cranks that work well with a steel leader non rapala

[mrpike1973]

hi, there was a post on here about rapala's .i too no longer plan on buying many more. however i fish mostly pike and have trouble finding lures that run true with a leader are there any other lures that work good that i'm missing. i've had the most trouble with reef runners and i use a thin leader not a heavy one by no means. mostly looking for what works for you guys and don't break the bank. thanks

[delcecchi]

Have you tried the tieable wire?

[mrpike1973]

yes i have but i have such a hard time getting a good knot also can you use a snap swivel on the end.

[guidemane]

The soft wire would be the best way to go if you must use a leader. Use a palamar knot to connect to the bait or tie on a swivel, however a direct connection will give you much better action. You can also just wrap the wire about 6 to 8 times and then use a drop of super glue over the wrap. Clip a hemostat on the end of the wire and spin it around it's self to get a nice tight wrap. I use this method on my hand tied Muskie leaders and I have never had one fail on me in over 15 years.

"Ace"

[kfk]

Getting back to your original question, Reef Runners catch fish but they require alot of constant tuning and that's probably what you're running into. The Storm Smash Shads and Thundercrank Madflash cranks are really good fish catching cranks that are less expensive than Rapalas and I've had decent success with alot of Cabela's brand crankbaits also.

[mainbutter]

20 or 25lb fluorocarbon. Uni-uni knot to tie braid to fluoro, uni knot to tie fluoro to lure. Replace after each toothy fish. Problem solved. I hate steel leaders.

[creepworm]

hi, there was a post on here about rapala's .i too no longer plan on buying many more. however i fish mostly pike and have trouble finding lures that run true with a leader are there any other lures that work good that i'm missing. i've had the most trouble with reef runners and i use a thin leader not a heavy one by no means. mostly looking for what works for you guys and don't break the bank. thanks

I troll for pike quite often and run my braided line straight to a snap swivel, no leader involved. Have yet to be bitten off doing this and the lures seem to run well.

[fishgutz77]

I think it is south bend that makes the invisi-leader.

this is the only one I use but use it on large cranks and it works great.

[mrpike1973]

the south bend ones are the ones i use too. they work well but just looking for lures that are a little less fussy thanks

[FM_Mike]

I troll for pike quite often and run my braided line straight to a snap swivel, no leader involved. Have yet to be bitten off doing this and the lures seem to run well.

I have been using Fireline and as creep said, I tie directly to a swivel that attaches to the rap, No leader. I use 10lb fireline and have only lost 1 rap due to bite off. I must say though, I do check my line after each fish, and remove any line that looks frayed.

I went to fireline (braid) just for that reason, tired of replacing raps and don't like leaders for shad raps.

Just my

Mike

[FishLocker]

Matzuo makes the Triple Threat. I have found it runs well with leaders, but have not used those with large swivels and snaps...only the small snaps and swivels. They have a great swimming action too. I do cut off the hackles though.

[MikeG3Boat]

Guidemane, I am having trouble picturing what your describing. Are you tying the soft wire to the lure and to the line? Or are you adding snap swivels to soft wire and your explaining how to make a soft wire leader? Where do you get this soft wire? How durable is this soft wire?

Thanks, just trying to improve my skills and learn.