A flasher/fly combo fooled this big chinook salmon. Photo by www.dreamweaverchaters.com.

Fifteen years ago, you couldn't give away flashers and flies to Lake Michigan captains who pursued salmon. J-Plugs, dodgers and squids were the rage back then.

What changed? A few pioneering individuals began experimenting with flashers and flies. They discovered flashers were much more speed forgiving than dodgers, which allowed anglers to troll faster and cover more water. The flashers caused trailing flies to move more enticingly when pulled behind a rotator, and they invoked aggressive strikes and solid hookups from salmonids. The flies also produced an eerie contrast, glow and shimmer that couldn't be duplicated by plastic or silicone squids. The bottom line is, flasher-and-fly combos just seemed to catch more fish. Nowadays, you don't see a Lake Michigan salmon boat without them!

"I think that with dodgers, you need to be much more conscious of your speed," suggested Capt. John Stieben, who fishes out of Algoma on Wisconsin's side of Lake Michigan (www.elitefishingcharters.com). Stieben also manufactures a complete line of flies, dodgers, flashers and terminal tackle through his company Opti Tackle (www.optitackle.com). "With dodgers, your speed needs to be right on. With flashers, you have a lot more latitude as far as speed."

Stieben said the tail or fin on his Inticer flasher -- and others on the market -- gives the trailing fly an added kick you don't get from a dodger. "The tail creates more movement," he said. "A flasher has that extra kick that causes the fly to snap, and I think that's important to trigger strikes."

Great Lakes tackle innovator John Emory has made the fin or tail of the flasher even more functional on his Smart Fish flasher. The fin on the Smart Fish rotates to allow you to adjust the spin of the flasher to different situations.

"The 11 to 11:30 setting is a good setting for the majority of your fishing," Emory claimed. "If you want a slower spin, all you need to do is turn the fin on the flasher closer to the 12:00 or 12:30 setting. Guys who run cut bait and want a more aggressive spin will find that the 2:30 setting is about right."

Emory said you can dial in the flasher setting you want to match the aggressiveness of the fish or the lure you're trailing behind it. To learn more about the Smart Fish flasher and how to use it, visit Legendary Products online at www.legendaryproduct.com

Capt. George Freeman relies heavily on flashers to catch fish (www.charterfreestyle.com). He charters out of Ludington, which was once considered in the heart of "dodger/squid country." Now most Lake Michigan skippers have made the change to flashers and flies. "Flashers just seem to be more forgiving as far as speed, and they work at a wide range of speeds," he said.

Shane Ruboyianes of Dreamweaver Lures (www.dreamweaverlures.com), manufacturer of the popular Spin Doctor, concurred with Freeman.

"Flashers are just more speed tolerant than dodgers," observed Ruboyianes. "You can run flashers anywhere from 1 to 4 mph and catch fish. With dodgers, you have to be going that critical 1.5 to 2.0 mph, and it's kind of all or nothing with a dodger."

Length of the lead between your flasher and cannonball or diver and between the flasher and the fly is often critical. "My typical lead between the ball and my flasher is about 20 feet," Freeman said. "But I'll tighten them up to 8 or 10 feet if I'm running them with plugs."

Freeman is a big fan of Dreamweaver's Spin Doctor flasher.

"You want a lot of action out of the flasher so it causes the fly to move, but you don't want so much that the fish can't catch it," Freeman advised. The length of the leader largely determines how much the fly mimics the movement of the flasher. "As a general rule, I make my leaders 2 1/2 times the length of the flasher. That's kind of a starting point. If I'm trolling slower, I may shorten the leader. If I'm trolling faster, I might lengthen the leader."

Stieben said right around 2 feet is a good rule of thumb for fly leader length. "I usually have a leader of about 23 to 24 inches between the flasher and fly," Stieben suggested. "You need to adjust that, though, depending on your speed. I might stretch the fly back 30 to 31 inches if the water is really warm and the fish are sluggish. Or I might shorten the leader if the water is colder and I want that fly to really snap, which can be especially good for cohos."