Lead Core Line Questions: Pls. Help!!

[rtrudeau]

Hi there, Hoping some of you folks can provide me with some answers for fishing lead core line. I just bought a set up that comes pre-spooled with seven colours of lead core as well as the backing and leader (which I will change to fluoro). I have never fished lead core before and need to figure out a couple important questions. #1: If I have seven colours of lead core on my line and I only want to fish for example, 4 colours, will it wreck my line to have the reel guides sitting on the lead core, or do you have to fish segmented style and have the guides against the backing material??? This would seem to defeat the purpose of the lead core line set-up to me as I would me stuck fishing at a certain depth all the time?!?!!??!

#2: If I want to add another 7 or 8 colours to my existing spool of lead, can I just join the two lead lines together with a blood-knot or double uni (after getting a few inches of lead out of the sheath) or is there a special way to join the stuff together???

I want to thank you ahead of time if you can help me out here, and if any of you have any tips or tricks to fishing with lead core that you'd like to share I sure would appreciate it. Thanks again, Ryan

[CLofchik]

#1: If I have seven colours of lead core on my line and I only want to fish for example, 4 colours, will it wreck my line to have the reel guides sitting on the lead core, or do you have to fish segmented style and have the guides against the backing material??? This would seem to defeat the purpose of the lead core line set-up to me as I would me stuck fishing at a certain depth all the time?!?!!??!

 

Yup & yup. Most guys who like leadcore have two or three rigs with different length cores on them.

 

#2: If I want to add another 7 or 8 colours to my existing spool of lead, can I just join the two lead lines together with a blood-knot or double uni (after getting a few inches of lead out of the sheath) or is there a special way to join the stuff together???

 

Dear god........16 colors? What are you, a sadist? Who is going to be reeling this in, your boss? FYI that's going to be about 600' of rig to reel up, and will need a massive reel to hold it all.

 

Here's a leadcore primer, dealing with such things as joining leader, core and backing.

http://greatlakesfisherman.com/forums/show...ght=Willis+knot

[rhare]

when using cores they should be put all out ( unless segmented), use a willis knot to tie the lines together (very very simple)

Another alternative is to add snap weights to your core set ups to bring them down more.

other then that you have a set up for each number of colours.

I would suggest picking up the percision trolling handbook, its a great reference guide for cores,divers,copper and so on.

 

16 is nothing, give the boss a 500' copper to reel in!!! I just added a 20 colour set up, not for me to reel in of course

[sonny]

20 colours,,,hmmm,,,i think i'd be throwing it in the water before reeling that in,,,lol

[Garry2Rs]

A spool of Leadcore is traditionally 10 colours. Each colour is 10 yards. There used to be double spools, at CTC which were two spools that weren't cut apart, so 16 colours is no big deal.

I don't see why fishing less the the full length of line would hurt anything. The lead is soft and wrapped inside the cloth braid.

It used to be said that leadcore would go down 10 feet for each colour you had out. I always thought that was too optimistic, but maybe those people were trolling very slowly.

On Lake Erie I have seen guys using short pieces of leadcore, 3 or 4 colours, and letting out a lot of backing.

[silveradosheriff]

Love my 20 colour set-up - except when occupied by a shaker.....

[doubleheader]

I have 4 Diawa sealines reels set-up with leadcore. I have two with std 10 color set-up and 2 with only 5. Many times I have fewer segments in the water than what's on the reel. The problem as i see it with so many segments in the water is the line sinks when you turn so you'd really need to be fishing some major open water areas that allow you to go i pretty much a staright line. I know my reels can't handle more than 10 segments, so check your line capacity of the reels you plan to use.

[rtrudeau]

Thanks for the help so far guys, Like I said I have never used this stuff before but I see alot of folks who rave about it. Up where I am fishing the guys generally steel line fish and it is nothing for them to have 1000 ft on the reel and when they are fishing they will frequentlyhave 500 ft or more in the water!! I was hoping the lead core would be a simpler alternative for me. I guess it is time to spend $45 and pick up the old trolling bible.

