Its no secret that over the last few years Brad’s Superbaits, both the Original Series and the Cut Plug have become a very integral part of the Northwest salmon fishing scene. This has come as no surprise to many of the anglers that have been fishing these lures on the Columbia River east of the Cascades since they were invented. The reason Superbaits have become so popular is that they are extremely effective in almost any salmon fishing application. I have used them with great success in every salmon troll fishery from Astoria to Brewster. Over the past few years I have come to realize that anywhere a herring is effective a Superbait will also catch fish, and often out fish herring. With unlimited color options and the ability to always be fishing (a Superbait never blows out or gets ripped off), combined with great action and proven in a wide range of water temperatures and run timings, if you are not fishing Superbaits you are missing the opportunity at more fish.
In the last year one of the most exciting developments in this style of fishing has been the introduction of the LEO Flasher by. The Leo Flasher is a game changer because one of its great features and selling points is that it functions as BOTH an inline flasher, and as a rotating flasher eliminating the need to purchase flashers that only do one or the other. The other great thing about this flasher is that it will perform the rotating flasher role at a slower speed than other leading flashers. This translates into being able to use the flasher in more situations. One area I found this to be true was the anchor fishery in the Clarkston area of the Snake River for Spring Chinook. Here we did not have quite enough current to be able to keep our herring spinning utilizing a traditional inline flasher, but when I decided to try the LEO its ability to complete its rotation at a slow current speed imparted enough action on my herring that I was able to get the spin and action needed to catch fish. As a full time fishing guide with guiding as my sole income to provide for my family I am always on the lookout for products that help me put fish in the boat on a day to day basis throughout the season. Brad’s Superbaits and LEO Flashers are two products that help me to accomplish this goal, and you will see them in my boat everyday.
Below you will find a detailed description on how I rig my Superbaits and LEO Flashers for Trolling.
Mainline: 50# Power Pro braided line
Lead: 6-20 oz cannon ball sinkers connected on a slider with a 6 inch section of .035 spinner wire in between the slider and the lead. The purpose of this is to help eliminate tangles between the flasher lead and the cannon ball, and also helps the user feel for the bottom when trying to fish in areas where we are keeping our gear just off the bottom.
Flasher Lead: 24 inches of 50# Berkley Big Game (use a different color than your leader to help identify which is which when a tangle does occur)
Leader: 36-44 Inches of 40# Berkley Big Game
Hooks: #2 Gamakatsu 2x strong treble hook followed by 2 #2/0 Gamakatsu Octopus hooks tied an inch apart 4 inches behind the treble hook. Set the treble hook so it rides inside the hook garage of the Superbait and the two singles riding just behind the Superbait.
To Watch a video on how we set up this system please check out How to Rig a Super Bait and Flasher Video!
I almost always stuff my Superbaits with Tuna. For information on how I do up my tuna Concoctions click HERE.
