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The Big Al Fish Flash is primarily used to catch trout and salmon, but Paige proves that Fish Flash also works great on other species like this Great Lakes cisco a member of the whitefish family. The Big Al Fish Flash has rapidly become the “attractor” of choice among salmon and trout fishermen. The unique triangle shape of the Fish Flash allows this attractor to spin on it’s own axis, creating massive amounts of fish attracting flash and offering up near zero drag in the water. The flash created by this attractor imitates the flash that naturally occurs when predator fish slash into a school of bait fish. When predator fish see flashes of light in the water, it’s like the dinner bell is ringing! THE STANDARD RIG Fish Flash can be fished in a multitude of ways, but the standard set up is a three way swivel rig. The main line attaches to one of the arms of the three way swivel, a short dropper with a lead weight attaches to the second arm and a five to six foot leader with the Fish Flash at one end and a plug, spinner, spoon, cut-bait or live bait rig is offered at the terminal end. Because this attractor doesn’t impart action to lures, it’s best to match up Fish Flash with lures and baits that have their own natural action. DOWNRIGGERS Fish Flash is also commonly used in combination with downriggers. The downrigger rod is rigged with a round nose snap, then the attractor is attached directly to this snap. A five to seven foot leader is added to the back of the Fish Flash and the lure or bait of choice added at the terminal end. The Fishing 411 crew traveled west to the Columbia River to learn more about Fish Flash and how to get the most from this popular form of “attractor” fishing. This highly effective attractor rig can be fished anywhere from 10 to 100 feet behind the downrigger ball. The rule of thumb is the clearer the water is, the further this rig should be fished behind the downrigger weight. Fish Flash rigs are equally effective on suspended species like king, coho and Atlantic salmon or bottom loving fish including lakers and brown trout. DIVERS AND TROLLING SINKERS Another effective way to rig up Fish Flash is to attach this attractor directly to the back of popular diving planers, mini-disks and trolling sinkers using the provided round nose snaps. These rigs can be fished as flat lines off the corners of the boat or fished in combination with planer boards to spread out lines and cover more water. SINKING LINES Fish Flash can also be used in combination with lead core line, copper line and the new weighted stainless trolling wires. Because Fish Flash has nearly zero drag in the water, it doesn’t negatively impact on the diving ability of diving planers, trolling sinkers or sinking lines. FISH FLASH SIZES Fish Flash is available in several sizes including 4, 6, 8 and 10 inch models. Among west coast trout and salmon fishermen the 6, 8 and 10 inch models are the most popular. In the Great Lakes where waters are often gin clear, smaller 4 and 6 inch models are the most popular. Most anglers who have discovered the power of Fish Flash are using these attractors in front of their favorite salmon and trout spoons, spinners, plugs and cut-bait rigs. Fish Flash is highly effective when targeting other open water species, most notable Great Lakes walleye. A four inch Fish Flash used in front of live bait rigs like the popular Hammer Time Walleye Spinner, works wonders when targeting suspended walleye. COLOR MATCHING Fish Flash comes in dozens of color choices. Many anglers prefer to color match the Fish Flash to the lure or bait they are fishing. For example, if a trolling spoon is being used and that lure is primarily chartreuse and silver in color, pick a Fish Flash that also uses those shades of color. SUMMING IT UP On the west coast literally every trout and salmon fisherman has discovered the power of Fish Flash. Wildly popular and often copied by other manufacturers, the Yakima Fish Flash leads the charge among anglers targeting kings, coho, kokanee, lake trout and steelhead. The Fishing 411 crew commonly use Fish Flash in front of walleye spinners to attract and catch Great Lakes walleye. In the Great Lakes Fish Flash is just beginning to get popular. The Fishing 411 TV crew uses Fish Flash often and to date they have caught kings, coho, Atlantic salmon, pinks, brown trout, lake trout, steelhead, walleye and cisco using these attractors. Everyone agrees that flash attracts fish and nothing puts out more flash in the water than Fish Flash.