I appreciate all the help so far, if you have any more tips or tricks, keep em coming. Cheers, Ryan

[rtrudeau]

Double Header, A question I still am not completely clear on is if you are using your 10 colour set-up, can you put as an example 7 coulours only out? That would mean your lead core is still running up and through the reel guides. Will this wreck the lead core if you troll like this with the lead resting on the reel guides?? Thanks for answer, Ryan

[Garry2Rs]

I don't see a problem. Other than the actual lead, it's just a thick braided cotton, nylon or dacron line. If you are thinking the lead will break...Forget it!

[Headhunter]

You can fish any number of "colours in the water" you wish, the lead core will not hurt your reel or guides. I have used it in water as shallow as 15-20ft with as little as three colours in the water. It is highly effective when trolling flats, where close bottom contact is required.

You can hook L/C up to a planer board with no ill effects.

You don't need floro as backing as your lure will be a good 300ft away from your backing, with ten colours out. You may consider a floro leader, many swear by it, I don't.

I have posted this before, but not for a while, so here it goes again:

I don't use a knot to connect my leader or backing to L/C. I pull back 2-3 inches of the covering and snip the lead. I then push my backing or leader into the empty sheath and apply a drop of crazy glue to the seam. I let it dry for about a minute, then apply crazy glue the the entire joint. Allow it to throughly dry before reeling it up in the reel, takes about ten minutes.

You now have a knotless connection that will not interfere with reeling it in. It also last for years! I have caught chinny's, steeles, coho, pickereyes, you name it on this system and have not EVER had it break.

Depending on the lb test of the l/c, you can easily snug 20-30lb test, into the l/c sheath. If your using it on Lake O for example, I suggest 30lb. It will work well for chinny's and has far less stretch then lesser mono.

One other point... L/C will play games with your reel's drag system. It doesn't like l/c and takes a great deal of pull to release the reels drag. That's one of the reasons I use a heavier lb test backing.

Speed is the major determining factor for depth achieved.

Hope this helps!?

HH

[doubleheader]

I've had no problems trolling with LC "on the rod" while trolling. Another option for connecting your leadcore to your leader is a small Spro straight swivel. I don't remember the size but they are tiny but still have something like a 40 lb rating and I know they will reel right thru the guide on the reel; at least they do on my Sealines. It was something I picked up on the Next Bite website, you may be able to find the article in their archives.

[johnnyb]

This is a great thread...glad you posted, friguyry Anybody else use the crazy glue method?

[rtrudeau]

I think I will try the glue method for sure. Headhunter, what do you do to add lead core to lead core?

Keep the info coming boys, it all helps! Ry

[Headhunter]

I haven't added L/C to L/C. Haven't had a need for it! I have two L/C reels, both line counters (Admittedly, I'm lazy! I don't want to watch the colours leaving the reel, I use my line counter to determin amount of line out.), one with 5 colours, mostly for pickereyes and one 10 colour for great lakes. Should the ten colour not be capable of reaching the depths I'm seeking, I simply add an off shore snap weight at or near the L/C and leader junction.

I can't emphisize enough however, how much boat speed affects L/C trolling. I also, because I have no hands on experience, am not sure if 20 clours of lead in the water will net you more depth as I beleive there comes a point where the drag of the line in the water, starts to pull the line up. Bait type might have an incluence on this as a hard driving crank will help to pull the line down.

Maybe someone who has run 20 colours could give us some insight?

HH

[camillj]

I have been fishing Lead-core on my Penn 209's for over a decade (the same spools of line 12lb on one rod and 18lb on another) ... and I fish everywhere from 1 1/2 colours in the spring when I want to drag a fly a few feet under the surface at higher speed... to 3, 4, 5 colours mid day in the spring .... to 9 colors when I am dragging bottom in 90 feet of water in August... yes they DO get down deep provided you manage your trolling speed ... and retrieve is pretty easy if you turn the boat into the retrieve

 

You may wonder why 18lb ... I actually find the drag on the line allows for a faster re-setting of the line after a hit ... the line free spools to the desired depth without so much 'helping'.

 

 

I have a fairly heavy 9 foot rigger rod and I use the 10' Firesticks quite successfully ....using the double clamp 'salty' downeasters... no issue at all with wear and tear (except on the handle butt in the rod holder) .... but I do change my leader (about 12' of 6lb test green mono) every few times out... I prefer mono because of the stretch... and really very rarely have any issues with breakoffs.

 

I have never considered adding a second line (9 colours is plenty for me )