Trolling line

[carp master]

what would be the best type and brand for trolling cranks for eyes? I was thinking spider wire braid what do you think?

[2thepointsetters]

I have over 7000 feet of power pro spooled on the reels on my boat I and have never had any trouble with it. I troll lake Superior 30 plus times a year and I am still using prower pro that was spooled 3 years ago.

[solbes]

Fireline will get lures up to 25% deeper (over mono) because it is flat in cross section and provides very little resistance in the water. 10 lb is an excellent trolling line because of its small diameter. I usually use either a fluoro leader for clear water walleyes or a steel leader for pike.

[walleyemaniac]

I second the Fireline you can run deaper with less line out. Did spool up one with Power Pro today, going to give it a try, you guys say great thing about it. We'll see.

[titelines]

I went a new route and picked up some Sufix mono, 10# for this year. I got clear for the Big Lake and the lo-vis green for the inland waters. Have never used it before but have heard good things.

[yaggie]

I've tried others but am back to spider wire. Just haven't found anything better.

[SM1]

I tried some suffix mono for a jigging rod last year and am going back to fireline. I know we are talking trolling here, so the suffix would probably work just fine for that.

The suffix was not limp enough for my liking while jigging. It would coil up too much in the water column and I know I missed bites because of it. The coiling wasnt due to how I spooled the rod either, because my other rods that were spooled the same with different line dont do that.

With constant pressure on the line while trolling, you shouldnt have the coiling that I had while jigging with suffix.

[SM1]

I forgot to say: I do a bunch of trolling cranks and the line I like the best for walleye is fireline tracer braid 15#. I think its 2 or 4# diameter. I didnt snap a line all last year. The fireline communicates better than mono if you get some weeds on and you can sometimes give it a snap and clear it as opposed to reeling all the way in.

I fish mostly clear water lakes and fishing next to others who use mono or a floro leader, I havnt noticed them catching any more fish than my rods with the colored fireline. I always tie the snap on to a dark section of the line as opposed to the hi-vis green. Many different options out there but this is what I like.

[dfv87]

Power Pro... Cross lock snap... done.

[mainbutter]

My personal preference is braided line. We can all say which braid we like better for which reasons, but for the most part when comparing different lines I usually just stick to comparing types.

I like braid because of the low stretch. That is the only important thing I consider when trolling. With trolling, you often have much more line out than on a simple cast. If this is the case, you really have to consider line stretch and its effects on hooksets. You don't want 10% or more line stretch when you have 150 feet of line out and a fish bites.

i personally run fluoro leaders with just about all fishing applications, because I figure, "why not".

[markkstanley]

I started using metered Sufix Performance braid last fall and highly recommend it. Changes color every 25ft so you know exactly how much line you have out. Handled some big Tonka eyes and pike. Perfect for trolling if you don't have a bunch of line counters. Casts well too so you can switch it up. Was hard to find last year but I noticed Gander had some at the EP store.

[Northlander]

Power Pro 10# when long lining and 12-14# Big Game or XT when using boards.

[NCLaker]

If you use the Precision Trolling books to determine lure running depths, their figures are based on 10# mono and 10/4# Fireline. To keep it simple, I use 10/4 fireline, gets down deeper with less line then mono

[bracer5533]

also something to think about is that lead core line will pull a crank in the same path your boat takes. the line has a higher resistance with the water than the lure does and thus it will wind and weave through the water on the same path you do.

walleye champ takasaki uses this technique quite a bit to wind through stationary boaters.

[redogman67]

Is there any reason not to just use like a 8lb fluorocarbon for a general walleye/bass/pike fishing line rather than tying on fluoro leaders?

[Drail1313]

FYI, I started using Spider Wire Braid a few years ago and have never looked back. The true test was when I was up in VNP a few years back and I had put this on the wifes rig and I had my trusted Mono I have always used since birth. We had the same lure on trolling for along eyes' and she was ticking the bottom with her crankbait with little line out and I let out my normal coutrymile of line and never felt bottom! (Due to that she also out fished me!) I was sold...respooled almost everthing.

[PerchJerker]

Is there any reason not to just use like a 8lb fluorocarbon for a general walleye/bass/pike fishing line rather than tying on fluoro leaders?

Flouro line does not handle all that well on reels - it's better on baitcasters than it is on spinning reels. It's stiff and springy and wants to jump off the reel, and doesn't cast all that well.

Flouro sinks so it's not a good choice for topwater presentations --- this can also be a drawback to live bait rigging too --- and bobber fishing .......

There are times when I like the stretch that mono has --- the thread was originally about trolling line and mono is ideal for trolling planer boards. I haven't used flouro for flatline trolling but I think it would work okay --- although for flatline trolling I prefer the no-stretch that you get from the braids .....

[Ed Carlson]

I like 4/15 Power Pro but am also testing the Fireline Tracer Braid this season on a couple rigs too.

If your not using a line counter, the Fireline #15 Tracer Braid is a good answer and makes things easy.

FYI: For reference sake, the Trolling books calibrate from 10 pond mono diameter and also from 4 pound super braid diameter....so take that into consideration for convenient dialing in of depth chart data on cranks.

[anchor man]

I troll with a fairly stiff Med Heavy casting rod, would I be better off using mono when trolling for 'eyes, versus a braid that'll rip the lure out of their mouth?

[Northlander]

Yes. If you run that stiff of a rod I would go mono or get a softer trolling rod to run the superlines.

[Deitz Dittrich]

100% agree with Northlander on this one..

[Nick Kuhn]

If you plan on using no stretch line and a stiff rod don't even bother with a hookset. Even with some give in the rod and braid I let the fish hook themselves while trolling.