Blue Knight

Hot Spot's "Agitator" flasher is available in 9" & 71/2" size in the following Mountain Dew colours. Blue, Strawberry, Green, Chartreuse, 50/50, Red/Chartreuse 50/50. Also in plaid, Purple Haze, Green & Chartreuse. They're great running on a dipsy as there's very little drag with them & they're designed to run at any speed. Ideal for running a spoon or a body bait as they won't interfere with the action of either. My top producer for years has been the 11" Hot Spot Bullfrog & cut bait but not this year. I rigged a couple of the 9" Agitators in tandem with a 24" leader in front & a 16" leader between the two Agitators. I run them off the ball with a 5.5 Hot Spot Apex Rocket trailing 5' behind & 5' above the Agitators. There hasn't been a time on the water when this hasn't outfished everything else I've had down. I'm sold!!

Mike's been advised where to get his Apex on another site. I also advised him of some of the top colours for Lake Ontario. Apex were the first salmon lure I bought some thirty odd years ago, long before I became the Ontario Pro Staff for Hot Spot. They're still the most consistent lure I have & I've got most of the makes available. I'm a 5.5 man but the chrome/green scale in the 4.5 is a killer. My top producers in the 5.5 are Chartreuse Haze, Rocket, Stinnson, & the glows are Glow Jelly & Glow Bug.

Maniac just to clarify one thing. There's no reason why you can't run flashers at a high speed. Over 90% of the commercials out west are running nothing but 11" Hot Spots & a pile of them. There spread obviously are a lot bigger than any of ours. There leads are a lot shorter but that's about the only difference I could see. When I went out there a couple of years ago I was invited on one of the commercials to take a look at their setup. That was too much like work for me LOL!

One thing to remember there is nothing set in stone in fishing for salmon. Experiment, experiment when it comes to speed at least. Out west the commercials are running at 4 knots. I've been up to 3.6mph sog & down to 1.4mph sog & caught fish. Obviously you have to run within a speed that gets good action from your lure. Most of the time I'm running either Hot Spot flashers or Apex or both in a spread. They both run well & the only size Apex that I've found speed sensitive is the #4.0 which shouldn't be run over 2.5mph.

Again no bananas & don't forget to pay the "Fish Gods". I always carry a pile of pennies & if the fishing slows down throw one in in front of each rigger. Bingo, fish on!

Boltman I've been running Apex behind a dodger/flasher for over 25 years long before I became prostaff for Hot Spot. Before getting any flashers my favourite combination was a Luhr Jensen 00 dodger & a #3 green/pearl Apex & that was a killer. I haven't bothered running dodgers for years but run the Apex behind an 8" Hot Spot flasher either off the rigger or a dipsy set up. One way to prevent a tangle if your running cheaters or stackers on the same line as a flasher is to tie on a swivel on your main line & then run a leader of something between 4 & 6' to your flasher. I do the same thing for my slide divers so when I get a fish on it doesn't get a chance of knocking the fish off.

I use them off my riggers & divers. My normal set up is an 11" Bullfrog & cut bait on my deepest rod, & as I move up the next I start with an 11" White Lightning Hot Spot & cut bait then an 8" green Haze & green Krinkle Howie fly & a clean Apex on my highest rod. If I don't get any hits on the white Lightning I'll change over to the 11" Stealth. One of the best producers for me on a diver has been the 8" purple Haze trailing a 5.5 Stinnson Apex. As for depth it doesn't really matter as I said UV can penetrate water down to 500' & is still there even on a cloudy day. I've run them as far down as a 100' & still caught fish on them.

I've been fortunate enough to be Pro Staff for Hot Spot for about 20 years. Allow me to explain about UV light. It's the only light that can penetrate water down to 500 feet. The UV blades absorb the light & give off a bluish glow. I've been using these flashers since a year prior to them coming out on the market. Hot Spot's Green Haze UV #1695 has been one of my top 3 producers every season since I started using them & I can't remember going out without having it down. The other two of my top 3 are clear stealth UV & Bullfrog.

Over the years that I've been running Hot Spot flashers, only 3 seasons has an 8" & fly beat out the 11" Hot Spot & cut bait. There may be a problem getting cut bait this coming season but I'm going to run a Howie fly or hoochie behind the 11". Out in BC I never saw a boat using an 8", they all run 11" with a hoochie or fly.

It's too bad we won't see an Atlantic in Lake Ontario that'll even come close to that size.

