Leaded Line - What, How, Huh?

[rgreenland]

I have a question or two about leaded line. First of all thanks to fuzzyfisher for the info I requested. MUCH apprecaited!!

I have heard several times to "use leaded line & go out "x" number of colors".
I have never used leaded line before. What does this mean, how does it work, and if I don't have leaded line, how can I get the same result as someone who has had success at "3-colors out"?
Can I put leaded line on a regular reel or should I buy a certain type of reel? Do I need a heavier rod?
I don't troll that often and when I do its just from a canoe and only a few times a year on very small bodies of water. Is there a way to get the same results with 6lb test?

Thanks in advance for your help.
Rob
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[cat_man]

I'm by no means a trolling expert, but I'll share what I do know with you.

First of all, leaded trolling line is designed so that the more you let out, the deeper your lure goes, because there is more weight out in the water. I'm not sure exactly how long each color is, but it's something like 10 feet deeper for every color or something like that(not sure what the measurement is, 10 ft. is just a guess). To use leaded line you must use a trolling reel, which looks a lot like a baitcasting reel. You could never actually "cast" with this reel though. I also have trolled a lot with regular spinning gear in a canoe, and in a boat, and you can do very well that way too. I don't really think it would work well with a canoe to use trolling poles, but maybe. I'd just put an egg sinker (the kind that attaches with a rubber band) about 2-3 feet above your lure on monofilament if you need to go deeper. Hope this helps.
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[neveronsunday]

[#ff0000]If you're ever in the neighborhood I'll take you out and you can play with it for yourself. The line has a lead core that is wrapped with a braided nylon. Every 10 yards it is dyed with a different color. Depending on how fast you troll you get about 10 feet of depth for every 10 yards out or "color." It's kind of a pain but works well when the fish are deeper than you can get with mono. There is no way you can cast it, you do need a special reel, and the term "backlash" was invented by leaded line. That's when your reel spool gets rolling faster than your line comes out and makes an incredible birds nest. The line is about $10 -$20 for a 100 yards and a reel runs $50 - $200. I prefer a long medium action spinning pole over the fence posts that you see for sale in combo packges. It would be difficult to manage with a canoe, believe me, I have tried. You have to have forward motion to get your line out and it's pretty tough to paddle and manage your pole at the same time. You'll have a hard time getting comparably deep with 6lb line. Other options are dipsy divers, attaching lead to your line can get you down a little farther but not as far as leaded line, or I would recomend a sinking fly line. You can still use light tackle and leader.[/#ff0000]
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[Theekillerbee]

Leaded line can be very beneficial in certain instances. I personally use a DipsyDiver to take my lures down deep. I don't have to have nearly as much line out with the diver. They come in various sizes, and some even come with dive charts, however I feel these are pretty ineffective when fishing for trout....but you can get a general idea of how deep your line is. Plus you don't need a new reel if you use the smaller divers. A line counter is always helpful, but not a requirement. Hope this info helps. Good luck next time you head out.
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[kastmaster]

According to the Gudebrod package, the approximate sink rate is 1 foot depth for every 2 yds. out. There is a color change every 10 yards, so when somebody says they caught fish at 3 colors, their depth is approximately 15 feet. I have a couple of combos dedicated for leadcore. Like you, I am a newbie at leadcore but getting better at it the more I experiment with the rods. My setup is as follows: 1) Daiwa Heartland Leadcore Rod/Shakespeare Tidewater reel/18 lb. leadcore/~50 feet of 12# leader 2) Master rod/baitcasting reel spooled with 12# leadcore and same amount of leader as the first one. These reels much larger than your regular bassin' baitcasters. Like cat_man and NOS said, a boat is pretty much a necessity when it comes to leadcore trolling, and it can be a pretty deadly setup in certain situations. Hope this helps.

kastmaster

[DennisW]

Leadcore is very speed dependant, meaning that the faster you go, the shallower it runs. 10' per color is probably a bit optimistic. For most trolling speeds, most will run 5' per color or less. But, the only way to tell for sure, given your presentation, is to find a gradually sloping, non-snaggy bottom and let out until you just tick bottom. That will give you the real answer for your setup.

Leadcore is just one of many tools employed to get baits deeper than with standard line. Dipseys have their place, but that isn't in a canoe any more than downriggers. A bullet sinker or snap-weights are also effective. But the advantage of leadcore is that it follows contours best and changes in speed (from accelerating, stopping, turning, etc) result in subtle changes in depth and direction. Whereas using lead weights causes rapid/sudden changes. And it's the subtle changes that often provoke the strike.

I would think leadcore would be a good option for you in a canoe. Tie on a 50' mono leader and play with how many colors are needed to get the bait into the zone, probably only a couple. You don't need a reel that will handle all 10 colors, 5 should be plenty. And buy the smallest diameter leadcore you can find, as the lines with a greater test strength contain no more lead and actually don't run as deep since they're fatter. And remember, leadcore has no stretch, so use a long, limber rod.

Good luck.

[fuzzyfisher]

hey glad to hear that my onfo helped.. but you can do the same thing with a egg sinker in the 1/2 to 3/4 oz size and just let it out tell you start to catch fish or hit bottom.. if you hit bottom try and not let it out that fare the next time.. once you find the area deepth that the fish are in keep going back to the same deepth..

from the fuzzyfisher----------------------fish on dudes
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