Chasing lake trout for the better part of my life across Canada and the U.S. I’ve learned a lot of different tricks in a lot of different situations. On a recent trip to Tazin Lake in Northern Saskatchewan it was no different! The first few days started with pike but the afternoons were spent chasing Lake Trout at a place called “Trout Rock” , I guess the name Big fish Rock was taken, trolling T-60 Flatfish around 100 feet of water with 8 oz of weight and slow trolling. After day three we had only boated a handful of trout, one big fish but we thought we should be doing better. Day 4 we decided to change to a boat that allowed us to have a good quality fish finder and a downrigger to possibly help put the puzzle together. We started the day looking for fish in some different areas but found ourselves back to Trout Rock by noon chasing the one pattern we knew at this point. We started printing fish on the sonar in the 120’ range and lying right on the bottom! Up until this point we had been told that the trout were in 60/80 of water and an 8 oz weight was plenty good for getting these fish…..wrong! One thing I have learned over the years about fishing Lake Trout that is consistent everywhere I go is this; whether it’s 10’ or 150’ making contact with the bottom no matter what lure you are using us key. Dreu and I decided to put a T-60 Frog with 16 oz of weight on his and a T-60 Pearl with a squid on the back hook on a downrigger on my side. Now, when running a downrigger for Lakers on the bottom being lazy doesn’t work..at all, so myself running the motor, downrigger and keeping everything in line is a non-stop activity. We finally had what we felt was an acceptable presentation for the fish, T-60’s, 1.5 MPH, fish on the bottom and good electronics. I started by letting my Flatfish behind the downrigger ball about 25 feet on my Okuma line counter reel, this shorter distance allows you keep more accurate contact with the bottom, dropped the weight until it hit bottom (yes I said it, bang the weight on the bottom don’t be scared) and started to experiment with how many reels on the scotty I needed to come up the keep that Flatfish digging in the mud. Dreu was on the other side of the boat experimenting with letting line out and feeling the bottom. The first fish printed on the sonar and within seconds the downrigger slammed down and the fight was on as we landed a huge 45” long 26” girth Laker. Not long after that fish Dreu was hooked up on another giant due to a big sweeping inside turn for him that allowed his Flatfish to be right on the bottom! The rest of the week continued just like that, the Lakers would move into their feeding areas in the afternoon and we would target them on the bottom with great success, 32 Lake Trout over 20 pounds with 4 over 40 pounds in three days! Had we not gone the extra mile to really get in front of these fish it would have been a fairly unsuccessful trip. What made the difference? Dragging the Flatfish on the bottom was one of the most important things to get these fish to bite. Everyone else was dragging their rigs with 8 oz of weight giving them a max depth of about 60’ (not bad, only 60’ too shallow) so adding another 8 oz of weight or using a downrigger made a significant difference. Allowing the T-60’s to drag and dig in the mud were provoking the fish to eat Good electronics were another very important factor! We were able to pinpoint fish location, exact speed (1.5 was the magic number) and waypoints to stay on the fish longer with more accuracy. Running structure perpendicular instead of parallel was one of the final pieces of the puzzle that lead us to being much more successful. Sure, it’s way easier to run your boat along the structure trying to stay in a certain depth of water so you don’t have to work your setups as much but seriously quit being lazy! Run those Flatfish across the ledges, up the humps and off the drops! That’s what the fish are looking for I promise. Don’t be afraid to change color. We would always start our day with a frog and pearl T-60 but if we printed 3 fish on the sonar and no takers, I would start ripping through colors until I found what was working. The Frog stayed consistent during that week but we had great success on a pearl, chrome/chartreuse and the last day clown was killing the fish! If you are a crazy trout fishing junkie like me or just starting to learn how to chase them, pay attention to these tips and I promise you will be more successful.

New for 2017 Nab land-locked sockeye salmon (commonly referred to as Kokanee) with the new Kokanee Magic™. This lure features “jeweled” center bead construction, Indiana style hammered blade for maximum vibration, and two tandem blood red hooks snelled on 10-pound test invisible fluorocarbon. For added action and attraction try trolling this lure in combination with 4 inch Fish Flash, easy-pulling Yakima Bait UV Troll, or Fast Limit Kokanee Dodger. For best results keep your leaders in the 10 inch range and troll speeds at or near 1.5MPH.

When I am fishing for coastal salmon I almost always run at least two of my 5 rods rigged with flashers, unless the seaweed is too bad. Some days the attraction of his flashers really turns on the fish. I think the flash or even attracts fish to nearby rods that don't have the flasher. They pull the fish into my spread. I feel it's important to match the flasher color to the water and light conditions. I particularly like using the glow-in-the-dark flasher at or before first light. It's almost always good for a fish. The backside of this glow-in-the-dark flasher is white so it makes a great background for UV tape or other colors. Me and my wife Tasha have been customizing Yakima Bait Fish Flash flashers with Yakima's replacement glue or tape. They are already cut out to the shapes of flashers so it makes it really easy. Since I'm kind of sloppy I let Tessa do the cutting and pasting. She also has good color combo ideas. So if you like playing around with colors and making Lures this is right up your alley. David Johnson www.davidjohnsonfishing.com

