Kokanee 101 ver. 20.14... ;-)
- Thread starter cowlitzsteelie1977
- Start date
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The article notes always using flash on the lure, could someone clarify what flash is? From reading, I would think it is the smaller strands toward the bottom of the lure, but could use some confirmation from those in the know? Thanks from a noob.
"Flash" is a spray applied UV coating. It comes in a small pump spray bottle.
DLM
Oregon Forum MODERATOR
I think the flash he is referring to here is the tinsel tied to the front hook. Herzog is big on that, I have tried it a little but have not experimented with it a great deal, no idea if it really makes a difference. Good Article.
I was surprised when he was talking about preventing fish from early escapes he did not mention a light drag. Letting them run a little sure tires them out and makes netting sooooooooo much easier.
I was surprised when he was talking about preventing fish from early escapes he did not mention a light drag. Letting them run a little sure tires them out and makes netting sooooooooo much easier.
DLM, yes, you are correct. I've read a lot of his other articles and know he loves UV too. But in this case, it was the flashabou at the hooks in the pictures. If you have read any of our threads on Kokanee flies in the tackle craft forum, you'll see that some of us are running koke flies made entirely of the crystal flash and doing really well.
I was the one that wrote the article in question. Been a member of KFF for sometime, but haven't posted much here as I tend to spend most of my time on WaLakes. I heard from a friend that there was some chatter over here regarding the "article", so I figured I'd check it out and respond. I want to start by saying that these are my methods and reasoning and that this is what works for me. I'm sure that many of you have your own way and may disagree with what I do. If you do disagree, please comment. Nothing is better than a little healthy debate to iron out a systematic approach to what works, what doesn't, and most importantly...why it does or doesn't.
Regarding the flash, DLM nailed it. Tinsel pretty much sums it up. You can find it at almost every tackle/sporting goods store in my area (greater Seattle area). I know Cabela's has a bunch in their fly shop. Sportco/Outdoor Emporium (local sporting goods warehouses) have a decent selection as well. You could probably find similar stuff at a craft store, but I prefer to use products that are more specific to tackle because the finishes are better quality i.e. UV, fine strands etc. Like DLM and the article said, I take no credit for adding flash to my lures. General Zog turned me onto this addition and it has greatly increased my hookups. I experimented with it a ton last season by putting lures with flash and no flash (same lures, bait and dodgers, only difference was the flash). I found that the flashy lures got hit almost twice as much as the lures without flash. There are times where the flash gets hit less, but the MAJORITY of the time, the flash gets bit more.
Regarding DLM's comment on the drag, all I can say is that I don't bother with it. I use Lami white and red koke rods and I absolutely bury the rods as far as they will go without popping the clip. I like my rod tips to be almost in the water. In order to get this much pre-load action, it requires a fairly tight drag. I don't like to have to adjust my drag for each fish, and then re-adjust when loading back in the rigger, so I just leave it TIGHT. I have caught some decent sized kokes (for washington at least) in the 16"-20" range and have yet for any of them to take much line. I let the limber rods and light, stretchy line take care of all the fighing/pulling action. In order to compensate for the tight drag, I use a longer set-back (more on this in a minute). Like the article says, I like to run my lower rods at 80' and my uppers at 100', regardless of depth. Even in Lake Chelan where the fish are commonly 70'-120' deep, I still go with the 80' lower and 100' upper set-backs. I threw the common 100' rule out the window a few years ago.
I believe that the longer set-backs help in multiple ways. First, it gets your offering away from the boat. This helps keep the lure away from the noise of the boat/motor etc and also away from the shadow of the boat. Second, the more line you have out, the more it acts like a rubber band in that it will stretch and contract and give constant pressure on the fish. Third, I feel that the longer you fight the fish while it is down at depth, the better your chances of tiring it out before it gets to the surface. I tend to think that reasons 2 and 3 help me to get away with such a tight drag. Also important is finesse. Take your time and enjoy the fight. There is no rush. Like the article states, I have caught many, many kokes this season, and I have lost very, very few. The article states that I've lost 4, but I'm actually at 6 lost so far this season now (and I remember each and every one like it just happened). Again, 6 out of 200+ fish is merely a drop in the bucket. There are many factors that go into this, but larger drop shot style hooks and long set backs are probably the best things I've done to keep those fish on.
