Trolling Rapala's

[fishon68]

Do you put a leader line on when trolling raps? If so what #test and how long

[mooneyes]

depends on what you are fishing for. No for walleyes. yes for pike. most leaders will work because they are pretty much used to prevent being cut off by the teeth or the ol rakers

[jwmiller33]

what speed to you troll at for rapalas?>

[buddha]

No leader for eyes unless you know you are in danger of losing raps to pike. Speed depends on how deep you are running but most of the time speed ranges from 1.5 to 2.5. But don't be afraid to think out of the box. My biggest eye so far was at 3.2mpg in 12ft of water in the middle of the day in the summer.

[rodmaker]

No leaders for Eyes.

[Sandmannd]

I assume you are talking a steel leader? Then no, I don't use one. I do, however, tie a 3'+ leader of Vanish on my leadcore or other line and tie the cranks to that.

[fishon68]

It seemed like a few years back a friend would tie on a swivel and then about 15ft of mono then the rap?

[redhooks]

I use fireline or powerpro for cranks and that way I land more pike and lose fewer baits. Don't have to respool as often as well.

[JohnMickish]

That depends entirely on what lake you are on. If you troll a rap on URL targeting walleyes without a leader you will buy alot of Rapalas, and bring in a few pike along the way. Are you using mono or braid? In waters that have an above average pike population I use the "toothy critter" flexible leader material. If the odds are low of catching a pike I just tie directly to the crankbait.

[riverrat56]

I like to add a 6-10' leader of 12lb Vanish, this helps somewhat with bite offs and visibility, my main line is 15lb Power Pro.

If trolling fast, above 2.7 or so, I will use mono instead of Vanish just to get a bit of stretch in the line.

[StrosLit31]

No leader but with Rapala's $6.99 a pop i upgraded last year to 30lb fire line which has a diameter of 12lb test. No more lost lures to reeds or pike.

[Bigsmitty]

Superbraid line with a few feet of flourocarbon on the end, a snap NOT a swivel to the Rapala. When you think your trolling too fast.... troll a little faster. Works for me:)

[thedeadsea]

Don't use a leader unless you are using smaller or shorter models on lakes that have high populations of pike, like URL. A pike will inhale a shad rap but a larger husky or original rap is usually grabbed sideways so they are jaw hooked.

Steve

[fishon68]

Thanks all for the info