plug techniques

[jbv]

i've been fishing on friend's boats for the last few years so i'm still learning. now have a small old boat and i'm keen to develop some skills and to drop the in line flasher and fish with plugs. i like them on the lake, i like the action and the faster trolling speed. i just like plugs and want to use them a lot for trolling. i've asked around and gotten some advice and i'd like to hear from any pros in here.

been told to run a dummy flasher directly from the cannon ball. not above it, but from it. anyone do it other ways? 12 foot leader if fishing shallow, 30 foot leader if more than 100 feet deep. how far behind the flasher do you run the plug and how far up from the ball? is it easy for the line to foul with the flasher?

do you guys tie the main line directly to the plug or do you use a leader with swivel? i believe the plug is not supposed to be rolling but maybe they do sometimes causing line twist.

any tips or corrections to my ideas above are welcome.

 

[Dogbreath]

No need to run a dummy when pulling plugs-since the plug should generally be at least 40' behind the wire I doubt the effectiveness of a dummy.

I use a 50# leader around 6' long & a quality ball bearing swivel.

 

[RiverBoy]

if you think you are fishing them too fast, speed up. you will get blowback but…do it

also end of day when you are done for the day, yank them out of the clip and let them climb their way up to the surface. can’t begin to tell you how many have perished on the way up

 

[Rain City]

I run a kone zone right above the ball and then clip a foot up from there. I range from 15-40 feet back depending on what kind of mood I'm in.

 

[Brian]

You can run your dummy flasher, if you want to use one, on the ball or above it, either way will work. Run your flasher about 10-15 ft back, and your
plug 30-50 ft. back. Having your plug above the dummy will avoid tangles. Keep them about 20 ft apart and you'll be fine. You'll need a swivel on your leader or you'll get line twist. I put on a swivel, then a clip to the plug. Definately better to tie your plug directly to the line, but using the clip allows you to change your plug easily, which is important to. Full disclosure - I was a commercial troller in the 70's and early 80's. Dad fished for years out of Bamfield, so we worked the Bank a LOT. Which means big springs in Aug on plugs. Do not fall into the "fast is best" thought when using plugs, until you have proven that to yourself. In my opinion, that is simply not correct. When targeting big springs we always slowed from our "normal' (coho) speed. I would guestimate that our normal speed was about 3 mph. That would put our plug speed about 2.5 mph. We did not have the technology that we have today available. You want a nice action, but not frantic. Your speed will also vary with the size of your plugs. BTW - the best spring fisherman on the south coast (from Pachena) always pulled the pin and tied through the plug. Good luck with it! Big plugs=bigger fish. No question about that!

 

[Plug”N”away]

One thing that made all the difference for me was tie your knot on tow bar of plug then cut line leaving the knot , then tie new knot above the first , then slide both knot as high and centered as possible on tow bar the first knot acting like a stopper . This makes your plug dig so to speak. I run em 60 feet behind the clip no swivel tie it directly to your mainline and have fun.

 

[Tangled]

Pull the pin and run on your main line, that way if you snap off on a fish your plug will float back to surface and you can get it back. Not all plugs fish the same so it really sucks when you lose a good one. I mostly fish in the Campbell River area and think dummy flashers are a waste of time and you are way more likely to have tangles

 

[Plug”N”away]

Pull the pin and run on your main line, that way if you snap off on a fish your plug will float back to surface and you can get it back. Not all plugs fish the same so it really sucks when you lose a good one. I mostly fish in the Campbell River area and think dummy flashers are a waste of time and you are way more likely to have tangles

I’d caution pulling pin on a plug that fishes with the tow bar in . I have ruined great plugs doing this. Just my two cents.

 

[Sea lyin’]

I don’t always use it but twice, using scent on a plug on the last pass of the day has produced a fish for me.

 

[jbv]

thanks guys.

 

[Brian]

I don’t always use it but twice, using scent on a plug on the last pass of the day has produced a fish for me.

Interesting. I've wondered about putting scent on a plug. I've never done it, not having the scent along, but its something I'd like to experiment with if I get the chance. maybe this year. I've seen a TV guy using scent on everything, including anchovies, which makes me scratch my head a bit.....and he is sponsored by the scent makers. That might have coloured my thoughts......lol But really, does an anchovy need scent added?

 

[Bugs]

Interesting comments. I pull the pin on all my plugs. Always run line through top hole. I like a glow bead then a bead chain with a smaller (4/0) gammy big river siwash back at tail of plug. Less eye hooking of smaller fish. I use a much shorter (like 6-8 ft) dummy just above ball And then run the plug About 12 to 15 feet back and 8-10 feet above dummy. Close and fast seems to avoid tangled.

 

[ab1752]

Interesting comments. I pull the pin on all my plugs. Always run line through top hole. I like a glow bead then a bead chain with a smaller (4/0) gammy big river siwash back at tail of plug. Less eye hooking of smaller fish. I use a much shorter (like 6-8 ft) dummy just above ball And then run the plug About 12 to 15 feet back and 8-10 feet above dummy. Close and fast seems to avoid tangled.

Thanks for this, how are you all pulling the pins out without mangling the plug body?

 

[RiverBoy]

Thanks for this, how are you all pulling the pins out without mangling the plug body?

some ppl use a dremel to cut the wire. i use a big pair of side cutters and then carefully file the cut ends flat so they don’t damage the internals of the plug when you pull the rest of the wire out.

 

[ab1752]

some ppl use a dremel to cut the wire. i use a big pair of side cutters and then carefully file the cut ends flat so they don’t damage the internals of the plug when you pull the rest of the wire out.

Nice, thanks a lot.

 

[Aces]

Interesting. I've wondered about putting scent on a plug. I've never done it, not having the scent along, but its something I'd like to experiment with if I get the chance. maybe this year. I've seen a TV guy using scent on everything, including anchovies, which makes me scratch my head a bit.....and he is sponsored by the scent makers. That might have coloured my thoughts......lol But really, does an anchovy need scent added?

Doesn’t need dye either

 

[Aces]

Nice, thanks a lot.

It’s import make sure it’s a clean cut on the wire so it slides out easy. I found they don’t seal and may fill up with water. I also use the straws from wd 40 spray cans on the holes to reduce line chafing

 

[ab1752]

It’s import make sure it’s a clean cut on the wire so it slides out easy. I found they don’t seal and may fill up with water. I also use the straws from wd 40 spray cans on the holes to reduce line chafing

With these ham hands, those straws are gonna come in handy!

 

[Aces]

With these ham hands, those straws are gonna come in handy!

Just glue them in and trim

 

[onefish]

10 fathoms from wire to plug, 2 or 3 fathoms above dummy flasher
I fathom on your dummy if you run one at the lead
No such thing as a certain speed, some days they like it fast, some days slow
In general, bigger 6 or 7 inch plugs do select for bigger fish
brighter coloured plugs in dirty water, toned down colours in clear water
If you aren't catching on one plug change it up ( it can even be the same colour ), for whatever reason some plugs just fish like hell and others are like dragging around a stick
I can't stress this enough, make sure your hook is sticky sharp!