Kokanee Fishing: Does Leader Length Matter?

[wiperhunter2]

I use the fish shaped weights.  Heavier weights have less blowback, but forward surface area dependent.  It's the ratio of weight to surface area that determines blowback.  Pancakes have a lot of surface area, but low forward surface area.  The shape of the pancake also means that a heavier pancake has to be a lot bigger and typically needs a steel core as a fin to prevent spinning.  I run fish shaped weights because I believe I get some hydrodynamic advantages from the fins (the fins make the weight dig into the water and prevent spinning, kind of like the shape of a fish or a plane) which reduces blowback based on my tests.  The guys who are fishing king salmon 200 feet down on downriggers are using 20lb weights to get down and reduce blow back.  In my opinion, blowback only matters until you get a sense for how deep you are with a particular weight.  If you can see your downrigger ball, you can see how deep you are and blow back is simply an issue of correcting depth until you are in the zone.  You can also reduce blow back by using braided line instead of steel wire.  But, those are fighting words around here.

One little trick I don't share much is using the lead fish shaped weights, I'll carry a couple of different weights that are painted different colors.  I find I use the pink and orange painted weights more than the others. 

The theory is somewhat more than I want to explain absent some desire to hear it, but it's basically a fight or flight that I want to trigger in kokanee.  They see a big pink downrigger ball, then they have to decide whether or not to fight it.  The downrigger ball is big and dangerous and the math says it's more dangerous to fight something big in your space, so the salmon is irritated but lets it slide.  By the time the hoochie goes by, they are irritated, looking for something to take out some aggression on, and a little hoochie goes by they feel more comfortable "teaching a lesson" to.  And, bang.  Engage salmon elevator.

By the end of the season, the most aggressive fish have been caught for the most part and the more docile fish are left.  So my leader length is shorter for more action when the kokanee start getting aggressive (e.g., as the water warms up) and gets longer when the kokanee are less active or aggressive (beginning/end of the season, water is cold, etc.).  In other words, the aggressiveness of my presentation scales to my perceived aggressiveness of the kokanee.  There is no single leader length that is best.

Interesting observations, what are your thoughts on setbacks, early in the year compared to later?