Anton, Nick you can order Apex either from www.mrkokanee.com in the States or www.berrysbait.com in BC. Hope this helps. They have all the colours you'll need. John

Nick I've been using Apex for over 33 years, long before I became pro staff for Hot Spot. They were the first salmon lure I bought & they've been the most consistent lure I've ever owned & God knows I've got a pile. You can run them clean or behind a flasher, just don't change the leader length. If I run one behind a flasher it's usually a 5.5 Apex behind an 8" Hot Spot. I fish the north side of Lake Ontario & my favourite colours are #374 chrome/green scale in the 4.5, #409 Watermelon, #431 Stinnson, #555 Glow Bug, 383G Glow Ladderback & #386 chrome/green neon in the 4.5 & 5.5. The last time out this season got a chance to try the new Glow Jelly UV in the 4.5 & banged 3 fish over 20 in the first hour & a half. I've already ordered some more of them. I'll find out the closest dealer to you & PM you when I get the info.

Sorry Anton just saw your post. I sent you a PM. I'm the Prostaffer for Hot Spot in Ontario & if I can be of help let me know.

Howies! It's hard to beat that Green Krinkle & Glow white. I've taken a lot of fish on both.

If you want to get in the top ten on the GOSD leader board this week you'll need at least a 30lber. Tenth spot up until today is 29.78lbs. I wonder how long before a 40lber hits the board.

Took my Grandson Cam up to Darlington on Friday. We were out by 5:30 am & fished 70 to 100fow just west of the Nuke plant. All our fish came on an 8" Green Haze UV Hot Spot Flasher & Green Glitter Krinkle Howie fly. Cam had never used an Islander mooching reel before but handled it like a pro. Saturday we went out with my buddy Junior & the same combo took most of the fish. One came on a dipsy with a Rac spoon & after Cam brought that fish in he said, "Grandad I like the other reel better" Obviously a future Pro Staff for Islander reels. Saturday evening we went out for an hour in 85fow off the coal plant & Cam landed a nice 20lber. I was net man & line setter throughout the weekend but on Sunday he let me bring in a big King. Just a little bigger than an alewife LOL. All in all it was a great weekend. He even learned how to filet a fish.

SW11 that's the fish I was referring to. It was caught on Scotty's boat off Darlington.

I heard Scotty got a 30 plus today. One day too late for the Salmon Masters & a few days early for the GOSD. That's at least two fish over 30 for Darlington.

Obviously it depends on your speed & the size of your dipsy. Looking at the `Precision Trolling`book a no.1 Dipsy with ring with 30lb wire on 0 setting will go down 82` with 210 ft of line out. On a 3 setting about 65ft. I`m pretty sure their speed when tested was 2.5mph. Whether you`d want to go deeper than that it`s highly unlikely but at least it gives you some idea you`d certainly have to go deeper before it does flatten out.

You're right there Skeiner on the GOSD. I've had customers place in the top ten that have never fished for sunfish before but all the more power to them. As for the tourneys I've never been that competitive to want to go in them. We ticked off the guide in BC when we got a fish on. The 3 of us just said, "You take it". By the time we'd decided the fish was in LOL. Salmon Slammin & Off the Wall yes. They're a fun thing.

Apex has been the most consistent for me for over 30 years. The 4.5 & 5.5 have been the most productive & as for colours, watermelon, Stinnson, Glow ladderback & chrome/green scale.

Actually Hot Spot were the first to come out with UV flashers & lures. Presently all their clear flashers are UV including Chameleon, Haze, & Stealth. SkeinMachine put a post on New Products last August re the Apex. I've used the UV flashers for a couple of years now. My favourite is the green haze. We killed them last year on that one. UV is the only light that can penetrate water down 500ft. You can't charge them like a glow but any amount of daylight including a cloudy day they'll work.

I've always shown concern for any rookie riding with me. I always tell them if my smoking bothers them to get out of the car & walk.

If you're thinking of crossing over to the north shore two of the best spots for staging Kings are Port Credit & Bronte. Both have good numbers of fish & good sizes. The Scotty Tournament runs out of Port Credit the first weekend in September & the Great Ontario Salmon Derby's on from 8th July until the end of August. Could be worth coming across that border.

If we have an east wind & the waves are 4' & building I'll stay dockside especially if they're new customers. I tell them I make the decision if it's fishable, not them. I've had it get lumpy once we were out & hung on til the end of the charter. One guy got off the boat, ran onto the parking lot & kissed the pavement. They never came back. I look at downrigger fishing as controlled depth fishing. Can't do it if one minute your 6' up then the next 6' down.