equipped with extras and bonus equipment if I want it. It's piece of cake enough to fit with a downrigger, it fits several of my friends, and it isn't atrociously big, so it'due south adequately piece of cake to store.

A downside I could see to this specific boat is the number of seats. It simply has two, which could exist a problem if you have too many friends, so if y'all accept more than than one or 2 fishing buddies, yous may need to reevaluate your friendships. It CAN semi-comfortably fit around half-dozen people, so if 1 friend is besides few, you could technically have six, if most of them don't mind continuing the whole time. Or sitting on a cooler.

All that being said, generally, the deciding cistron when it all comes downward to it is the price of the boat. I got this i in the twenty thousand dollar range, and like I mentioned earlier, while it about certainly isn't the fanciest thing on the lake, it's everything I need to go angling, and I didn't pause the bank when I bought it.

Fish Finder – Raymarine Dragonfly iv PRO

I mentioned merely before when talking well-nigh downriggers that kokanee salmon are typically a deeper dwelling fish, which ways you can waste material a lot of time dragging your line around at a depth where you tin't see if at that place are actually fish to be caught. Y'all'll want to have an idea where the fish are, and how deep the fish are.

You lot tin exercise this in a couple of ways. You can watch the other fishermen and ask the ones who are having success what depth they're line-fishing at, which will tell y'all the depth to fish at, but unless that specific fisherman gives yous their spot, that may not be super useful. Possibly you're anti-social, and don't desire to seem like a creep asking other people questions near their fish. The remedy? A fish finder!

Fishfinders, like so many other things, are one of those things where the kind of money yous spend will actually impact the success you have and the kind of product you terminate upward with. Yous're going to want a fish finder that is powerful enough to become you a adequately deep epitome and casts a wide cone, to give yous the best adventure of finding a school of kokanee.

I've got the Raymarine Dragonfly 4 PRO. It has WiFi congenital into it, so I can use information technology with an app on my phone. It's got a great screen, gives me a articulate prototype that goes deep enough into the water for me, and information technology never fogs up. In that location are definitely fancier ones, so if you lot've got coin to burn, go a meliorate one.

This model is around $300, merely mine was a Christmas gift, so this is 1 expanse where I don't have to experience guilty nigh spending money to feed my fishing obsession.

Line – 8# Maxima Ultragreen

I'd never given much idea to my line before I started line-fishing for fish that could really intermission my line, then I tried out eight# Maxima Ultragreen on the recommendation of a friend, and I don't know if I'll e'er change. The green shade of the line makes information technology almost invisible to fish, which means they won't have their attention taken abroad from your bait and tackle.

I've never once worried that my line was nearly to intermission, and even though I've never used it in anything simply open water, information technology has astonishing reviews for toughness, so I wouldn't feel worried using information technology fishing shallower water where it would exist rubbing against rocks that would wearable at it.

Flasher – Mack's Lure Flash Light four-Blade Series

Flashers are meant to work in concert with the dodgers on your line. While dodgers are mostly bigger and meant to produce a noise, flashers are there to…well, flash. By spinning and reflecting lite from the surface, they wink low-cal deeper in the water, which the kokanee salmon are attracted to.

I've been told that the combination of a group of dodgers and flashers mimic a schoolhouse of pocket-sized fish, which makes the territorial kokanee angry, and that'southward exactly what yous desire. Mack's Lure Flash Calorie-free 4-Blade Series is a length of line with iv flashers placed equidistant from each other forth the length, which, if the rumor is true, could easily be mistaken for a pocket-size school of fish.

I enjoy this flasher because information technology'due south fun, and very light, producing a minimal drag on my line, which ways it doesn't make my fight with the fish whatsoever more difficult or give me simulated alarms on my pole. Information technology comes in a diversity of colors, and so there's some customization you can mess around with to get exactly what you want.

Snubbers – Luhr-Jensen Groovy Lakes Snubber

While this isn't an absolutely necessary slice of gear, similar a rod, or fishing line are, snubbers are a not bad little add-on to your setup. You may have read about, or experienced the soft mouths of the Kokanee salmon for yourself, whether you've seen the hook tear through yourself, or you've been in the eye of a heated boxing trying to existent in the fish, and all of a sudden, it was gone. The hook probably tore through its mouth, if that has happened to y'all.

