Sk8man

I believe what you have there are called dodgers rather than flashers from the looks of the pic. They are also useful with meat rigs but have a different action than true flashers.

I haven't used one but it makes sense....and avoids the potential for tangles or weight screw-ups......the only downside is the expense

You're very welcome. Good luck with it.

Could be a lot of things but I'd start with tightening the drag. Their mouths are starting to harden up now and you need to check the hook sharpness as well. If you feel confident using the snubber and if these things don't correct the problem I'd go back to it as the braid has little to no stretch and the same for fluoro leaders so you may be pulling the hook on them too.

Dave -As the season moves on it may pay to switch to the real bright colored larger paddles with active bright or glow spoons, J-plugs etc and try to provoke them because their feeding response is greatly reduced at this point. I also discovered in the past that they will hit the smaller paddles themselves rather than the lures when in this state and they have you scratching your head wondering why no hook up but with the large paddles it doesn't seem as frequent and they seem to target the lure better. Also running things closer to the ball than usual can be productive.

As far as the mature kings go....a little different mind set helps. At that point in the season rather than thinking in terms of feeding response instead it is a matter of exploiting their aggression. In the past they used to stack up like cord wood out in front of Maxwell Creek for example and wouldn't respond to anything if you just trolled by them but if you used very bright active lures and attractors you could provoke them by presenting it right in their face repeatedly. When this happens they often hit like a ton of bricks too and there is usually no problem hooking up but they often tire a bit quicker too and don't seem to have the same high energy as earlier in the season when silver. Sometimes about then they can be mixed in with the lakers that often sit near or on bottom straight out from the channel. Unlike earlier in the season where you can get them just trolling along they are usually a little more work and fussier at this time unless you are right in their face. A friend of mine had a cottage near Bonnecastle Point in the bay and every year she would she kings swimming around her dock late in the season so they do navigate the channel and bay as well and the pier folks sometimes hook up with them.

X3