By: Buzz Ramsey Although I shot this deer a little over an hour before dark, by the time I crossed the canyon and my brother's son Jeff arrived, the light was fading; thus the grainy photo. Perhaps not the biggest deer as compared to some this Fossil Unit buck was one of the nicest I've gotten on the ranch we hunt. Oh, I've harvested a few with wider racks, and a friend of mine got one that was 24 wide but so old (10 years) that the rack came out thick and heavy but then petered out with cigar like tops. Other than the deer son Wade and Jeff harvested opening weekend, after 7 fun hunting days, this was only the third buck I’d seen - and one of those was on the wrong side of the fence. Actually, I first jumped this deer in the early morning one canyon to the east but he ran out so fast I had no shot. I didn’t follow him as he was on high alert and not likely to let me see him again, but I thought he might bed in the adjacent canyon, and if not disturbed, come out to feed just before dark. The odds of him doing this were a little long but better, perhaps, than hunting canyons where I’d seen no antlered deer in seven full hunting days. As luck would have it I did spot him from the far canyon top when I returned that evening. He was feeding with some other deer and although I had only a small window through the trees was able to get a solid rest and nail him with a single 430 yard shot from my 338 Remington Ultra Mag. Needless to say, perhaps, but he instantly dropped to the ground when my 210 grain Barnes bullet hit him in the back bone just above his lungs. I must admit I get a little ribbing about shooting deer with my elk rifle but have come to realize I lose little meat with Barnes all-copper bullets because, unlike most lead-core hunting bullets, if they break apart can ruin a lot of meat, these don’t and the extra bullet diameter makes for a large wound channel. I’ll be hunting around our Klickitat home when the Washington deer season opens this weekend. Buzz Ramsey

Fish are attracted to spinners due to their size, color, flash, and vibration. And although any one of these ingredients will catch fish, when combined into one parcel (a well designed spinner), they are more than a little effective for every type of fish that swims. While the above factors all play a role in attracting hungry fish, spinner vibration is often credited as a key factor in spinner appeal. And although some blade styles produce more noise than others, all spinners generate underwater noise created due to the blade spinning through the water. Without a doubt, the most popular way to fish a spinner is to employ the cast-and-retrieve method. It’s so easy, just tie a spinner on the end of your line, cast into a nearby body of water and reel/retrieve your spinner back to you. In lakes, most anglers searching for fish, cast-and-retrieve spinners while working their way along the shoreline or from a drifting boat. What I’ve observed is fish are likely to be found cruising near the surface when water temperatures are cool, early in the morning, on overcast days, or during evening time periods. Fish are more likely to be found near bottom (or at some level above it) during the middle of the day when the sun is bright or at times when the water temperature is warm. To determine the depth your spinner should be running, and be able to return to it, may require you to practice what’s known as the “count-down” method. In preparation for learning the “count-down” technique, realize that most weighted spinners will sink at a rate of one foot per second. Here’s how: cast out, and allow your spinner to fall freely to the bottom, counting one-one thousand, two-one thousand, etc. until it hits bottom signified by your line going slack. Now that you know the bottom depth based on counting you can begin your retrieve after the next cast at varying depths above bottom, which will help you avoid hang ups. Using this simple procedure will allow you to search for fish at different depths and reliably return to the fish-producing level on subsequent casts. In addition, working your lure near bottom may require you to step up to a larger/heavier spinner size; for example, a light to medium weight spinner (perhaps a 1/16 to 1/8 ounce Rooster Tail) will likely perform best when fish are near the surface, say in the top ten feet of water, but you may need to step up to a larger/heavier size (1/6 to 1/4 oz) to get down when fish are lurking deep in the water column. Keep in mind that spinners are the most effective when retrieved slowly, just fast enough to keep the blade turning. Strikes are usually definite, but some fish will just stop the spinning blade, so when in doubt, set the hook.

