CowPasta:- I noticed you said you run 48 inch leader...is that for every type of lure you run?
generally speaking for starters:-
Hoochies:- 37 or 38 inches from back of flasher to nose of hoochy including hardware. To get more action on the hoochy if you need it:- speed up..or...shorten the dropback ( distance from release clip to flasher). I would basically go about 20ft (dropback from release clip) for starters. I use this method if fishing for Coho as well as Chinooks...and I get more Coho this way than shortening up leaders as some people do.
There occasions where shorter hoochy leaders/different speed will work......like for Sockeye and Chum at times. Go at least 40lb test for hoochies (better action) and go 50lb or 60lb if you like.
Don't ever go less than 30lb test.......Fishfight plus flasher resitance will break the leader at those lengths.
Spoons......for starters.........5 feet behind flasher is good.30lb test is good. Big spoons you can go same length as bait. Coho-killer spoons you can go 36 inches to 60 inches.
Some guys go real short on spoon leader lengths (like down to 28 inches....or 32 inches etc.etc. in some situations)....personally I find the 5ft leader works for me a lot.
Bait:- at least 6ft leader behind flasher on up to 9ft at times......30lb test. generally........
Teaser heads:- Bloody Nose, Purple Haze, Green Scale, Green Glow, Purple/Chrome, White Glow, Clear Chartreuse......to name a few........there are others
Flashers:- Gold Betsy, Super Gold Betsy , Purple Onion, Glow Purple, Purple Haze, Green Glow, Army truck, Straight Chrome, Boogieman....to name few......there are others
Winter Chinooks can be slightly different ballgame than summer stock. Winters tend to hang near bottom, summer runs tend to be in top third of water column. (in early morning you could be fishing 20ft deep....as sun comes up you could be going 60 to 120ft or deeper in places).
Active summer stock will chase bait around.....so it's more important to know the local "current and tide" ballgame than it is just going out and dropping a line any old place (although that sometimes works too...there is always the "wild card" factor).
Tides, currents,ebbs, floods, islands , structure....all produce specific locations where fish will hold or hustle bait......usually these places are the same year after year.
So the more you know about these places off Sooke, Victoria or wherever around there.....the better off you will be........
