Diver or Downrigger

[FC]

When it is spinning it isn't swinging wide from side to side like it's intended to. A flasher will actually swing wider at that point.

[Glockster]

Dodgers have to run at much slower speeds so they're not my preference for coho.  Coho, as a general rule, like fast stuff. 

When coho are aggressive and near the surface you cannot really do anything "wrong".  I have caught them on bare hooks before. 

[7mmfan]

If I was you, I would play with it and try different things. If you can fish multiple rods have a diver out deep and one in the prop wash. When fishing the prop wash, put on a 2 - 4 oz lead and let it out 12' - 15'. I have caught them literally with my herring spinning 5 feet behind the prop of the kicker. If you aren't getting any action, let it out a little further but I would rarely fish that rod further out then about 35' because it just gets in the way. Be ready for the most vicious, line burning, rod holder creaking takes ever, and definitely be ready for evasive maneuvering around the other rods.

Also, fish it there all day. You will be surprised how far a fish will come to hit your bait in the prop wash. I've watched fish on my fish finder travel over 100' up through the water column to hit a bait in the prop wash. 

[Alchase]

This is how it was explained to me when young, a dodger, run slower, throws a Hoochie (squid ) side to side to mimic how a squid or wounded hearing swims in spurts not necessarily straight.
A flasher mimics a hearing school or feeding salmon, your bait is the wounded (easy pickings) trailing the school. I grew up with the basic rules use a dodger for hoochie, use a flasher for hearing.
But I have used all combinations of bait and flasher/dodger and still caught fish.

Just depends on how hungry they are, lol

[Rick]

Because of the slow speed required to run dodgers properly,I never use them. Even when I'm fishing kings,I troll fast. Rarely less than 3 mph and usually pushing 4.

[MatthewHunter98]

i personaly dont like deep sixis

[Gobble Doc]

OK guys.  I went out Saturday morning with my 14 year old.  We launched at Everett at 4:30 with the full moon.  We were fishing early.  I hate to say but we didn't get anything with the deep six and dodger.  I had a banana weight on another rod with a flasher and ace hi fly and I had one good hit but didn't get it.  Around noon it started to get pretty choppy for us and we headed in.  I have caught in a lot of different circumstances but I definitely don't have the area 9/area  8-2 coho figured out.  We saw quite a few nets flying.  Just not our net. 

[CP]

The Coho between the ferry and the shipwreck have mostly been running between 65 and 95 feet, probably too deep for your setup.

I say “mostly”, someone is sure post that they caught a bunch at 30’ and less.  You never know with Coho.

[FC]

The Coho between the ferry and the shipwreck have mostly been running between 65 and 95 feet, probably too deep for your setup.

I say “mostly”, someone is sure post that they caught a bunch at 30’ and less.  You never know with Coho.

If he got the big deep 6 he can get to 65 with about 180' of line out, for 90' he would want to let out about 300'.

[Gobble Doc]

I do have the large size deep six but didn't have out enough line to be getting down to 90'.  I will be looking for a downrigger for the future.  I really hate just guessing all the time about how deep I'm getting down.  Thanks for your help. 

[FC]

I do have the large size deep six but didn't have out enough line to be getting down to 90'.  I will be looking for a downrigger for the future.  I really hate just guessing all the time about how deep I'm getting down.  Thanks for your help.

Fishing divers takes a lot of patience to figure out but work very effectively if you take the time. I trolled in depths I wanted to hit and let out line a little at a time until I would start bumping bottom to figure it out. Downriggers have their own set of challenges, especially on a small boat! If you would like to experience downriggers on a small boat you can fish with me in mine. PM me if you're interested.

[Gobble Doc]

FC,

Thank you for the kind offer.  I very well may drop you a line as I get closer to pulling the trigger on a DR. 

[hunt_fish]

Is it worth using a diver until I can get a downrigger set up?  Or, is it not a good use of time and better to just bypass the deep six and spend the time and effort focused on a downrigger.  I'm thinking of coho during the next month.  Thoughts?

Divers are fine, we had just as much success on divers as downriggers this summer at Jeff's Head during days when we had more than just my dad and myself fishing out there.

[Ripper]

I catch plenty of fish on deep sixes. I have 2 Scotty electric DR's that I run off the sides and I run 1 or 2 d-6's off the back. Usually I have my best luck early in the morning with the 6's, but I have caught silvers all day with them. One of my favorite set ups for silvers with the 6's is run a 6' leader behind the 6 to a double hook rig. Slide on a small 2 or 3 inch hootchie. Put the top hook through the nose of a herring, then put the second hook though the tail. wrap your extra line to the second hook around the first hook till you have a good bend in the herring. this will cause the herring rig to spin like a cut plug with the attraction of the hootchie. I learned this from a charter I went on a few years back. It works good. Good luck out there.

[Gobble Doc]

I was just reading the Sept. 2012 fishing update on John's Sporting Goods website.  Not sure what to make of the following?  Either he just hates downriggers or wants to sell downriggers??? 


"No Downrigger for Coho No Big Deal.  ...Do not try to mimic the downrigger anglers by putting a flasher behind a Deep Six. That is a waste of time and money."

http://www.johnssportinggoods.com/northwest-fishing-journal/2012-northwest-fishing-journal/download?path=2012%20September.pdf