As I stated before, this (and what's in the article) are just a few of the factors that have contributed to much of my success.
So... I'll leave it at that for now, but if anyone wants to chime in with questions, comments or opinions, I'd be happy to respond.
Regarding the flash, DLM nailed it. Tinsel pretty much sums it up. You can find it at almost every tackle/sporting goods store in my area (greater Seattle area). I know Cabela's has a bunch in their fly shop. Sportco/Outdoor Emporium (local sporting goods warehouses) have a decent selection as well. You could probably find similar stuff at a craft store, but I prefer to use products that are more specific to tackle because the finishes are better quality i.e. UV, fine strands etc. Like DLM and the article said, I take no credit for adding flash to my lures. General Zog turned me onto this addition and it has greatly increased my hookups. I experimented with it a ton last season by putting lures with flash and no flash (same lures, bait and dodgers, only difference was the flash). I found that the flashy lures got hit almost twice as much as the lures without flash. There are times where the flash gets hit less, but the MAJORITY of the time, the flash gets bit more.
Regarding DLM's comment on the drag, all I can say is that I don't bother with it. I use Lami white and red koke rods and I absolutely bury the rods as far as they will go without popping the clip. I like my rod tips to be almost in the water. In order to get this much pre-load action, it requires a fairly tight drag. I don't like to have to adjust my drag for each fish, and then re-adjust when loading back in the rigger, so I just leave it TIGHT. I have caught some decent sized kokes (for washington at least) in the 16"-20" range and have yet for any of them to take much line. I let the limber rods and light, stretchy line take care of all the fighing/pulling action. In order to compensate for the tight drag, I use a longer set-back (more on this in a minute). Like the article says, I like to run my lower rods at 80' and my uppers at 100', regardless of depth. Even in Lake Chelan where the fish are commonly 70'-120' deep, I still go with the 80' lower and 100' upper set-backs. I threw the common 100' rule out the window a few years ago.
I believe that the longer set-backs help in multiple ways. First, it gets your offering away from the boat. This helps keep the lure away from the noise of the boat/motor etc and also away from the shadow of the boat. Second, the more line you have out, the more it acts like a rubber band in that it will stretch and contract and give constant pressure on the fish. Third, I feel that the longer you fight the fish while it is down at depth, the better your chances of tiring it out before it gets to the surface. I tend to think that reasons 2 and 3 help me to get away with such a tight drag. Also important is finesse. Take your time and enjoy the fight. There is no rush. Like the article states, I have caught many, many kokes this season, and I have lost very, very few. The article states that I've lost 4, but I'm actually at 6 lost so far this season now (and I remember each and every one like it just happened). Again, 6 out of 200+ fish is merely a drop in the bucket. There are many factors that go into this, but larger drop shot style hooks and long set backs are probably the best things I've done to keep those fish on.
As I stated before, this (and what's in the article) are just a few of the factors that have contributed to much of my success.
So... I'll leave it at that for now, but if anyone wants to chime in with questions, comments or opinions, I'd be happy to respond.
Mharri333
Well-known member
gfakkema, Nice write up. Very comprehensive. I started tying some lures with the "flash" and noticed that they are getting hit more often than anything else. I put it on wedding rings and on hoochies.
For those of you that don't tie flies (I don't), I met a guy at the dock in Chelan that told me how he does it. He uses the rubber glow beads to hold the flash on. Very easy to do. No glue. No thread needed. Just poke the flash through the hold in the bead then slide the bead over the eye of the hook. It works great.
I will be testing out some new lures at Chelan this weekend.
For those of you that don't tie flies (I don't), I met a guy at the dock in Chelan that told me how he does it. He uses the rubber glow beads to hold the flash on. Very easy to do. No glue. No thread needed. Just poke the flash through the hold in the bead then slide the bead over the eye of the hook. It works great.