Early in my career, I learned a valuable lesson – one that continues to pay to this day. And I’d like to share that lesson with you in the hope that it will help you catch more fish. The lesson? How tin – as opposed to lead – can make certain lures perform better. But before delving into any specifics, here’s some background on how I discovered its advantages. MOTHER OF INVENTION I first learned of tin (as it applies to the manufacture of fishing lures) in the late 1980s – right after designing my first spinnerbait for Hildebrandt. At the time, a nationwide campaign to ban lead had been launched, and that gave company president Mark Hildebrandt serious concern. You see, back then, much of their product line was dependent upon lead. The thought of a ban pressed Mark to seek out alternative, non-toxic materials. And after countless trials with a variety of metal and non-metal substances, we reached the conclusion that tin was, by far, superior … for several reasons, which we’ll get into. Although we had found the right material, there were still setbacks: Tin was more difficult to mold than lead, and it's also more expensive. Accepting this, the company pushed forward by building higher priced, niche spinnerbaits. Mine was the first, and we called it “The Blade.” Unique to other spinnerbaits of the period, The Blade was designed specifically for bass feeding by sight in clear water. Aside from its tin construction, The Blade featured enhanced lifelike attributes found in natural forage fish, such as shad. The decision to build this lure meant raising consumer costs considerably, and it met with some initial resistance. In retrospect, however, the move was brilliant. Not only were we building a lure using an alternative material, we gave it superior cosmetics – something, to that point, that had not been offered. Since introducing tin to the bass market, Hildebrandt has continued to broaden its application across their product line – not only spinner-type lures, but buzzbaits and various jig heads, as well. WHY TIN WORKS Here are a few reasons I feel tin is superior to lead. First and perhaps foremost, tin is approximately 2/3 the weight of lead by volume. This means a lure can maintain a larger profile without any added or unnecessary weight – an important consideration when accurately matching the size of certain forage fish, like shad or blueback herring. And because it weighs less by volume, lures molded with tin can be retrieved at much slower speeds, yet remain high in the water column – regardless of blade size or configuration. This is particularly advantageous when fishing over shallow grass, stumps or brush, or when trying to attract fish from long distances. A spinnerbait molded with tin will shake and pulse more, where lead tends to dampen vibration. Tin spinnerbaits also fall much slower and more seductively than lead, which is ideal when drop-fishing the lure for bass in cold water situations – like in standing timber or along bluff banks. Tin-molded spinnerbaits can be advantageous in stained water as well. They can stay in the strike zone longer, maximizing the pulse and flash that help fish to zero in. When a high-speed retrieve is required, this same spinnerbait can track at warp speed without rolling over. So long as the lure is correctly balanced, it should run true at any rate of speed. Another benefit to tin is that it’s much harder than lead. It won't easily ding when struck against solid objects, like dock pilings or riprap. When lead-formed lures strike these objects, they tend to dent and cause paint loss. CONSERVATION CONCERNS Perhaps one of the most important aspect of tin is that it is eco-friendly. It’s safe to fish and other forms of wildlife, where lead is not. Lead is highly toxic and we keep leaving way too much of it in the habitat our fish and birds depend on. If you’ll give tin a try, I think you too will discover its advantages. You can check out some of the tin baits I helped design right here. Main photo by Walker Smith.

Columbia River tributary Spring Chinook fishing can be awesome when you have the right equipment. This fish was caught on a #4 lime black silver wing Yakima Bait Spin-N-Glo. I start out by rigging a slider on my main with a 1-6oz pyramid or cannon ball weight tied to a eight inch dropper line. The amount of weight I use depends on current speed and water depth I am fishing. This will keeps my weight in contact with the bottom. The Spin-N-Glo is buoyant and keeps your bait slightly off the bottom in the strike zone. Bank anglers will probably want to use a pyramid weight. This technic is referred to as plunking. Next, I put a rubber bead bellow the slider to protect the knot on my barrel swivel. I then tie a three foot leader with a 4/0 double hook setup and add my Spin-N-Glo and leader to the main line. Spin-N-Glow size and color can be very important as well. Water speed and turbidity are all factors when I choose from different sizes and color patterns. This presentation can be baited with a ball of cured salmon eggs or a plug cut herring. This tasty Springer crushed a ball of cured eggs and was one of the last fish we needed for our daily limit. Yakima bait Spin-N-Glo's flat out put fish in the box!!

Fishing on the Nushagak River is awesome!! This River is the best in the world because of the sheer number of king salmon for the size of the river. Just like any other Salmon river in the world it has it's tuff days as well. Here is one trick that I found works well for me to entice a bite. On the Nushagak we are only allowed to fish with one single point hook. So, I rig my Yakima bait Maglip 5.0 with a 6/0 siwash hook attached to the rear hook loop with a split ring and a 200lb crane swivel. Then, I add a hoochie skirt to the siwash hook. I did best with pink hoochie's on a Cream puff 5.0 and Mad clown 5.0 with a pink hoochie as well. It adds just a little more action to the business end of the plug and give the salmon a great aiming point. These Maglips are wrapped with sardines for added scent and attraction. When these hard hitting kings crush these plugs it's explosive and the battle is on!! That's what makes fishing with Maglips so additive and fun. This little added attraction to your Maglip could be just the trick you need to get a few more fish in the box on your home waters.

