Best fishing line for spring lakers?

[ciscokid]

I'm not much of a trout fisher but every year my dad my brothers some friends and i go to good old algonquin for spring trout. Not going till either the first or the 7th of may but i want to get my reel spooled now since im using it for crappie. normally i just use 8 pound mono but ive been thinking that maybe spooling with just flouro might be since it gets the lure down their better since i dont use weights, and because its supposed to be more resistant to abrasion than mono. A lot of ppl talk about braided being their go to line but i dunno about with trout? Anyway just looking for the best line to fit the situation so that would be trolling and casting for spring lakers and to some extent brookies too. I have no real experinces with either of these lines so ur opinions or any general info about these lines would be appreciated. Thanks

[bushart]

I'm not much of a trout fisher but every year my dad my brothers some friends and i go to good old algonquin for spring trout. Not going till either the first or the 7th of may but i want to get my reel spooled now since im using it for crappie. normally i just use 8 pound mono but ive been thinking that maybe spooling with just flouro might be since it gets the lure down their better since i dont use weights, and because its supposed to be more resistant to abrasion than mono. A lot of ppl talk about braided being their go to line but i dunno about with trout? Anyway just looking for the best line to fit the situation so that would be trolling and casting for spring lakers and to some extent brookies too. I have no real experinces with either of these lines so ur opinions or any general info about these lines would be appreciated. Thanks

 

 

Cause your new---I'll help ya out

 

All these caught with 6 lb Excalibur (This is the key part) by Super Silver thread---copolymer--leave other silver threads on the shelf

Use braid for honkin those largies outta the slop

Bushart

 

[limeyangler]

I'm not much of a trout fisher but every year my dad my brothers some friends and i go to good old algonquin for spring trout. Not going till either the first or the 7th of may but i want to get my reel spooled now since im using it for crappie. normally i just use 8 pound mono but ive been thinking that maybe spooling with just flouro might be since it gets the lure down their better since i dont use weights, and because its supposed to be more resistant to abrasion than mono. A lot of ppl talk about braided being their go to line but i dunno about with trout? Anyway just looking for the best line to fit the situation so that would be trolling and casting for spring lakers and to some extent brookies too. I have no real experinces with either of these lines so ur opinions or any general info about these lines would be appreciated. Thanks

 

 

Hey Cisco, what method you fishing for the Lakers, might help folks to suggest best line for the method being used. Personally i have become a fan of straight jigging lakers with my line over the back of the boat near my transducer so i can watch the action just like ice fishing..........i just use 10lb braid with a 3' flouro leader, but thats in a lake where the trout are small and it aint more than 80' deep...

[trapshooter]

Match the line to the rod you plan to use. Say for ex you're going to be using an 8' ML then 6lb test will suffice with a properly set drag. If you're going to be using a heavier outfit then heavier line.

 

Gotta agree with Limey though, what method to target them with? Different line for dipsey divers vs. say long lining a cleo. Different rods for that matter too.

[bushart]

think he mentioned he wants to use same outfit for crappie

[trapshooter]

Yes, he mentioned a reel that he's using for crappie but could be a different rod. And it's unclear if he's planning on using the same line for his crappie fishing and the trout trip.

[Guest ThisPlaceSucks]

i use good old low vis mono. medium action rod. 8 lb test.

fish should be shallow enough that season that you can longline the shores to catch some fish.

[ciscokid]

Match the line to the rod you plan to use. Say for ex you're going to be using an 8' ML then 6lb test will suffice with a properly set drag. If you're going to be using a heavier outfit then heavier line.

 

Gotta agree with Limey though, what method to target them with? Different line for dipsey divers vs. say long lining a cleo. Different rods for that matter too.

 

Yea i should have been more specific, im using a 7ft med. action spin rod and im hoping to catch them casting spoons and crankbaits near the shoreline, but realistically i ll probably resort to trolling these lures behind our canoe. I never long line because we re in a canoe and i dont really see the point(i could be wrong), but generally i ll just let out as much line as i feel i need to get down to a particualr depth with a particular lure. Its a bit of a guessing game. The one problem i have with braided is wen i ve used it in the past i find i cant cast as far as with mono. I suspect this might have been because it was rigged on my worst rod and reel but im not sure. Dont want to get it on there and then find out i cant cast as far.

[ciscokid]

Yes, he mentioned a reel that he's using for crappie but could be a different rod. And it's unclear if he's planning on using the same line for his crappie fishing and the trout trip.