The purpose of the snubber is to prevent that from happening. It helps set the hook, but also takes some of the pressure level off the oral cavity of the fish, lessening the chances of you lot losing your fish afterwards a hard-fought battle. I utilize the Luhr-Jensen Peachy Lakes Snubber. It's fairly cheap, sold pretty ordinarily, and seems to be belongings upwards to the water and air well, with no signs of dandy.

I didn't know this until I had already purchased mine, but apparently, y'all can make 1 yourself, instead of purchasing one already made. You need things similar safe tubing, monofilament, things like that. I feel like this may not be something that would actually be cheaper to make yourself since I uncertainty you can purchase merely a few inches of prophylactic tubing or line. It may save you money over time, but this is a slice of equipment I'll probably not DIY.

As I said, this isn't something you NEED, but every time I feel kokanee hit my line, I'm glad I have it. There are few things worse than losing a fish during a fight.

Hook – Kokabow Double Claw Spinners

I experience similar nigh of united states of america assume that a claw will exist role of any fishing setup, so why mention the hook specifically? Yeah, a regular silver claw will work, but this is where I kind of let myself have fun. I had no idea before I started Kokanee line-fishing that in that location were and so many different kinds of hooks!

I'thousand not talking about shape, or the number of prongs, or annihilation like that. I've had a lot of fun using the Kokabow Double Hook Spinners. As the proper noun implies, information technology has a spinner attached to it, but it also has several beads, which I tin can just surmise are meant to reflect light or are in colors that will attract the fish. Definitely something you could make yourself!

For those of us who like night fishing (because none of united states of america are backside on sleep, are nosotros), I've had a LOT of fun using glow in the dark hooks. I feel similar the super creepy angler fish in Finding Nemo that lured in Dory and Marlin. Now, I honestly don't know how big of a difference the glow makes, and the glow generally only lasts 20-thirty minutes earlier it has to be "recharged", but it makes total sense to me that the glow near the hook would attract fish. And, as I said, hooks are merely a fun place to have fun. None of the different kinds are really that expensive, so if something doesn't piece of work, information technology's not similar you merely dropped a paycheck on a dud.

Bait – Shoepeg Corn

Ok, bait. Kokanee is a weird fish. They're adequately decently sized, simply for the most function, they actually really merely swallow zooplankton. They filter them through their gills. This matters because, with a lot of fish, you fish with bait that resembles the things they take in their diet. With Kokanee salmon, that's plain non actually feasible. Fortunately for us, Kokanee salmon are ambitious, territorial, and curious, which means that although nosotros won't be baiting our hooks with zooplankton, there are lots of means to become them to bite a hook.

You'll generally desire to allurement your claw (if you use bait for kokanee, some people don't) with something you can soak in a aroma, which I'll talk about adjacent. The virtually pop things to use are maggots, shrimp, or shoepeg corn. The maggots or shrimp can be existent or imitation, but having them be some weird, bright fluorescent colour is a good idea. I use shoepeg corn. This isn't the corn that you lot only buy in cans and feed to your kids, y'all'll have to buy this online or from a angling shop.

Kokanee salmon Dear this stuff, and I'm almost certainly not the but person that uses it. Many, if non most kokanee fishermen do. If you lot practise use this, unless you're soaking it in a different, scent, don't open up it until you're about to apply information technology. Keep it tightly sealed so none of the smell or concentrated taste gets out. Open information technology when you're ready to bait your claw, non before.

Scent – Garlic

Scent plays a HUGE part when you're angling for Kokanee salmon. They're a very odor sensitive fish, so information technology can be used to depict them in, and brand them mad. While we can't know for sure, different fisherman claim dissimilar scents inspire different moods and behavior in the salmon.

These scents can either be purchased or made from different ingredients and things you have around the firm and in your pantry. I'll go over my favorites (which are ones y'all can make at dwelling), and and then store bought ones my friends have used with success.

I'm big on saving money, so if I tin make something as opposed to purchasing it for more than it would price to make, I'k going to make it. I found ALL of these ideas online, so peruse the internet and attempt out new things. Lots of people are open to sharing what has made them successful. Garlic is one of those scents. Most kokanee fishermen and women say that garlic makes the kokanee salmon mad, and while I can't vouch for how the fish is feeling, I tin can say that it probably hates it.