MAG LIP® HOOK OPTIONS EXPLAINED Plug action is determined by body shape, the location of the pull-point eyelet, hook size and position. While some plugs will swim with no hooks and do just fine when rigged with a wide range of different hook sizes, other designs are less forgiving and will be less tolerant of changes in hook weight or styles. Of course hook weight can not only influence plug action but buoyancy too. After all, too heavy a hook can not only deaden the action of your plug but cause it to be less buoyant or sink. With Mag Lip, the lighter the hook the more lively the plug action and less speed tolerant it will become. You can use this feature to your advantage; for example, if the speed of the water (your tolling speed) is slow, you can liven up the action of your Mag Lip, which might make it more appealing to fish, by dropping down one hook size. As mentioned, while employing a lighter/smaller hook size will liven up the action produced by Mag Lip it will make the plug less speed tolerant. Keep in mind, Mag Lip was designed to dive extra deep, exhibit an erratic, darting “skip-beat” action that will produce savage strikes from fish. As you might know, the “skip-beat” action produced by Mag Lip teases fish into striking similar to how a house cat pounces when teased with a ball and string. Many guides and anglers report a higher hook-to-land ratio when using Mag Lip as compared to other plug designs and credit the savage strikes and better hook-to-land ratio to the unique action produced by this lure. With factory hook weights, Mag Lip sizes 3.0, 3.5, 4.5 and 5.0 will tolerate troll speeds up to 4 MPH. The 2.5 size Mag Lip will handle current speeds up to 3 MPH. Just like when trying different treble hook sizes, changing to a single hook(s) can influence the speed tolerance of Mag Lip. Below we have outlined suggestions in regards to the use of single hook and how plug action might be affected when removing the belly hook or switching to a different size treble. MAG LIP 2.5 SINGLE HOOK For size 2.5 Mag Lip, you can switch from the size #6 factory specified treble hook to a single-siwash with a size #2 or #4 being the recommended sizes. While you can crimp either size open-eyed siwash to the factory split ring you can also connect it via an additional split ring, two (2) total split rings, or extending the hook back by adding a #10 barrel swivel to the factory split ring and crimping the open-eyed siwash to it. While the size #2 siwash is the most desirable for larger size fish like steelhead, a size #4 will result in a livelier plug action and may be an advantage when slow trolling for trout. MAG LIP 3.0 HOOK OPTIONS Factory rigged with treble hooks (Size #6 treble on belly and #5 on tail) this Mag Lip size swims correctly when rigged with double siwash style single hooks (size 2 on belly and 1 on tail). Recommend attaching size 10 swivel to split-ring and crimping open-eyed siwash hook to it. Some anglers rig one size 1 siwash style single hook on the tail hook hanger (via double split-ring or swivel/split-ring combo) with no hook on the belly of Mag Lip – Mag Lip 3.0 will swim to 3-1/2 MPH and yield a wider wiggle with one siwash rigged on lure tail. MAG LIP 3.5 HOOK OPTIONS Factory rigged with treble hooks (Size #4 treble on belly and #3 on tail) but works with singles too! Mag Lip swims correctly when rigged with double (size #1 or size #2) siwash style single hooks. Recommend attaching size 7 swivel to split ring and crimping open-eyed siwash single hook to swivel. Some anglers are finding success by running one size 2/0 siwash style single hook on the tail hook hanger with no hook on the belly of Mag Lip. MAG LIP 4.5 HOOK OPTIONS Mag Lip 4.5 is rigged from the factory with size #1 round bend treble hooks. For single hook rigging try double 1/0 or 1/0-2/0 (2/0 on tail) siwash style singles. For two singles, it’s recommend that you rig the belly single hook (point down) off two split-rings, and the trailing single (point up) off double split-rings. Mag Lip 4.5 will perform with one size 2/0 single hook attached to the tail of the lure. MAG LIP 5.0 HOOK OPTIONS The Mag Lip 5.0 pulls to 4 MPH when rigged with two (2) size 2/0 treble hooks – the factory rigging specification. When rigged with two size 1/0 trebles Mag Lip will yield a more skip-beat action, which may produce more strikes in slow moving current. Removing Belly Hook The 5.0 will swim to 3-1/2 MPH when rigged with one size 2/0 treble hook or to 2MPH when rigged with one size 1/0 treble hook attached to the tail end of the plug. Single Hook The 5.0 will swim up to 4 MPH when rigged with one (1) size 4/0 single siwash hook (pictured below) providing the belly split ring is left in place. Leaving the belly split ring in place is important, as removing it will cause this size Mag Lip less speed tolerant. Leaving the belly split ring in place is especially important when fishing fast moving rivers like the Kenai in Alaska or British Columbia’s Skeena River system.