Blue Knight

Hot Spot were the original plastic flasher & to my knowledge the only flasher that can change direction of rotation & everyone on this site knows that s change of direction or speed will trigger a strike. As for colors the top colors for just starting out would be "White Lightning", Bullfrog & Weasel. Running meat use the 11" & with a fly the 8".

Hot Spot Rollerbaiters are great. Use the #3 for regular size cut bait. You don't have to worry

about getting the right rotation as they have a rudder attached. So just put them on & get them down!

I can't answer your question because the only bait holder I use is a Hot Spot Rollerbaiter!

You don't have to check the roll because they're equipped with a rudder which gives the correct roll. The #3 Rollerbaiter is the correct size for the regular size cut bait! 

To be sure your not getting a bad charge on your boat go on the "Scotty Black Box" and it gives you directions on how to check if you require using the black box!

I've had my four Scotty's for over 20 years running charters with them and never had a problem.   Haven't had much experience with Cannons but if these Scotty's ever give up I'd replace them with Scotty's!

As for the bait holder I use the Hot Spot Rollerbaiter. You don't have to worry about getting the right roll as they're equipped with a rudder. For the normal herring strip use the number 3. As for the flasher I've run them from 2.0 to 3.2 and never had a problem. One thing about the Hot Spot is once in a while they will change direction of rotation. Everyone on here knows a change of direction or speed will trigger a strike. Take a look on "You Tube" for Hot Spot Flasher and you will see the video that Dave Murphy from Murphy Sportfishing in BC put on. It's a great video & the only thing he had to do was remove the hook to stop the fish from getting hooked up. 

Some years ago I switched over from level winds to mooching reels. I decided to go to the top of the line in mooching reels, ISLANDER! and I don't regret it. They are fantastic reels and I'd never use a level wind on my downriggers again.

I've had my Scottys  for around 25 years and never experienced a problem with them. I wouldn't switch brands for anything! Most of the 25 years I was running charters.

There's no better advice than what's already been given. I've had good luck with Apex 1.5's on sliders which are designed & used for Kokanee but have worked well in Lake O! They also work great for Walleye in Lake Erie. A buddy of mine fishes them out of Port Burwell.

Just wondering what was the best fly color for last season. I only use Howie Flys and have always been a "green man" so my top colors were Howie Green Krink & Green/silver. Not asking for the make of the fly if you don't want to mention it, just the color. When running on a dark day I did well with the white glow Howie fly. Actually a flasher/fly beat out a flasher/cut bait this last year for me!

I've been running #3 Hot Spot Rollerbaiters with meat for over 30 years. One thing about the Rollerbaiters is you don't have to worry about the correct rotation as they're equipped with a rudder which does the job. I always run the meat with a 11" flasher.

On a dark day I'm using an 8" Hot Spot Weasel or Bullfrog flasher with a glow Howie fly. Sometimes I'll switch over to a Hot Spot White Lightning with a glow Howie. Once the sun gets up I switch over to a brighter Hot Spot such as a Green Haze UV  with a Green Krinkle Fly. The one thing about the Hot Spot flasher is I believe it's the only make of flasher that will change direction of rotation. Two things that will trigger a strike is a change of speed or direction! Out in BC they normally run 11" flashers with a fly, running the fly about 33 or 43 inches back of the fly. I've tried that and it's done well in Lake O!

The story I heard was natives from one island would boat over to another island for bananas. On the way over they'd almost fill the boat with fish. Once they got their bananas they'd start their way home & fish the same area without a nibble. One day I saw the boy who's charter was docked next to mine jump off his boat as his customers approached, grab a bag of bananas off one of them & threatened to throw them in the river unless he put them back in his car. I wouldn't let anyone put bananas on my boat!

When the Hot Spot Agitator first came out I tied two up in tandem & attached them to the ball. I would run a spoon, normally an Apex five feet above & behind the Agitators. Since then it has been my top producer even beating out a flasher & meat!

I've only ever used a scent once and that was because a customer insisted it would catch more fish. I picked out two good identical lures, put the scent on one and the other clean and put them down to the same depth. After the first three fish on the clean lure the customer threw his scent over the side. 

I can't complain the top dog in my box has been a 5.5 Apex either Rocket or Popcorn running five feet above and behind my two Agitators running in tandem off the ball. This system has even beat out a flasher & meat!

Glow spoons are great but what you have to remember is they only stay charged for a short time whereas UV spoons remain charged throughout the day even when it's somewhat cloudy and that's down much lower than any depth I'll ever be fishing!

Chas it's not a matter of being a "Woos" what it comes down to is when you're younger you don't use your brain as much as you do when you get older and your muscles don't matter as much.

I have four Scotty electrics. I've used both electrics & manuals but other than the speed & ease of the electrics the one great thing about them if you're fishing alone it's easier to get the cable and balls out of the way when bringing in a fish!

As for reels  if I never had to use a level wind again I'd be happy. I've got four Islander mooching reels for my riggers. Pretty well all the boys out west use those reels and since I started using them I'd never want to go back to level winds. As for riggers I've used a number of makes over the years and I wouldn't change my Scotty's. As for me they're the top of the line!

All a black box is designed to do is prevent the wrong charge going down the riggers. Before you spend your money go on the Scotty website and it will give you direction on how to check the charge on your rigger. Scotty were the originators of the Black Box. It is not designed to attract fish but to prevent the wrong charge that will spook the fish.  

I bought two of them years ago. Used one & it drove me crazy. The rod kept coming up as if we had a hit. If anyone wants one I'll direct them to the dump!  

As said before fish that are getting ready to stage aren't feeding they're just aggressive! Had the same thing happen to me & when I checked the meat rig I could see all the teeth marks were on the side not near the hook. That's fishing!  

I've been running Apex on Lake O for 40 years. They were the first salmon lure I ever bought and to this day the most consistent lure I have in the box. Having run a charter for over 30 years I've had just about every color & make of lure on the market. For Lake O my top colors have been watermelon, Rocket, Popcorn, Chartreuse Haze UV and Glow Jelly UV. I run both 4.5 & 5.5 sizes. As for Pro Troll, they're just a knock off of the Apex. They used to be the US distributor for Hot Spot.     

I've been running two Hot Spot Agitators in tandem off the ball for the last three or four seasons then running an Apex or spoon 5ft above and behind the last Agitator. That's been my top producer since I started using it.