I will be testing out some new lures at Chelan this weekend.
cowlitzsteelie1977
Well-known member
In response to the UV Blast, that's for your spoon and dodger. Tinsel or even UV epoxy hooks can be flash. The beauty of this and my wife makes fun of me all the time for it, is you can bead to your imaginations content. Kokanee lure making is the "manly" way of beading. ;-) Yes I know there are woman angler's too, but they don't get as much crap for it. ;-) Take all the input from every source imaginable and come up with your own thing. I don't think too many people mind if you plagiarize their success or they wouldn't have posted the information in the first place. And lure makers in the market want you to be successful so you'll buy their products. Tight lines Folks.
Gfakkema very good write up man.
Gfakkema very good write up man.
cowlitzsteelie1977
Well-known member
Those are sexy SuperD
clawman
Well-known member
Yes, very sweet. How deep were you fishing?
SilverBullets
Super Moderator
Interesting... so i take it your doing this before the hook is tied on the line? What have you found works best to poke the flash through the bead?
SuperDaveMT
Well-known member
Has anyone tried the UV Flash Spray? I picked some up yesterday to try out. One thing I noticed is that it has a very strong odor when first applied - like a spray paint smell I assume is the solvent that keeps the UV stuff liquid until applied. Is this something you want to spray on the night before so the smell diminishes? If so will it do it's UV thing 10 - 12 hours after application? Seems like that solvent smell could be a turn off to the fish.
cowlitzsteelie1977
Well-known member
I personally spray it the night before. I just spray the dodgers and spoons I use. Says you can wait 30 seconds if your just hitting your lure on the lake, but I'm just coating the metals. Try waiting 30 seconds then drown your stuff in Bloody Tuna. Kokes love the Bloody Tuna, well at least the ones I've caught do. Or any scent you like.
SB,
My take away from this is that you tie your leader, slide the rubber glow bead over the bottom hook so that it is on the mono between the 2 hooks. Run some flash into the rubber bead and then slide the rubber bead over the eye of the hook. It will be very tight. As for a poker, I always keep some needles in my bead box. Put some strands of flash in the eye of the needle and push it through the hole in the glow bead. Probably a few ways to do it but this is what my approach would be trying it blind of other instruction.
cowlitzsteelie1977
Well-known member
You can make home made Koke-a-nuts that way too. thumbsup
SuperDaveMT
Well-known member
Man, your eyes are better than mine if you can thread tinsel through the eye of a needle. I'd probably take a piece of mono, put it thru the bead and back thru leaving a loop, pull some tinsel/flash half way through the loop, and then pull the mono/loop back through the bead.
I have tried a few different ways to secure tinsel/flash to the lure. I always found that tying the flash on using thread and a vice was the best way to get a neat lay with it. The only concern I would have with a rubber bead is that the flash would not want to stay on the lure as well, but I have yet to actually try it. The true test would be to tie it up using the above recommended technique with a rubber bead and pulling on the tinsel to see if it would come loose. I would want some way like a knot to make sure that it does not pull through the bead. I guess the real question would be this: does the rubber bead method really save you any time vs. using a vice/thread? I would be willing to bet that they both take about the same amount of time by the time you get out some mono or a needle, thread it through etc. In the end, again, there really is nothing to absolutely secure that flash on there with the rubber bead method without some kind of knot above the bead.
It really doesn't take that much time or skill to do it with a vice/thread and the results are a very clean, flat laying tinsel. As an added bonus, the thread will actually soak up scent and slowly release it (if liquid/gel scent is used directly on the lure). Yet another added bonus is the extra pop of color that you get from the thread because, let's face it, you can use any colored thread you want. I supposed you get the extra color from the bead as well, but I like the cheap insurance that you get from having a direct tie and KNOWING that the flash will stay on there, fish after fish, after fish...
It really doesn't take that much time or skill to do it with a vice/thread and the results are a very clean, flat laying tinsel. As an added bonus, the thread will actually soak up scent and slowly release it (if liquid/gel scent is used directly on the lure). Yet another added bonus is the extra pop of color that you get from the thread because, let's face it, you can use any colored thread you want. I supposed you get the extra color from the bead as well, but I like the cheap insurance that you get from having a direct tie and KNOWING that the flash will stay on there, fish after fish, after fish...
