Leadcore

[shorthairman]

I haven't done much trolling, but I got a couple of Cabela's depthmaster combos to try out this summer. Bought 200 yards of suffix 832 leadcore to put on them (100yds on each is my thought). My questions are:

1. Should I just spool the 100yds of leadcore on or should I put some mono backing on first?
2. Do I worry about setting the line counters or just count the colors that go out?
3. If I set the line counters how do I calibrate them?
4. What kind and how long of a leader do you guys recommend?

Thanks for the help!

 

[DirtyMike]

suffix 832 lead (18lb) is the best choice. yes to mono backing. Don't worry about calibrating with lead. 15' of whatever you want out front.

 

[wkndwarrior]

Ask 10 different people and you'll get 10 different answers. Personally I don't do a ton of it but I run 2 set ups with a little mono backing and I measured off like 10' is all and then tied that to my leadcore so it had a good bite to the reel. I then on the business end have a super small swivel that goes through the guides of the rod then tied to about 15' of 10lb fireline. I also run the suffix advantage leadcore so I don't have to run as much line out as standard leadcore. I also try to run my drags a little on the loose side with this setup as there is very little stretch. I usually turn the bait clickers on, start trolling and back the drags down till they slip and tighten a little from there so you still get a decent hook set. Also note when pulling this stuff it is very speed dependent. The faster you go the shallower your baits will be. The slower you go the deeper they will go. I forced myself to use them a fair amount last year and learned a lot on my own but am by no means a pro. Always fun to fish with someone else so you can pick up on other little things. Good luck and have fun.

 

[AaronJ]

Depends on the size reels you have.

If group 47 size then just put all 10 colors of lead on and use the line counter. If 27 size use 5 colors and the line counter. Make sure to tape it to the spool when you start.

No need to count colors, no need for backing, and no need to calibrate. Just make sure each reel is exactly the same. Accuracy is improved the more filled the spool is which is achieved fairly well with the above recommendations.

I then run about a 6 foot 15lb Fireline crystal or 12lb flouro leader.

 

[reddevilwoodsman]

There are a lot of ways to rig leadcore reels and rods that will work for you.
This is what works for me. I've been fishing with leadcore for years and I've never found any reason to use backing like I've read. I use size 30 linecounter reels with 100 yards of 18 lb. old school leadcore (Mason brand, Cabela's brand etc. when it used to be available, now Bass Pro Magibraid brand...........there is no one best leadcore line) on each with an 8 foot leader of 15 lb. Power Pro attached to the leadcore by a small ball bearing swivel that will fit through my line guides if reeled in too far. The swivel eliminates twisted leadcore if a crankbait gets fouled and starts spinning. Twisted leadcore can be a mess. The leader material can be almost any braid, fluorocarbon or monofilament line...I just prefer Power Pro.
I use everything from 5 foot shorty rods to 10 ft. 6 in. rods and they all work well. I use fairly light action rods with soft tips to take the place of using a leader with stretch and I've never thought that I miss bites because of it.
I don't target suspend walleyes where I usually fish and all I do is target a depth where I'm marking fish, let out 30 ft. (or one color) of line for every 5 feet of depth until I'm at the target depth, troll at 2 mph and catch walleyes. It's really that easy.
I use both shallow and deep diving crankbaits with leadcore and really don't pay any attention to how deep they dive. If a crank bangs bottom, I just reel up 5 ft. at a time until it stops and make a mental note of it. Your crankbaits don't have to be at an exact depth to catch walleyes with leadcore but rather they just have to be in the fish zone. The walleyes will let you know what they want.

 

[shorthairman]

What kind of knot do you guys use to tie your leader to the leadcore?

Thanks for the advice. My reels are the Depthmaster III -15 size, and 5 colors of leadcore filled them up pretty good I thought. Guess I will wait and see when I make my first leadcore trolling attempt. Cant be as bad as throwing the plug out, counting to 10, and closing the bail...:;:huh

 

[AaronJ]

What kind of knot do you guys use to tie your leader to the leadcore?

Thanks for the advice. My reels are the Depthmaster III -15 size, and 5 colors of leadcore filled them up pretty good I thought. Guess I will wait and see when I make my first leadcore trolling attempt. Cant be as bad as throwing the plug out, counting to 10, and closing the bail...:;:huh

I use an Albright knot or a small barrel swivel to tie on the leader material.

5 colors should fill that size reel up quite nicely.

 

[Ristorapper]

leadcore knot:

https://www.google.com/search?q=lea...0.6462j0j8&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#kpvalbx=1

or #18 barrel swivel.

before tying the knot-----------------------


**** Remove approx 6-8" of lead by peeling back the dacron. snip the lead or bend back and forth.****

 

[shorthairman]

That looked really slick...until I tried it...PITA to get your braid threaded up through the dacron...glad I only rigged up two rods!

leadcore knot:

https://www.google.com/search?q=lea...0.6462j0j8&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#kpvalbx=1

or #18 barrel swivel

 

[HUNTFISHND]

Yeah I've tried to do it a few times and just end up getting pissed and just tie on a swivel.

That looked really slick...until I tried it...PITA to get your braid threaded up through the dacron...glad I only rigged up two rods!

 

[shorthairman]

It actually worked better on the second rod. When I slid the dacron back, I clipped the exposed lead off, then stuck my braid up next to the lead and slid the dacron back over the braid as I went. Obviously I didn't tie a knot in the dacron first, but it wasn't too bad fishing 15' of braid through the loop. Oh and it also helped to have a second set of hands as well on the second rod.

 

[Enslow]

I prefer nanofil with a lead leader .

 

[Ristorapper]

That looked really slick...until I tried it...PITA to get your braid threaded up through the dacron...glad I only rigged up two rods!

I actually thread the mono or braid into the dacron without the bow/knot loosely made in the dacron. Works easier. Feed the braid into the dacron, then make your knot close to the end of the dacron. Make sure the braid didn't move. Tie a second knot. Easier to do in the boat in rough water if for some reason you break off than working with that tiny swivel.

 

[Flatrock]

Can you use a double uni-knot to tie the leadcore to your leader or doesn't that really work with leadcore? I'm working on getting some leadcore rods rigged up this summer for the first time.

 

[Ristorapper]

the double uni knot is a great knot, normally recommended for lines of equal or near equal diameter. In this particular case, braid and dacron are generally not close to equal, the reason I searched out a different way to join lines. I didn't care to use the heavy dacron when tying to a very small swivel either so I prefer the simple overhand knot with the braid or mono inside the dacron with the lead removed.

 

[shorthairman]

Flatrock...this may sound stupid, but slide the dacron back a few inches and cut out the lead. Then you have a few inches of dacron that is "tieable" to your leader.

 

[NDwalleyes]

Anyone have experience with copper line vs leadcore?

 

[Kentucky Windage]

I buy my copper fishing line down copperhead road!

 

[eliminator]

one thing that has worked for me is there is a small eyelet that fly fishermen use that sticks into the fly line and has an eye on the end of it. If you push this into the leadcore it has barbs and holds really well and has not come out at all for me. You then can tie your leader onto the eye very easily. You can get these eyelets at Dakota Tackle in Bismarck---they make two sizes and I like the smaller one as it goes through the eyelets very good.

 

[AaronJ]

Anyone have experience with copper line vs leadcore?

My understanding of copper line is that it is more utilized for handlining. I could be mistaken. It is a killer way to fish in current situations....