Flasher dodger

In my hope to go home with Halibut, I am exploring the use of a flasher dodger. I fish the monterey area.
Does anyone have any recommendations for size, brand, color, and other considerations.
I found one at Big 5. It was 5 bucks and about 2.5 inches wide and 4 to 5 inches long.
Looks like you fish these on a bounce ball rig trailing hoochies   or live bait behind it.

Is that one you found a "Luhr Jenson Dodger"? Those are good ones.

Yes. Dodgers are generally used with a "bounce ball" rig with a hoochie or frozen bait (sometimes frozen bait with a hoochie).

I'd avoid using a dodger if you've got live bait because (1) live bait has plenty of action on its own, and (2) live bait will likely swim circles around the dodger and leave you with a big tangled mess on the end of your line.

Live bait is usually drifted, while dead bait is often trolled. The dodger gives the dead bait some action by whipping it back and forth.



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I've only used this setup (quite successfully) from a power boat.  Seems like the fish sometimes preferred a large flasher like an Abe and AL aka "kelp cutter" and sometimes the small dodger, (can't remember brand name).  Silver with white, UV, or gold glitter tape depends on water conditions/clarity/color. 
Hoochies are good behind these flashy attractors.  Try stacking two.  After hoochie #1, put in  two to three cum pucks then the second with one puck then a treble maybe two. 
I've also seen some using B2 squids.  18-24 inches behind the dodger, slide the B2 then treble, and 10-12 inches behind that another treble baited with fresh dead squid. 
Never used live bait to troll.  If bait around is finfish, match the colors of the hoochies to the color of the bait.  If squid is around use the B2. 

Good luck Hope this makes sense
Johnny

There are dodgers and flashers, theyre different, each will impart a different action on your bait. 

From the yak I've used size 00 dodgers(the small 6"er), they got a nice side to side wobble and offer less resistance, which requires less weight to keep em in the zone.



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Interesting thread. I've half-heartedly tried this a couple of times but gave up. It doesn't seem like the most kayak-friendly way to fish...

Luhr Jenson dodger is my go to.

Luhr Jensen Herring Dodger for me too.  Size 0/0 and size 0.

Luhr Jensen Herring Dodger for me too.  Size 0/0 and size 0.

+1 on the 0/0 herring dodger! I used the chrome with reflective tape for commercial
Butt fishing in the bay and it works awesome. Stained water you can go with a solid white or chartuese dodger.

Trolling a dodger use frozen chovies or herring.

Wondering what the minimum amount of weight I can get away with. 

Wondering what the minimum amount of weight I can get away with. 

Depends on depth & speed. And size/type of dodger or flasher...some cause more drag than others. Something that is harder to control from a kayak than boat. But I usually run this rig between 30-80 FOW and have used between 5ozs and 1.5lbs. I usually go with a spreader bar instead of 3-way swivel. Then dodger & hoochie, or dodger & squid, or flasher & chovie, or flasher & squid. Leader to my sinker is only 12-24" (longer if the octopus or sanddabs are present) and leader to my dodger/flasher is about 3-4ft [then just like 18" leader to your bait/lure]. Use good swivels or your line will get all twisted up.

I've not done it successfully myself, but have seen the proof that it works.  It takes quite a bit of weight, I'd say a 1lb ball on a three way seems common, so you need a stiff rod and decent reel as well.  The length of your leader from the 3way to the dodger/flasher then off your dodger to your bait takes some fine tuning.  And it takes some practices to send the whole rig down, while moving forward, so as to not tangle the whole thing up as you drop it down.  Easier on a Hobie for sure.  Personally I think it works better in shallow water as well.  Once your past 30 feet, dragging all that gear, it's going to be hard to make sure its on the bottom.

Depth, current, wind, whether you want to troll it or drift are all gonna factor in.  In the bay I've gone as low as 8oz in the 8-10' zone but up to 2lbs when working out deeper. You're probably gonna have to experiment a bit. 

PS
Its a tough rig to troll when there's alot of debris in the water, broken kelp strands and sea grass etc....have to keep clearing it and resetting.  Torpedo shaped sinkers work better than a ball and I think it's best used on a drift in a stiff wind. 

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Two thumbs up for the "00" dodger in the bay. I don't troll in the big blue. Coincidentally, I've never caught a halibut on the coast. Hmmmm...

Not sure if this is a possible thread-jack or appropriate question: anybody else have singing/humming line issues when using mono with the recommended trolling setups and dragging heavier weights (> 8 oz.)? (I may be outing myself as the last stubborn user of 20-pound mono for everything.) I've caught fish while it's humming, but I was curious if others think it affects fishing in any way.

what kind of rods are you guys using to troll with such heavy weight?

Two thumbs up for the "00" dodger in the bay. I don't troll in the big blue. Coincidentally, I've never caught a halibut on the coast. Hmmmm...

Not sure if this is a possible thread-jack or appropriate question: anybody else have singing/humming line issues when using mono with the recommended trolling setups and dragging heavier weights (> 8 oz.)? (I may be outing myself as the last stubborn user of 20-pound mono for everything.) I've caught fish while it's humming, but I was curious if others think it affects fishing in any way.

I sometimes get that too with 25 and 30-lb P-line CXX. I think it bothers me more than it bothers the fish...