Yes i am using the same line for crappie fishing because, to be honest, i could care less wat line im using. I just need to get some line on there and i figure it might as well be wat im gonna use in the spring since fishing line is expensive and i just dont have the money. I kno ppl believe u need ultra light line and eveeryone has their favorite crappie brands but i use 8 or 10 lbs test and just throw on a slip float and a worm or live minow and the crappies never complain. Im not a big crappie fisher anyway just killing time till bass season opens.

[BillM]

6lb Mono should do you fine for spring trout in Algonquin.

[trapshooter]

6lb Mono should do you fine for spring trout in Algonquin.

 

 

Yeah I was going to say 6 or 8 at the most. Mono, not braid. As for what kind... ask 10 different ppl here and you'll probably get 10 different answers. But that's because there's a lot of good stuff on the market that will get the job done.

[smitter]

My standard laker set-up;

 

6'6" medium action rod

 

2500 reel spooled with 8 pound clear mono

 

small to medium sized williams warbler spoon followed by 12"-18" more 8 pound mono and either a plain hook and worm or a small streamer fly at the end.

 

In spring, fish it weightless behind the boat, as the season progresses, add weight to get down to where the fish are.

[ciscokid]

Yeah I was going to say 6 or 8 at the most. Mono, not braid. As for what kind... ask 10 different ppl here and you'll probably get 10 different answers. But that's because there's a lot of good stuff on the market that will get the job done.

Yea im starting to realize the anwser to my question isnt as black and white as i had hoped. Ive used mono pretty much my whole life without any problems but if another line gives me an extra advantage catching fish i ll give it a shot. Im thinking both fluoro and braid will give a better hookset when trolling since they have less stretch, plus the added senstivity this gives me when casting and retrieving. I also like the idea that fluoro sinks so this could help me get the lure down easier, even tho its spring i ve found lakers still like 20-30ft of water so i wanna get it down a ways without wieght. I hope to be going the first full week of the season tho so they might be shallower. Since i cant really decide i might order 2 more spools and have one with 8lbs mono, one with 8lb fluoro and one with 15lb braid plus fluro leader. Try them out myself and see which i prefer.

[trapshooter]

Trust me, you don't want braid. When you're casting for lake trout you don't need sensitivity! They slam it. If you can't set the hook with mono then you're not trying hard enough. The stretch in mono helps to keep lakers pinned too. Look at the advice everyone has given you so far... MONO!!

[ciscokid]

Trust me, you don't want braid. When you're casting for lake trout you don't need sensitivity! They slam it. If you can't set the hook with mono then you're not trying hard enough. The stretch in mono helps to keep lakers pinned too. Look at the advice everyone has given you so far... MONO!!

I ll take that advice, going in without mono was never really an option but im ordering another spool and was considering filling it with either braid or fluoro, to see if i dont like it more. And even then i was leaning more towards flouro than braid because of its sinking qualities i mentioned before. Thanks for the input.

[Pgidley]

Lakers in Algonquin are on the smaller side and brookies are my main target so I usually bring my 9ft light action for fishing from the canoe and use 6 lb mono. The extra bend in the lighter rod helps with acrobatic brookies and feisty lakers, and the length gives enough backbone. Water clarity isn't an issue on most lakes and if it is, a flouro leader is the solution. Experiment with lure weight and added weights to get the spoon down later in the year over line. If you have an ultralight rod bring it along with 3 or 4 lb line for exploring some of the tiny creeks with little spinners for brookies, those little buggers are wild. Both of those rods double as excellent crappie rods. What lakes are you hitting this year? We're hitting two that we've never been to, PM me if you want, I love Alqonquin secrets.

[Jackie]

For Algonquin lakers, I'd use 6 lbs mono if casting spinners/spoons without sinkers. If you need to get deeper (say later on in the season), you will need to add sinkers to your lure. And depending on the size of the sinkers, 6 lbs may just be too light. I sometimes cast a small Panther Martin spinner with an 1-oz sinker placed about 2 feet in front, to get the lure down to 30 feet, before slow retrieving it. For that technique, I recommend 8 to 10 lb mono. I never needed fluorocarbon leaders to catch trout. If you troll a 3-way rig, you can use 8 lb mono as main line, and 6 lb for the lure/sinker leaders. This way when you get hung up you won't lose everything.