Suffix 832 Lead Core?

[solopaddler]

Anyone use this stuff and can provide feedback? I had no idea this product even existed and it looks pretty intriguing.

[mattybculp]

I have the suffix 832 lead core on my big Okuma line counter reel. I was kind tired of using Steel line when we go laker fishing In Algonquin etc. Even though I have a line counter I like the feature of the different colour sections of line to help with knowing exactly the amount of line you have out ,a certain amount of yds trolled at specific speed achieves an approximate depth. The main reason I switched was to fight a fish with out the conventional "pool cue" steel rod. That was achieved, just make sure you have some good guides on your rod and your good to go. And the line sinks quite well. The only trouble I had was tying a double uni to my flouro leader. I would pull back the sheath , cut the piece of lead out then I would do my double uni. I found it better to have a swivel instead. One last thing make sure your reel as a decent amount of line capacity as you will need it. Am I in love with it ? No. But for me it's a lot better than the alternative when you don't have riggers or don't want a 2 -3 oz weight on the other end. It's a good product and was right for me. Hope this helps. Matt Culp

[turtle]

I use the Cortland Kerplunk lead core exclusively as i tried the older Suffix leadcore and it broke very easily. I use a Willis knot to tie on a fluoro leader. i'm interested in using the Suffix 832 as it is supposed to be thiner and sink faster. Where did you buy it?

[mattybculp]

I picked mine up at BPS over a year ago. I think it was around 40 bucks after taxes for 100 yds.

[solopaddler]

I have the suffix 832 lead core on my big Okuma line counter reel. I was kind tired of using Steel line when we go laker fishing In Algonquin etc. Even though I have a line counter I like the feature of the different colour sections of line to help with knowing exactly the amount of line you have out ,a certain amount of yds trolled at specific speed achieves an approximate depth. The main reason I switched was to fight a fish with out the conventional "pool cue" steel rod. That was achieved, just make sure you have some good guides on your rod and your good to go. And the line sinks quite well. The only trouble I had was tying a double uni to my flouro leader. I would pull back the sheath , cut the piece of lead out then I would do my double uni. I found it better to have a swivel instead. One last thing make sure your reel as a decent amount of line capacity as you will need it. Am I in love with it ? No. But for me it's a lot better than the alternative when you don't have riggers or don't want a 2 -3 oz weight on the other end. It's a good product and was right for me. Hope this helps. Matt Culp

Matty thanks that's exactly the feedback I was looking for! I'm flying into a lake trout lake on June 6 and was thinking this system would be better than dragging around heavy weights if the fish are deep for exactly the same reasons you mentioned. I did see some reviews where a couple of people were complaining about the line quickly wearing out and breaking. Hope that's not the case. I'm probably going to try the 12lb lead core and will run it on an 81/2' steelhead baitcaster rated for 10-17lb test.

[solopaddler]

I picked mine up at BPS over a year ago. I think it was around 40 bucks after taxes for 100 yds.

 

FWIW I picked up a 200yd spool from Amazon for $45 with free shipping. Mind you that's shipped to an address in Lewiston....

[Fang]

There's 2 version of the 832 out there. One is caller Performance which offers a thinner diameter and claims deeper sink rates as the conventional lead core. I needed to update my lead core last year and went with the performance brand. For the amount of time I used it I did notice a depth difference vs the other rod spooled with same lb test but older conventional lead core

[mattybculp]

If memory serves me correct I was getting about 5-7 feet per colour at about 1.5 - 2 mph. 10 yds per colour segment. It does eat up a lot of room on a reel, but not nearly as much as what the older lead core lines did. I think I spooled up with the 18 lbs test " suffix 832 advanced lead core" cause I was excited to give it a whirl and that was all they had in stock, so if your running 12 lbs, I would imagine it would be a smaller diameter I think I put 100 yds of Dacron backing and a 20 ft flouro leader. A skilled guy like yourself will figure out the line to leader connection which was my primary complaint. I think your going to like it. Ps the different bright colour sections are nice for visibility, you can really see that leadcore sink.

[mattybculp]

Sufix 832 Advanced leadcore is the one that is a thinner diameter , and sinks 30% deeper and is claiming to be 70% stronger. Sufix performance is there standard leadcore. I use the Advanced strictly for the thinner diameter. Thus why the advanced is double the price of the performance. Room on the reel was everything for me

Edited May 7, 2014 by mattybculp

[solopaddler]

Sufix 832 Advanced leadcore is the one that is a thinner diameter , and sinks 30% deeper and is claiming to be 70% stronger. Sufix performance is there standard leadcore. I use the Advanced strictly for the thinner diameter. Thus why the advanced is double the price of the performance. Room on the reel was everything for me

 

That's the one I got. Thanks again, here's hoping it lives up to the billing.

Edited May 7, 2014 by Mike Borger

[misfish]

Thanks for asking this question Mike.

I am going to try lead core this year out on simcoe.

I have a spool of the Cortland Kerplunk.

 

 

 

I use the Cortland Kerplunk lead core exclusively as i tried the older Suffix leadcore and it broke very easily. I use a Willis knot to tie on a fluoro leader.

Does it matter what test of floro I use for this turtle?

Also thank you for posting,as I had no idea which knot to tie. Are there others?

[bare foot wader]

I like the Albright myself, imo a bit easier/quicker to tie than the willis, both knots are good either way

[misfish]

I like the Albright myself, imo a bit easier/quicker to tie than the willis, both knots are good either way

 

So just loop the lead core line,and tie the floro like illustrated.

