Best lines for different applications..

DaveJ

DaveJ

Well-Known Member
Its January and time to re-spool the dozen or so Lake Erie reels.
With all the different applications, Im trying to match the best lines to specific techniques....I have been a mono-guy for all applications.
Like most people, I use downriggers, inline planers, inline weights flatlined, Dipsies(just starting), and the occasional lead core which I don't really like but...
Im thinking 12-14lb mono for downriggers, ? braid for inline boards, ? braid for flatline inline weights, ?? for Dipsies??
What are your preferences for lines for each....mono, braid, etc. ?
 
If I remember correctly, braid for dipsies and in line boards. On the inline boards, you can loop the line around the clip so it doesn't slide or pop off. I think 50lb or higher braid is the standard. Use a good joining knot and tie a nice long florocarbon leader to your braid for your boards.

Mono for riggers. I had mine with 20lb, but thay was for salmon. Inline weights I have no experience with. If you fish lake Ontario for salmon and bows, a steel wire line set up is great for dipsies. Keeps the fleas off.

PS. Put a mono backing on the spool and then spool the braid on. Brain can spin on the spool with no backing.
 
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Braid for all With flouro leader . Easy and makes the rod/reel combo more universal. You just have to be able to adjust clips for the inline boards and riggers to get them set up properly. Thats for Erie. Lake Ontario is different
 
Derkd9 said:
You change all your line every season?
leadcore too?
Click to expand...
Derek..no, except sometimes for mono as I buy the bulk spools and its cheap...but usually only the 1st hundred yards. I dont have any braid on any Lake Erie reels...just on spinning and level wind stuff for the Detroit, bass and pike stuff, etc. but I want to switch over for Lake Erie. Leadcore--I only have one rod setup as I really don't like leadcore...I hate reeling in 300 yards of line..
 
@DaveJ
If the lead didn’t work so well at times I’d go with all dipsy set ups
I agree there was some days near the end of the season had like 450 ft out
All the lead a really long lead and a handful of the braid backing.
Was quite the chore bringing that in
 
I run 20 lb braid on the dipsy rods, 30 lb braid on the planer and rigger rods. I switched to Chamberlain releases a few years ago and the braid works perfectly. A 20 lb fluorocarbon leader on all setups. Use for Erie and Ontario without an issue........ yet 😉
 
Derkd9 said:
@DaveJ
If the lead didn’t work so well at times I’d go with all dipsy set ups
I agree there was some days near the end of the season had like 450 ft out
All the lead a really long lead and a handful of the braid backing.
Was quite the chore bringing that in
Click to expand...
Derek..I just cant seem to get the leadcore thing dialed in.
How do you decide how many colours?
I read some have 5 colours, 6 colours, etc on different rods...do you let it all out then let out another 100 yards of backing??
How do you get 450 yards of line out??
 
for me it’s an approximation
I assume 5ft down per colour out
If I want my lure down around 30ft
I let out 5-6 colours.
If nothing biting but the fish finder saying they are there I will bring in or let out some line until they start hitting
The depth will vary by speed and sometimes I’m a little faster then what the package says.
I’m also not running the fish hawk thing so I don’t know my exact speed either so


I only run two leadcore lines so I just spill them up with all 10 colours.
I think guys who use multiple lead line with the mast and big boards have each reel with a specific amount of colours on them.

The day I’m referring too when I had so much line out was because I was trying to get the things to basically drag on the bottom.. in 67ft of water..
ten colours doesn’t exactly get you there.. lol
 
I run 30lb power pro for my dipsys. Every other rod has 15lb big game on it.. I refuse to run leadcore on my boat. I don’t see any need for 3-500 feet of line out,, don’t get me wrong.. I’ve seen leadcore out fish everything at times.. but with numbers of walleye on this lake, it’s not needed.
 
