Dodger vs Flashers

[Gill-T]

I was hoping to get some insight when dodgers are deployed instead of flashers. I know dodgers run slower so obviously if you are running a slower program you might chose dodgers over flashers. What about time of year one vs the other? What about time of day? I wonder if the "rules" we make up are just educated guesses. I know last year we took a double on matures where the second fish hit a spin doctor while we throttled down to almost a standstill to make easier to land the 25#er we had on the first rod. This off-season I bought some Optidodgers that I custom painted and would like to know if I should be running these first early in the season when the water is colder and a slower presentation would be better or is it just a crapshoot and I should just deploy both dodgers and flashers and let the fish choose.

[Yankee Troller]

There is no set rule in fishing ever. You just have to play around. I interchange dodgers and flashers all the time. When u start to experiment with set-ups and find one that works stick with it. I have two favorite dodger set-ups.

TC Green strip dodger with a glow green ATOMIK fly

wonderbread dodger with a hammer fly

[Shade]

I am not the expert but I thought that the flasher moves side to side where the spin doctor and echip spins which gives you a better window with your speed. Especially with water currents and wind. Tell if I have been mis-informed but dodgers run between 1.5 - 2.5 mph where spin doctors can handle speeds between 1.5 - 3.0 mph. and even higher in rough waters.

[chinook]

Do not be afraid to let your Dodgers spin on "occasion". The old school of thought ,was to not let happen. But there some who have stated that this can be at times a lethal method. I've done it myself.

[rail bird]

In general Flashers like the hot spot are supposed to run at a slow roll and dodgers wave back and forth and do not roll. Of course speed determines what happens to them when deployed.

A good early season coho rig is a 00 orange or red dodger with a white or green fly.

I am reluctant to run both dodgers and flashers at the same time as it increases the chances of one of them running the wrong way and driving fish away.

[Shade]

What about e chips flashers? Are they made to spin ? What speed do you run them at?

[Billy V]

E-Chips are a lot like Spin Dr. flashers...made to roll or spin and are more speed tolerant than old-school metal dodgers. We run them anywhere from 1.8-3.0 + mph down speed with success. If you watch some of the underwater footage that's out there you'll see that they all have a slightly different action to them.

[Shade]

Thanks Bill. Good luck this season.

[browntrout]

If you really want to have some fun, try running the smartfish flasher from legendary products. The fins are adjustable and you can control how much or little you want it to rotate. I started using them last year with great success and have noticed certain days the fish just want a different action....and I can dial it in. As yankee said there are no rules and do not be afraid to try something different.

[traveling man]

the biggest difference between a dodger and a flasher is not just the different movement, but also the material they are made out of. the metal dodger i believe is "louder" in the water. it is hard to beat a trash can dodger.