Trolling with lead core

[Fatty07]

Am learning to troll with lead core line. Need a new pole, am currently useing a spinning rod and just too many problems. Looking for suggestion on poles and reels. Also I have not tried running planer boards with lead core. How does it work? what are the draw backs? Any info we be greatly appreciated.

[kslipsinker]

I have been trolling lead core for a couple of years. I use a 6'6" medium heavy (fast tip)St Croix rod with a Penn 320 GT2 reel to hold a 100 yards of 27# lead core. We troll cranks that normally run at 15' to 20' down to 30' to 35'. I run a 6' to 10' Fireline leader attached to the lead core with a small ball bearing swivel.

This has been a very effective way to troll when hot weather get's the fish deep.

[riverrat56]

I don't troll lead core, but I can't see the reason for board with it, most people use board to avoid spooking shallow water fish, lead core is designed to go deep, I'm not seeing a real benefit here, unless you can use multiple rods or have more than 3 people in the boat.

[Fatty07]

Thanks for the info guys. was what I was looking for. Any other rods out there?

River Rat

I do fish with 3 in the boat alot, and can use two lines when on the missippi and SD. Plus with planer boards you can cover a larger area on each pass.

[PerchJerker]

Think of lead core as depth control, not just added depth. For example you could troll shallow running stick baits in 8-10 feet of water, or go faster to raise the baits if you wanted to fish the top of the break and slower to lower the baits if you wanted to fish the bottom of the break.

I run leadcore on my regular trolling rods, mainly 7 foot graphite rods with medium action and fast tips.

[Mille Lacs Guy]

For leadcore you are going to want at least a 7 foot rod and maybe even 7.5 or 8 feet. Medium action with a limber tip is a plus as well.

For walleyes most guys use 18 pound lead. Spool it on a large capacity reel. The key with the lead is that each color will get you down 5 feet. The line is different colors every 10 yards (30 feet). So if you want to get down 20 feet you need to let out 4 colors. That means 4 colors on the water not 4 colors out to your rod tip. Leaders are also very important. A leader between 6 feet and 50 feet is often used.

A lot of guys also run boards with lead. Fish can spook in 35 feet if the water is clear on lakes like Mille Lacs. The best may to run boards with lead is to segment the lead which means using a mono backing. You would hook the board onto the mono backing instead of the lead because the lead would cause too much drag on the board. You can hook lead right to boards but a lot of guys don't do it. I won't get into the specifics of segmenting lead line but if you have more questions I would be happy to help.

Lastly, trolling lead core is very speed dependant. If you are going too fast the line will lift in the water and you won't get down at all. The slower you can go the better. Probably about 1.5 mph is the best.

As far as specific rods go Shimano Talora's are excellent lead line rods. I picked up 2 8'6" Talora's this spring and they were 2 for the price of 1.

[FOOT]

Fat, I no longer use lead core. I have in the distant past but got to the point where I didn't like it. Just a personal preference and I wouldn't condemn anyone that uses it today.

That being said, if you use planner boards w/ lead core you will most likely be fishing several different depths, especially if you fish the MIGHTY MISS. So this will require some experimentation on your part to get the hang of running boards at different depths.

The other info posted about the rods, reels etc: is good advice. I made the mistake of trying a spinning rig the first couple of times and boy was that wrong. A GOOD level wind would be best.

Good Luck.

[travwinkleman]

What pound test do you use for a leader line?

[NEO]

Post deleted by NEO

[Fatty07]

Thanks guys, info was what I was looking for. Gonna go rod shopping tommorow. Well let you know how the whole board thing works after the weekend. (If I can hook up)