crankbaits with steel leaders?

[mrpike1973]

hi i'm starting to stock up some on cranks for pike. i have found that some brands dont seem to work good with leaders they spin out or wont go straight even with fine tuning. anyone else have this problem raps seem to be best i tried cotton cordells and reef runners and i could not even troll at .5 mile an hour. i think these are walleye baits so maybe thats why. not knocking them but would like to try other cranks that are a little better on the pocket book. thanks for any help

[Shawn Kellett]

You have to match the leader to the crank. Small crank=small diameter leader. You can make your own with that Tyger Leader material which works well.

[mrpike1973]

thanks for the reply i have been using this invisa leaders they are very thin with small snap wire leaders. i will see if i can get thiner ones thanks

[mtreno]

lots of cranks just need to be tuned right from the store. you may want to try running them without a leader first to get them running true. i have owned prolly close to 100 reef runners - almost all of which needed some adjustment. hard to beat a tank tested rapala....

[Comit 2]

mrpike197, I know what you are going through. When it comes to trolling for Northern Pike I will use a fluorocarbon leader. I have never had a problem with Northerns Cutting off trolled crankbaits and the main reason I use a fluorocarbon leader is to protect the fish.

Another thing you could try is to tie a bimini twist on the end of your line.

Crankbait + Steel leaders = frustration!! Just say NO!

[mrpike1973]

comit 2 can you buy flourocarbon leaders pre made i think i'm on to something here thank you

[chief]

Mrpike1973,

Some thoughts on crankbait leaders for pike:

Stranded wire (Sevenstrand, Surflon, Berkley) is inexpensive, widely available, easy to work with, and just great for cranking. You can actually connect this to terminal tackle using just your fingers. I suggest a minimum of six full wraps.

Knotable wire (Tyger Wire, Cortland Toothy Critter etc.) works great too. Here I use a simple 2-wrap clinch not. If you use more than 2 wraps, I think you'll find that you badly kink the wire as you tighten the knot. Two wraps doesn't sound like the strongest connection, but I honestly can't recall a knot ever slipping. (It's the manufacturer's recommendation, as well)

I started making fluorocarbon leaders last season. I had some problems fine tuning my crimps, but I suspect fluoro is my choice for the future. This stuff is highly abrasion resistant, and I'll take any stealth edge I can get. Here, #30lb seems about right, but I'm fanatical about inspection and replacement.

For most of my pike fishing, here in the metro area, I use 18# or #24lb wire. These balance well with mid size cranks, and allow the cranks to perform as intended.

Thoughts on crankbaits for pike:

Any crank can catch pike. But any crank needs to be tuned occasionally.

I stay away from smaller cranks when pike fishing. Size 5 and 7 shad raps will catch pike, but size 8 and 9 will catch just as many and they'll run deeper and truer. The actions of larger cranks are unaffected by well made leaders.

I find Rapala cranks consistently well made, with reliable actions. Reef Runner cranks reduced me to tears, so I quit using them. But all cranks will catch pike.

I prefer cranks with a long, thin profile when pike fishing. This is just a preference. Pike eat short, fat cranks, too.

Don't forget lipless cranks (rattle traps etc.), and jerk baits (pointers, husky jerk-baits etc.) they're deadly, too.

[Steve Foss]

Stranded wire (Sevenstrand, Surflon, Berkley) is inexpensive, widely available, easy to work with, and just great for cranking. You can actually connect this to terminal tackle using just your fingers. I suggest a minimum of six full wraps.

+1. This is all I use for leader material anymore.

I use a forceps to wrap my ends. Clamp it on the tag end, hold the lure with one hand and the top of the leader with the other and get the forceps spinning the tag end around the leader wire. Makes a very good, tight wrap.

[chief]

Steve,

Shhhuuuuushhhh...

(I was going to explain the "forceps" method, but then I would have to relate the time a loose forceps flew off the wire during "spinning" and cut my upper lip for three stitches. That's just too humiliating to tell)

[Steve Foss]

Steve,

Shhhuuuuushhhh...

(I was going to explain the "forceps" method, but then I would have to relate the time a loose forceps flew off the wire during "spinning" and cut my upper lip for three stitches. That's just too humiliating to tell)

OK, we'll just keep it our little secret.

[Cooter]

Never thought of that, could lose an eyeball!

[Comit 2]

Quote:

comit 2 can you buy flourocarbon leaders pre made i think i'm on to something here thank you

I think I've seen pre made flourcarbon leaders somewhere. I just make my own.

[mainbutter]

I bought a small spool (~125 yards I believe) of triple fish 25lb fluorocarbon that I use as leader material. I just tie 6-8 inches of leader material on my main line with just about any knot, and then tie the crank bait to the fluoro. I don't change out cranks often enough during a fishing day to care for snap swivels.

Usually I'm not fishing cranks bigger than size 9 shad raps with this setup.

I didn't have a single bite off with 25+ pike and 2 musky (44'' and 48'') last summer on the 25lb fluoro triple fish. Plenty of fish had the leader in the mouth scraping against teeth.

If there were any knicks found, I'd shorten the leader if there was enough and just retie on the lure, or retie on some more leader if needed.

It's cheaper than premade fluoro leaders, and I've actually had steel leaders fail more than fluoro in the past few years (I blame this on cheap swivel bearings and cheap snaps), so it's what I stick with nowadays if I'm fishing toothy fish territory.

I really like fluoro, not just because of bite prevention or being less visible, but because it doesn't weigh down a crank like steel does. I also just don't like snap swivels, IMO they just screw up the action of a lot of cranks.

[mrpike1973]

hi is triple fish a brand name?. can i get flouro in smaller spools its quite spendy i see. can i use a snap on the end to change lures . sounds to me if you can get 25# pike with no bite offs its should work great thanks.

[Steve Foss]

Never thought of that, could lose an eyeball!

Only if you angle the spin the wrong way.

[delmuts]

"OK, we'll just keep it our little secret. " Right!!!LMAO You'll have to excuse me as i need to get a towel to clean my computer screen off!

[Cooter]

Quote:

Only if you angle the spin the wrong way.

You lost me there, which isn't that hard to do!

[Steve Foss]

If you hold both ends down toward your stomach, and hold the wire vertically, the forceps spin in a pattern that, if they fly off, means they hit you in the gut or chest. If you hold the wire horizontally (or if you hold it vertically up at the level of your face), the forceps can pop you in the face if they fly off.