Preventing bite offs

[jb426]

Let me start by saying I'm not a pike fisherman. But oh do I love catching them in between walleyes. Anyways, I fish walleyes with a jig and a minnow 80% of the time. Everyday I go out I loose at least three or four jigs to what I assumme are pikes. They are on the line for a short period of time then they do there thing and bam, jig gone. Sometimes you feel the strike , go to set the hook, and nothing, all gone including the jig. I don't think I want to use a leader, scare off the walleyes. I've tried 40 pound line as a leader, worked but fish numbers dropped alot. Switched to spiderwire braided, helped but still losing some pike. Any Ideas on how to keep pike from biting through my line without losing the lightness needed to catch walleyes. Thanks.

[kyleharty]

Maybe a flourocarbon leader? I don't know from experience whether this would fit your needs as I use heavy gear to target pike but the flouro is very durable and low visibility. I'd try some kind of flouro and see if it works for you.

[reinhard1]

i would try the floro like he suggested. hopefully someone has an idea that works but i live with it. i know that does'nt help you but i use 4 and 6lb. test for walleys and i think putting leaders and heavier line would affect your catch rate. good luck.

[solbes]

On my spinner rigs I had a fair number of biteoffs using 10 lb Vanish flouro. Switched to 15 lb Berkley 100% fluoro and haven't had one yet. Not sure if 15 lb is too heavy for jigging, but it is pretty invisible.

[FutbolGuru]

Hmm.. having heavier than necessary line to prevent break offs would be in my head the entire time I'm walleye fishing.... If the break offs really bother you, I'd go with a 12-15lb floro leader - otherwise, take the good with the bad.

In my experience this is a situation where it's tough to have your cake and eat it too.

[mainbutter]

I use 20-25lb fluoro leader tied directly to braid with back to back uni knots for every aspect of fishing, whether I'm targeting rough fish, bass, or pike.

I haven't had a single pike or even muskies up to 48 inches able to bite through 25lb fluoro leaders. Of course when they get knicked up I replace them and retie on another length of leader

I don't know if 6-18 inches of heavy line will screw up your walleye fishing, but the very low visibility of fluoro in water might be a bonus.

I have not tested out 12lb fluoro's bite protection against pike, so it might work pretty well too.

[reinhard1]

i'm going to try the 12lb floro. in some of the stained lakes i fish around duluth. thank you. always willing to try. good luck.

[mainbutter]

Let us know how it goes please! I've been wondering if it'd be worth trying out the lighter weight line when using small lures, and if 12lb gives decent bite protection.

[reinhard1]

well i know it will give me more protection than the 4 or 6lb i'm using now. since i jig a lot it might work in the stained water, so my only concern is below a slip bobber. i think using cranks or worm gangs [tied yourself] it would work no problem. i'm willing to try in clear waters but i will have the 4 or 6lb handy. i will let you know. good luck.

[Acemac]

Wish I had the problem of catching so many northerns inbetween all the walleyes

[reinhard1]

i hope i didn't give you that impression. the original question i believe was how to deal with bite offs. the person asking was using light line just as i do for walleys and the suggestions led to the possibility of using floro carbon leaders. it has nothing to do with how many fish i catch or the other poster as well. some of the walley lakes i fish in the duluth area bite offs are common. i usualy just deal with it but floro carbon leaders are helpfull to me in the stained waters that i fish in up there. that was a suggestion a poster advised. good luck.

[Slabasaurus]

This happens to me at least once per outing on White Bear if i am jigging for eyes. The only time I find it truly troublesome is if that was my last jig of that color.

I think it's just one of those things we have to live with when fishin for eyes. Not a bad sign when it happens... usually i land a decent eye or two when i have a bite off.

Fluro leaders may work alright... although I've never tried for walleye with one, I have landed pike with em. Next time on WBL i'll tie one on and give it a whirl.

~Slabs

[reinhard1]

i haven't tried them on clear water lakes. too stuborn i guess. i usualy deal with it also. this one lake i fish north of duluth is stained and i use only lindy fuzzy grub jigs with a pink head and white body with pink feathers in the end. for some reason its the only color that works. i usualy bring a lot of extra bodies and jigs for the trip. good luck.