Fish with Gary Dodgers

[Sakana]

Bought a few of the FWG dodger systems, but have not caught many fish with them. I tried them at the recommended depths and at the depths I see fish on the finder. I've tried different speeds from 1.2 to 2.5 mph w/o a lot of success. I was wondering if anyone else uses them and is there an optimum speed to troll at. Thanks, Sakana

[TakeEm]

How far back from the dodger are you putting your bait?

[ElkTalker]

Finding the right speed for your dodger is fairly simple, just drop your gear in the water next to the boat and watch the swing. When you find the speed where the dodger has the biggest swing you have found the optimal speed for that dodger. This does not mean it will not work at different speeds, but at least you will know what speed to start with.

I have used a FWG setup only a few times with very little success my self. I think the secret to making this system work is you need to have one of every thing he makes so you can make changes until you find what is working that moment.

Don’t give up on it someday it will work for you.

ET

[kingsmules]

You might also try bending the dodger a bit to get a little more swing at slower speeds.

[Sakana]

How far back from the dodger are you putting your bait?
I'm using his bead spinner combos somewhere between 12-14". Glad it's not just me who's not knocking them dead. Got to talk to Gary at the sportman's show and he is a wealth of information, just wish he was close by to show me how to catch fish with his system.

[Splash]

You might pm JZell. I believe he has a collection of the FWG system. I'm sure he would be happy to share a tip or two.

As far as speed and action. I no longer tweek my gear (stuff is too spendy to ruin). Just have an assortment of different brands of similar sized dodgers as each brand has it's own characteristics. As was mentioned, I run it next to the boat and take notice the thump in the rod. This is helpful flatlining shallow and when on the DR I will sometimes just release some of the tension periodically so I can see the thump in my rod tip to know it is still fishing properly. Tape can be your friend.

[TakeEm]

I'm using his bead spinner combos somewhere between 12-14". Glad it's not just me who's not knocking them dead. Got to talk to Gary at the sportman's show and he is a wealth of information, just wish he was close by to show me how to catch fish with his system.
First of all I would shorten that leader to about 8". When I first herd this I thought it was way to short but after I learned what the job of a dodger was it all made perfect sence.

So here is the short version of what I have learned. The job of a dodger is to mimic the flash from the fast darting action that a game fish makes when they are feeding. You want your bait to be moving around as well to look like it is dodging the feeding fish. The further you put your bait behind your dodger the less its gonna move and less the game fish are gonna be hungry for it. Well I hope this helps a little bit. Good luck

[Silver Bullets]

Those tear drop shape dodger's (FWG, Shasta Tackle, Rocky Mountain Tackle) in my opinion are all made for the higher speeds the kokes prefer in the water's where those dodger's were developed. From my experiance our kokes seem to like a bit slower speed. You want a good back and forth swing action with the dodger's..This not only imparts action to the type of lures that have no action of their own, but also puts out flash and vibrations. After discussing where to bend these dodger's with one of the above tackle manufacturer's, he recommends this: nose up, tail down. You don't want too much bend, just a small amount. When useing lures with alot of action of their own, the leader length can be extended quite a ways in extremely clear water and the dodger is still effective to attract with just the flash and vibration. Another option to get more action from dodger's is to attach two together. If you have two different sizes, attach the smaller dodger in back.

[Sakana]

All great suggestions and I'll try them to see if can improve on my catchability. I've always done well with just ford fenders and a green beaded wedding ring tipped w/corn. Limited out at Yale many times, but I'm always looking to try something new and different. It's sort of the challenge of kokanee fishing that makes it more fun.

[TakeEm]

Just find what works best for you. Thats the best advise a guy can ever get!

[B rooster]

we have had some luck with the orange daphnia and daphnia lure and the darth raider setup.

[dlm]

I use the slingblade uv almost exclusively. With the right bend I get great action at 1.1mph, and lots of fish too. Some I don't bend of course for those times when I want to troll faster.

[Sakana]

Just received a very nice email reply from Gary Gordon of FWG, with some informative info very similar to those replies posted here. He said to definitely shorten up the leader to 8", even go to 6" to increase action. If the fish aren't on the bite increase speed to 1.5-1.6. Very friendly man, who said to email anytime with any question. Thanks for the replies. I love this forum, because the majority of the posters are helpful and positive. Sakana

[TakeEm]

Just received a very nice email reply from Gary Gordon of FWG, with some informative info very similar to those replies posted here. He said to definitely shorten up the leader to 8", even go to 6" to increase action. If the fish aren't on the bite increase speed to 1.5-1.6. Very friendly man, who said to email anytime with any question. Thanks for the replies. I love this forum, because the majority of the posters are helpful and positive. Sakana

Awesome! Thats great that he got back to you so quickly. Let me no how you do the next time you go out! Good Luck!!

[skaha]

--only problem I have with the gary fishing system is they all look so good I had to get a full set.
--I'm having good luck with the system especially when tuned in with colour.

--Have been getting quite a few trout when increasing the speed.
--I've actually used longer leader but am going to try the shorter lenght next week (catching to many trout on it as it is).

--I've been playing with this system a couple of years now, run it against my other best combo's one rod with the gary system other with one of my old favourites.
--I've consistently caught same or more on the Gary system. Especially with the variety, being able to match the colours.


--We have been cheating a little.... watching the lures with underwater camera. Not good enough quality to put on line. Kokanee definately are not line shy and will eagerly go after these short leaders.

--I have not tried the short leader for trout yet but as trout will take spoons of the size of the shallow dodger I don't expect it will be a problem. Only concern I have is trout may go for the dodger if the trailer is to close.

