TOPIC:

Relatively new to boat fishing in LM (have fished pier, creek as well as GOM/Atlantic). I do not have down riggers and will be running anywhere from 4 to 6 dipseys with dodgers, flashers and flies along with body baits, spoons, etc. and would appreciate advice on:

Use different color flashers and dodgers in spread to determine best color for the bite?
Run peanut/midget flies as well a larger flies in spread?
Does flasher or dodger color need to be similar to fly colors?
Suggestions/tips on running spoons
Suggestion/tips on running body baits

Sorry for all the questions, just want to get more consistent. Thank you!

Sounds like you have got the right idea. Coho seem to like red dodgers, but clown,chrome, and Wonder bread also work well at times.
Colors and speed will let you know were you should be. If your running a big spread of dodger and fly, then on your other lines run something that will maintain action at the speed that you trolling. Your dodgers might be hot but your other lines might be dead just because the speed for the other baits isn't matching up as well. Flies, blue gold, black, black green, blue green, black red. Will get you some strikes. Smaller flies early in the season and moving up in size as water warms up and fish get more active. Length of distance from dodger to fly usually 15-18 inches.. Super slim spoons will work early with slower speeds and again as water warms up and fish become larger spoons will start to pick up. These are just general starting points. But the fish will let you know what is best on that day just keep making adjustments and keep in mind what is working for you best.

Yup what Ed said! And don't forget Thinfish, J-7s and J-9s flat out on boards.

Running 6 dipsies might prove challenging from a tangle perspective. Run a few planer boards. If you are going to run body baits along with D/F then run body baits that do well at lower speed - something with a wider lip like a hot n tot etc.

Typically you want to run dodgers at 2.4 mph and below. Anything over that and they will be spinning instead of dodging. While higher speed can still catch fish sometimes, the dodger will not have the intended action.

we run 1,2,3 colors with small spoons on planers one side and all crank baits set at different lengths on the other side off planers. Thin fish, taildancers, shad raps, all work. I will set one rigger low, in hopes of a laker

It's easy to spend yourself silly and then be confused with all the stuff you bought. I fished a boat once using 6 divers. Once in like 40 years and it wasn't pretty. Just remembered another time on a charter out of Racine. It wasn't pretty either. Stick to four.

Cohos will bite anything sometimes. I've never seen a day in April when they would snub an orange dodger with a 1.5 inch blue/green/gold fly. Stock up on those and then add to the collection - gently. Add a yellow with orange dot if you wish. That's all the colors I use. (In April).

KISS method wins every time.

Thank you all for the replies. No one mentioned using flashers/flies. Are flashers not used when water is this cold?

Flashers typically pick up early summer. Small orange spin doctors (type of flasher) are good for coho though.

More of a size thing. Most of the plastic flashers are 8 inches or larger. April coho like 6 inch dodgers - flashers. Some metal flashers such as Action Flashers or Mini-Flodgers are fine.