Northwest Fishing Magazine April 2025 Volume 4 Issue 6 - Flipbook - Page 27
Regardless of species, we
have all seen at times fish
come and have a look at
our presentation, only to
swim away. When we send
a setup to the target depth
we are trying to accomplish
two things. We want our
setup to attract our target
fish, and we want our
setup to provoke a striking
response to our lure. The
whole point of kokanee
fishing is to catch kokanee
(and enjoy being on the
water of course). But we
do not put microscopic
plankton or tiny daphnia
water fleas on our hooks
and go from there. As it
turns out, kokanee are in
fact attracted to colors,
contrasts and objects that
do not exist naturally in
their environment.
Leading the proper setup
is a dodger. The lure is then
attached to the dodger
by a short leader. Frankly,
the shorter the better - a
minimum of five inches
but no more than 14 inches
(except for apex types). The
deeper your target depth
is in the water column,
the shorter the leader. For
squids, RGTs, hoochies and
bugs a five-inch setback
is more productive than a
14-inch setback regardless
of target depth. But what
does the dodger really do?
The dodger is the most
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20 8.7 90. 21 28
RE ELTIM E FI S HIN G .C O M
crucial part of your setup.
As the dodger moves
forward through the water,
it displaces water. When
water is displaced, it creates
a wave.
The kind of wave and its
intensity is determined by
the shape of the object
moving in the water and
how fast it is moving. While
a sleek shape will still make
a wave, a shape that moves
side to side will produce
more intense waves.
Squids, RGTs, hoochies and
bugs are sleek. But while
they still make a wave as
they are pulled through the
water, they do not make
much of a wave. Yet place
them a short distance
behind a dodger that is
moving side to side, and
you have given your sleek
presentation abundant
action.
This back-and-forth
displacement of water is
creating a particular kind
of wave: a low-frequency
sound wave. Even though
we cannot hear it, the
important thing is that
kokanee can hear it. How
they can hear it deserves
some comment. Kokanee
have three tools to aid in
sound detection. The first
is their inner ears up front.
The second is the lateral
line on each side.