--I see some small dodgers (other brands) have a hook on the dodger as well. We could not use that system here as our larger lakes require use of single barbless so we couldn't run the two hooks.

--On the spinner for these lakes I just cut the trailing hook off and seems to work no problem. Probably nice to have both hooks where it is legal to use them.

--I to have emailed Gary with questions great service what a bonus to be able talk to the manufacturer and discuss why and how the system works plus lots of information on his web site.

[TJhooker]

Just received a very nice email reply from Gary Gordon of FWG, with some informative info very similar to those replies posted here. He said to definitely shorten up the leader to 8", even go to 6" to increase action. If the fish aren't on the bite increase speed to 1.5-1.6. Very friendly man, who said to email anytime with any question. Thanks for the replies. I love this forum, because the majority of the posters are helpful and positive. Sakana

Fished with Gay's stuff all weekend at GP with my Father, and family. It seems to catch a better grade of fish. Put 10 in the boat 6:30 till dark last night. 1 was 15.5" most 12"-14" Pink Stomper was good in the AM and Orange Popsicle caught 3 late. Orange Dafnia "which my Dad has taken possession of" was "all the time". It also out fished wedding rings at Crescent last weekend :twocents:??? I just cant get enough Koke action.

[B rooster]

caboose dodger w/green Gami flat blade spinner was working sat. afternoon @ g.p.

[fishwithgary]

First off let me say a huge thanks to all of my ifish friends. I visit here often. Since my home base is in Northern CA, I really don’t get much a chance to fish the waters of Oregon and Washington like I did so many years ago. We really enjoyed meeting great kokanee friends at the Portland Show and the Redmond Show this past winter.

Kokanee seem less inclined to deal with geography the way we humans do. The behavior of kokes are really the same all over, from BC to Connecticut, to Wyoming to California and all places in between.

I thought I might share some insights about kokanee behavior this time of year in response to some observations about using my dodgers and lures.

For sure we need the kokanee’s cooperation to get “fish on.” And that has a great deal with how we make our presentation and at what depth in the water column.

From my reading for kokes at Merwin, it has been hit and miss more than anything. The posts seem to indicate “seeing kokes” at 55-60 feet. That depth is not a good target depth this early in the season. If you do get a koke at that this depth this early, I’d bet that the stomach was almost empty. And that would tell you what you need to know. If their stomachs are stuffed with that greenish ooze of processed plankton, then you are indeed fishing at the correct depth. Non feeding kokes will be skinny, and feeding kokes will be like little footballs.

Kokes descend the water column to live out the winter. They do this to be in colder water which slows their metabolism. It makes good fish sense to do that since there is really no food to be searching for, and why waste the energy.

In the spring early summer the kokes come back up the water column to feed. When they start feeding, they then become more aggressive and respond to our presentations. That is where the ideal temp of 54 degrees kicks in. It is good for the kokes, and good for the plankton. Plankton can’t really grow so well where the water temp is too cold and there is not much light. 54 degrees works well for both kokes and plankton. It would be my guess that the best koke fishing right now would be at 25 feet or so in Merwin. (A surface temp of 65 degrees will put 54 degrees at about 25 feet). Even though you see the kokes at 60 feet, this time of year they will not be feeding at that depth. They need to come up the water column to do that. Sometimes they don’t come up. That has been the case at Bullard’s Bar (my home lake). The result is that the fish die from starvation.

Understand that feeding is the how they mature, and in their last season, the kokes that feed will get aggressive and the bite is on. So target their food this time of year and you will be into the kokes. It would really be nice to get some accurate temperature measurements at Merwin as you go down the water column. Also early in the season I find that kokes associate with structure, so work the points and eddies. There is still plenty of cold water coming in.

As the water warms, the kokes will then descend back down the water column, seeking that 54 degree water. When that temperature is at a depth that the plankton has insufficient light to grow, the kokes will stop eating and enter pre-spawn. They start forming the kypes in males and the scales start hardening up, and their mouths too. And they still respond to our presentations.

Most certainly there have been some excellent suggestions about presentation of the dodger and lure. I would suggest that these be followed regardless of whose gear you use. Also, I am becoming more of a fan of garlic in the early season, and then shift to anise later on. Be generous with the scent on the corn.

Gary

[ElkTalker]

Gary,

Thanks for sharing your incite with us and also all the great info on your website. I have spent a lot of time reading your “Kokanee Univercity” www.fishwithgary.com/kokaneeuniversity.html (http://www.fishwithgary.com/kokaneeuniversity.html) It is a must read for all serious kokanee fishermen. Although to be honest I still don’t understand everything you cover in there.

I fished Merwin yesterday and did see fish at 50’ & 60’. I fished down to 40’ during the sun breaks and caught a couple. I drop a thermometer down to 40’ and the temp was 49 degrees. Most of the kokes were at 30’-25’. For some reason I never checked the temp at that depth, but I’m sure it is right around the magical #54 degrees. All the fish I cleaned were full of green ooze.

Thanks for being a part of the ifish community; I hope we hear from you again soon. Chris Hansen

[Splash]

Some very good stuff Gary. Thanks bunches for sharing.

:applause::applause::applause::applause::applause:

[Sakana]

Gary, thanks again for your email and the great information. I did try the tips you gave me and did much better. I caught 5 of the largest kokes that I've ever taken at Yale L. I shorten up the leader to 8" w/anise soaked corn and trolled between 1.3 - 1.7 mph, and I just made sure I was getting a good swing with the dodger. Fished downriggers 30' to 40', as that's where we saw fish.