 

[spincast]

I use the blood knot (mostly cause I just cant seem to get the line inside the sheath for a good willis knot): cut the core out and tie the sheath to the leader, and / or section if I am running sectioned core. Never had a problem with it and have pulled in some big kings and lakers on it. Goes through the reel and rod guides without a hiccup. Switched from flouro to mono a year or so ago with good results (seem to get better movement on the spoon). Be interested to hear your results Mike - especially as they will doubtless be accompanied by one of those reports that make my bucket list grow longer.

[solopaddler]

Switched from flouro to mono a year or so ago with good results (seem to get better movement on the spoon).

 

That's interesting. What pound test fluoro did you use? For my needs I'm probably going to run 15-20' of 10lb Ultragreen.

[spincast]

Had tried 50, 30 and 17 lb flouro. The 17 was good, but I ran out so I switched up. Started with 40 lb big game (lake O, flea season main line) and kept going down. Ended up with 17 lb mono. Worked well last year and reduced the amount of spools I had to keep a track of. The action on the spoon just seemed to work well at that combo. Since then I have been trying various leaders and main lines based on some of Keating's books. This years project is 12 lb mono tied to a 3 colour lead core section followed by a 40 ft leader of 12lb mono. First time out running of the planer, hooked a mid 20lb king. Going to try a a couple spring set ups with the 12 lb line.

[Sinker]

I like a long leader on leadcore. Usually 50ft to start....it gradually gets shorter thru the season....but it gets it away from the leadcore, and makes the lure dance better IMO. I also like to have it longer so when you get the knot from core-leader on the reel, and a big fish is close, and takes that last run before the net, the knot doesnt get caught in the reel/guides.....dont ask me how I know this LOL

 

Ive seen days where leadcore will outfish riggers, dipseys, steel.....its a great way to catch spooky fish at a controlled depth. I always run it on a line counter....its easy to count going out, but when your fighting a big fish, its not so easy to keep track of coming in...the counter is nice.

 

S.

[solopaddler]

Very interesting guys thanks. The long leads sound helpful, but I'm curious where in the water column the lure is running in relation to the leadcore? I'm picturing the line looking like a big C underwater with the long mono lead swinging up shallower. I guess type of lure would make a big difference too, flutter spoon compared to deep diving crank...

[Sinker]

50ft isn't that long. The lure will run straight back off the leadcore. It certainly won't rise above it. A plug will run deeper, obviously.

 

S.

[Headhunter]

A buddy of mine showed me this trick a number of years ago. How to attach leadcore to backup/leader material.

Pull the sheath back about 6 inches and cut the lead. Insert your backing/leader into the sheath, until it butts up against the lead inside the sheath.. Tack the point where the sheath and backing/leader meet with super glue. Once the glue has set, soak the sheath from the end to where the leader/backing butt up against the core.

Allow the glue to dry for 15 minutes and you are done. No knots. This allows the line to run out of and into the reel with no large knots and will not break! Been doing it this way for years and have never had the glue let go...

Just thought I would put this out there...

HH

[ch312]

The Willis knot is very easy to tie and is perfectly suited for the job, hence people referring to it as the leadcore knot. There are two main reasons for having difficulty inserting the leader into the sheath. First, it could be that you're leader material is too heavy and the diameter is too large to fit into the sheath. You'll want to use a leader with a lower strength than the core so you can snap the leader, instead of losing your core, if you snag bottom. Second, you must use snips or clippers on the end of the leader that you'll be inserting into the core as biting the line to cut it results in the end being slightly larger than the rest of the line making it hard to push into the sheath. Cutting the end on a 45 makes life far easier.

 

As for leader length, the general consensus is long leads (over 30') are not necessary and actually lower catch rates, even in crystal clear water. Leadcore is unique in that it tracks through the water following more of the same path that the boat takes (think slithering snake or zig zag trolling) much better than normal fishing line. Using long leads decreases this action by allowing the lure to cut the corner rather than following the slithering trail. I use a 10' length of 12 lb flourocarbon on Erie and Ontario and the pike, walleye, trout, and salmon are definitely not spooked at all by the core.

 

Coincidentally, I didn't catch anything during my first 3 trips using core on Erie and 1 trip on Ontario when I was using a 60' leader. After doing some reading online I switched to short leads and started putting fish in the box.

[Sinker]

 

Coincidentally, I didn't catch anything during my first 3 trips using core on Erie and 1 trip on Ontario when I was using a 60' leader. After doing some reading online I switched to short leads and started putting fish in the box.

Interesting. I'm gonna shorten one, and leave one long to compare now. I'll let ya know how it works.

 

S.

[solopaddler]

Thanks to the conflicting advice from people who I have the utmost respect for I'll be running both long and short leads.

 

Will also report back with my findings.

[bare foot wader]

. Second, you must use snips or clippers on the end of the leader that you'll be inserting into the core as biting the line to cut it results in the end being slightly larger than the rest of the line making it hard to push into the sheath. Cutting the end on a 45 makes life far easier.

 

 

 

 

this is key, but I am dedicated biter, I rarely have either knot fail under normal circumstances either way

 

I use the suffix advanced for trolling wedding bands and tiny spoons for trout in the summer, my leader is about 2 arm pulls...IMO it's the same concept has a long leader a sink tip fly line, you don't want a long leader...only exception is floating rapalas, where I like some start/stops and let the lure rise up

 

I might start using heaver stuff trolling in rivers this year, there was a thread on that a while back, so if I remember i'll post how that goes

Edited May 8, 2014 by bare foot wader

[BillM]

Mike, don't forget the pool cue