I mentioned earlier that, more than probable, you by and large won't be angling with anything that resembles anything in their normal diet, and then the take a chance of them striking at your hook because it has something they similar is small. Kokanee salmon are an incredibly curious and ambitious fish, and nosotros use this to our advantage. You don't have to apply a scent that they like. Using a odor that makes them mad will work only likewise.

Bootleg Scents

Garlic. We think this makes them mad, but regardless of what information technology does to their brains, it makes them strike your scented bait. It can be made at home by adding garlic pulverization, garlic salt, or some minced garlic to your tin of bait, whatever it is. Keep in heed that garlic will get stronger with historic period, so don't add a ton. You desire to bring the fish in, not pollute a lake.
Anise extract. I honestly don't know why this one works, if I were a fish, I'd stay the heck away. I guess kokanee must be fans of black licorice. If I had to guess, I'd say this one is such a hit because it's such a STRONG scent/ flavor. Similarly to the garlic, add the anise extract to the can of bait and permit it marinate. I apply 7 drops, only you lot can figure out what works best for you.
Tuna juice. Who fifty-fifty knows why this works. Kokanee salmon don't consume tuna. They don't really even consume other fish. Sometimes they'll eat tiny grubs or shrimp. Only shoepeg corn soaked in tuna juice? They love it. Aforementioned drill as with the anise and garlic, open a tin can of tuna and bleed the juice into your can of allurement.
Additional ideas the internet has given me that I HAVEN'T tried yet are maple syrup, strawberry extract, and vanilla excerpt.

Store bought Scents

I've only ever used bootleg scents, but my buddies use some of these and take seen success with them so I figured they deserved at least an honorable mention.

Salmon Egg Juice
Krill Oil
I don't have every bit much to say well-nigh these since I haven't used them myself, simply a quick cyberspace search will show you that they're popular, and they're pop for a reason. I'1000 just a cheapskate, and I'one thousand not going to spend coin where I don't take to.

Net – EGO S1 Genesis

I've owned a number of nets over the years, and I'thousand SO glad I found this one. Information technology'due south easily the all-time ane I've e'er endemic. When yous call up about nets, what are the problems that we generally have? Hooks getting caught in the netting, or the netting getting caught on the castor while you're walking to your surreptitious fishing spot, correct?

Dropping the cyberspace into the water and watching it sink is a personal painful retention. I specifically think the net my dad would use when he would take me fishing as a niggling kid because my hooks were always getting caught in the netting. It was metal, with bright, neon green netting. I recollect the netting because it was the part of the net I could still see while it sank after I dropped it in the water. Bless my dad'due south heart, he told me that information technology was a good excuse for him to buy a new cyberspace.

While I may love this piece of equipment considering it resolves so many of my childhood traumas, with this internet, you won't have any of those bug. The EGO S1 Genesis has rubber netting, which means the netting never gets caught on my hooks, or if I'm walking with it, information technology never gets defenseless on any of the trees or bushes either.

Worried about you or your kid dropping your stuff in the water? Don't exist! This net floats. It's made with floatation material most or around the handbasket role of the net, depending on the model yous buy from this brand. Mine too comes with a telescoping rod, so I never have to worry most overextending and falling out of my boat, or trying to attain the net too far out and dropping it that manner. It's e'er the length I need information technology to exist.

Tips and Tricks

And then, every bit a disclaimer, I haven't tried all these myself. Some of these things are tricks my friends accept told me about, and others are ones I've read virtually as I've researched different ways to catch more kokanee.

An example of something I haven't tried yet, but I want to, is electricity. I've read quite a scrap about how kokanee are attracted to a positive current in the water, and repelled past a negative one. With the right equipment, y'all can evidently apply your gunkhole and downrigger to get a positive charge into the water around your gear, attracting fish. Unfortunately for me, but fortunately for the fish, while the idea of possibly catching more kokanee sounds great, I don't really want to spend the coin the get all that working.

Another tip a friend of mine swears by, just I remain skeptical of, is trolling parallel to the shore. Co-ordinate to him, the fish swim parallel to the shore. I'll be honest, I haven't paid much attention to the different rates of success I've had when I troll parallel every bit opposed to perpendicular. Or diagonal. If y'all take a fish finder, I don't think that should matter as much, since you'll already know where the fish are.

Source: https://outdoortroop.com/kokanee-dodger-setup-a-complete-guide-to-my-best-setup/