The stuff every angler tries to remember on the boat.
Knot tying, dodger-leader setups, troll speeds by species, charging the glow finish in the field. Plain English, no fluff, written by the guides who run our drops.
How to tie on a spoon
the way it holds.
Palomar for direct tie. Trilene for snaps. Why a snap-swivel matters with hand-painted spoons. The knot mistake that loses fish at the boat.
Dodger + leader
the rig that catches.
The exact leader length, weight, and dodger size for kokanee and chinook. Why 28-32 inches is a number, not a guess.
Troll speed
per species, by GPS.
GPS speed, not feel. The 0.1 mph windows that turn a slow day around. Verified across 240 client trips.
Charge the glow
on the boat, in seconds.
UV pen vs sun. The 8-second charge cycle. Re-charge intervals through a full troll set.
Find the thermocline
on a $300 fish finder.
Read your sonar to find the layer where every salmonid lives in summer. Then set your downrigger to it.
Clean and store
a hand-painted spoon.
Rinse, dry, and store so the phosphor finish lasts 8 seasons instead of two.
First kokanee trip
in seven steps.
If kokanee fishing is on your bucket list this summer, this is the page to read three days before the trip.