Time for another installment of Stupid Sockeye Tricks. Those sockeye like lure with a lot of action, and when fishing places like Lake Wenatchee where no scent or bait is allowed, you sometimes need a little extra something to get those fish in the boat.Start off with your basic sockeye setup. Notice how the dodger has a little bend at both the top and bottom – in opposite directions?
That bend is what causes it to sway side to side in the water. By inceasing or decreasing the bend we change that swing for a given speed.
Since sockeye fishing is usually done at slow speeds, it can be helpful to increase that bend. This will give your dodger a quicker swing – and your make your lure more lively.
Start by knowing which side of the dodger is the front, top and bottom.
Here is a typical sockeye dodger. The front is the side with the sticker. The top has the barrel swivel and the bottom has the snap attached to the swivel.
When we look at it from the side, with the front up, we can see that back has a bend that goes up.
This is important because we want to increase that bend.
I like putting the dodger – front down – on the railing of the boat. Try to get that bend to roughly line up with the edge of the rail.
Then push down firmly with 2 hands. One holding the dodger tight on the rail, and the other on the end hanging off the side of the rail.
When you are done the result should look like this:
The exact amount of the bend is up to you. I suggest more bend if trolling really slow, and less bend if trolling faster.
Don’t worry about breaking the dodger. It is fairly easy to bend it back to something close to the original shape. If you are concerned then start small with adding just a little bit of an extra bend.
As always make sure to check out the action next to the boat before letting out line. If you aren’t happy with the action, then adjust.
Don’t forget these other sockeye fishing tips!