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[devon42]

what kind of baldes do u all use?
 size?, colour? hammered not hammered?

[Fish Slayer]

never really looked at the size I just know the size by seeing them lol smooth and hammered but only the real gold or silver ones none of those cheap imitation ones 

[NiceFish]

usually around size 4, silver gold copper... smooth hammered...doesn't really matter too much

[Jace]

Anyone have much luck short floating blades in the stave?

[BCfisherman97]

Anyone have much luck short floating blades in the stave?

Yes.

[Banny]

Anyone have much luck short floating blades in the stave?

Yes, both silver and gold hammered and non hammered.  Size 3, 3.5 or 4.

[mirak]

how do you fish with a colorado blade  is it the same thing as with wool?

[gman]

I buy them in bulk and put them together, so they're cheap. Generally gold/silver half and half in size 4 (usually hammered) seems to work in all conditions.

[slurpie]

Hard find true silver or true gold blades locally (not the pre-packaged gibbs).  Anyone have any leads?

[lovethewater]

They have a pretty good selection of them at berry's but not sure exactly which sizes...

[DionJL]

Hard find true silver or true gold blades locally (not the pre-packaged gibbs).  Anyone have any leads?

Order them direct from Pen-Tac. Though they are bloody expensive.

[Justin]

I use size 3 or 4 hammered brass and silver.

Justin

[whereismyfloat]

what is the proper technique for short floating blades? do the blades turn properly on a dead drift or is the idea to swing it and make the blades work coming across the current. are you retrieving line throughout the drift?

would appreciate any insight as i'm still pretty green when it comes to fishing gear on rivers.

thx

[Steelie1030]

I've had great success with Colorado blades in slower waters under a float...I reel in the blade so painfully slow that the blade is not spinning but sort of waving back and forth...coho absolutely attack it. This method works well in the Fraser, Vedder, Chehalis and most likely anywhere that coho rest. I've had the rod almost ripped out of my hands by coho and it works when just about everything else isn't working. Give it a try. BTW I make my own blades with barrel swivels and split rings and siwash hooks.

[Gooey]

people calling most "silver" blades silver is probably a mistake.  Most "silver" blades are actually nickel.  West Coast Tackle on Hastings carries SILVER plated colorados.  The flash of a silver vs nickel blade is significant.  The silver blade reflects more light and is visibly brighter.  Bryan sells them as loose single blades at .85 c a piece as I recall...they are to the left of the cash register on the front desk.

If you make your own colorado blades, I don't recommned octopus hooks as the turned eye makes the hook sit at a wierd angle...use siwash for sure.  also I have just started using a 5 ball bead chain in order to drop the hook back away from the blade.  Last season I didnt have any "missed" strikes using a bead chain over a regular barrel swivel.  

I also experimented with colored tape on the concave side of the blade...got hits on all colors including plain so dont know if it make a dif.

To address a question earlier in the thread, the blade does need some movement to work.  If the drift is fast enough you can just float it down, holding back on a drift is another way to ensure some movement on the blade and certainly dont burn in the retrieve...you can catch fish with a slow retrieve on a colorado blade.  I have fished them with and without a float and had much success both ways.