Meet Roger and Brett...

I've gotten a bunch of snags this year, but before yesterday, I'd only lost a couple of hoochies. Then it finally happened--a snag that broke off everything: dodger/hoochie, and sinker.

I make my own dodgers, and the one that I lost was my fave, so I made a couple more this afternoon. One is made out of brass (that's Roger the Dodger), and the other is copper (that's Brett). It took about an hour to make both, and here is the process in photos, with a few comments.

First, I cut out the blanks, about 6" long and 2" wide. As you can see, they are tapered more on the front than the rear.

Next, I bent the front and rear. Brett was easy to bend, but Roger was much more difficult.

The next step was to drill the holes. This I never seem to get exactly right, and today was no exception, so quite a bit of filing was required.

Btw, Brett had protective plastic on one side, thus the shiny penny look...

Added swivels on both ends...

Finally, added the bling, but I could not bring myself to cover up Brett's shiny side, so I left it (it'll darken after one day on the water, so I'll bling it up after that).

Btw, Brett weighs in at 2.4 oz, while Roger is 3.5 oz. Roger is designed for higher speed trolling (like about 3mph and up), while Brett works well at various speeds. Brett is easy to bend by hand, so he can be adjusted to whatever speed, while Roger is not bendable, at least not by me without a hammer.

Very impressive. 

Do you follow the typical direction that is included with store-bought dodgers?  The one that says to make your leader about 1.5 times the length of the dodger?

I know that lots of people don't have the belief level to make it that short!

A dancing hoochie is a beautiful thing.   

Damn dude , nice work !

Very impressive. 

Do you follow the typical direction that is included with store-bought dodgers?  The one that says to make your leader about 1.5 times the length of the dodger?

I know that lots of people don't have the belief level to make it that short!

A dancing hoochie is a beautiful thing.   

I didn’t real there was such advice. I usually have about a 4’ leader, and the few times I’ve tried short leaders, I’ve had a lot more trouble with the dodger getting tangled.

I didn’t realize there was such advice.

I usually have about a 4’ leader, and the few times I’ve tried short leaders, I’ve had a lot more trouble with the dodger getting tangled.

Very good.  I went years and years with about a 2.5 to 3' leader behind my dodgers (which caught plenty of fish), and I am still hesitant to have a leader only 1.5 times the length of the dodger.  But I do run that, and it does catch the shit out of the fish!  Now that you mention it, it's a little tangley, and that's probably why I don't run it more often - that and it's not something I can put clients on easily.

I will be running a dodger (Luhr Jensen Herring Dodger) with a short leader, purple haze and nice looking bait at some point early in the salmon season, but I will switch it out before long if it's not producing!  I have my favorites...   

Those look really nice
Now the question is…
Who’s gonna catch more fish, Roger or Brett???

I gonna guess , Roger!!!
Scotty

Those look really nice
Now the question is…
Who’s gonna catch more fish, Roger or Brett???

I gonna guess , Roger!!!
Scotty

I'll keep a tally and report later. So far, Brett is ahead, 6-0...