Leadcore is the guest rod on my boat, at least if it is longer then a 3 colour. . Its benefits are stealth and unique action that the line imparts to the presentation. You can get special clip on diver weights that will add depth to the line without extra length (dive bomb). A short core rod (3 colours or less) can be an absolute killer presentation off your riggers, especially for negative fish hugging the bottom. You can have the ball 10 foit or more off the bottom with your presentation just ticking the bottom like a wounded bait fish. At 2mph about 5 foot a colour. Precision Trolling is a great book for referencing pretty well every method of presentation and dive curves. Expensive, but it really helps you dial in your depths based on presentation and speed

i run 30 and 40 lb mono on the riggers to keep the fleas off, as i fish Ontario and Erie pretty well equally. I will run lighter leaders (10 lbs) on Erie.

for dipseys on Erie i run 50lb braid on a Black beauty rod which is a light fast action setup. Wire for Ontario
I also flat line, in line weights and use jets with regular setups mono for everything but the jets (tripseys) as the mono has too much stretch all depends on what they want any given day. No prefer to start lighter and only work up to the heavier stuff if necessary.
 
Dave if you plan on fishing Lake Ontario at all I recommend 30lb Big Game for mono line. It helps when the fleas get bad. I use that same setup on Erie, yes it can a little over kill but saves on number or rods and reels requires. Last year I switched to 19 strand copper for all my dipsey setup ups. I fish mainly Lake Ontario but do a few trips to Erie and I also have a couple lead core setups that I use for both Lake Ontario and Erie.
 
Braid , braid and more braid. Fill bottom 1/4 of spool with mono to save $ then braid (50 of 40 power pro depending on whats on sale). Leave enough room for a 100 yard top shot of your choice mono /floro.. I change the braid about every 5 years and the top shot yearly. Straight braid for dipseys. I only use lead core, with braid backing, cause it puts fish in the boat. Surfing in a 2 lber from 200 yards out not much of a fight but its a fish.
 
Braid with mono backing for dipsies, Leadcore with mono backing, and a single mono rigger rod.

I run a Fish Hawk off the other rigger so once down it stays down.

Haven't ventured in the wire world as yet, no need on Erie in my view.

Like @spincast says, LC is a guest rod at times especially the longest one. LOL

Dipsies are always in the water, rigger if and when it works, and LC depending on they day.

They all produce, but I'm a fan of the effectiveness of dipsies. Once dialed in, they definitely put fish in the boat.

How some fish come in, mouth open and sliding doesn't bother me at all, I'm out there to catch fish and enjoy the company and the day, but I'm always hoping for the spectacular Rainbow interaction which is never disappointing or boring.
 
DaveJ said:
Derek..I just cant seem to get the leadcore thing dialed in.
How do you decide how many colours?
I read some have 5 colours, 6 colours, etc on different rods...do you let it all out then let out another 100 yards of backing??
How do you get 450 yards of line out??
Click to expand...
@DaveJ I dragged LC a while before it seemed to work, and then bang, it started putting fish in the boat.

Like @Derkd9 and others have said, 5 ft / colour give or take, and I was told, all the LC into the water and 50 ft of backing so the line can do its magic.

I have 7 LC rods now, none are sectioned, so if the fish aren't in that depth range, no point in using them to me.

Originally I had 2 rods, 8 & 9 colours. After a major unsalvagable rat's nest I went to 4 to 6 colour combinations as most marks seemed in that range. I now use those on my big boards to cover a wide swath of water until the fish go deeper and then I'm back to mostly dipsies, and many many days, all dipsies.

On some days I'll still run 1 LC straight out the back, and if a rigger is working, I'll run it with a slider, which produces more fish than the bottom line, day in and day out.

By trial and error I now have a fairly effective program on the boat, developed using a lot of the advice from here, and then, also not using some of the rest. LOL

While LC works it is slow to set up and even slower to retrieve and with Covid, I have to reel them in instead of laughing at a guest doing it.

The most lines I've run is 8 back pre Covid so I don't need 15-20 different length LC rods to cover different water conditions.

Yet. LOL
 
hvyhaul said:
@DaveJ I dragged LC a while before it seemed to work, and then bang, it started putting fish in the boat.

Like @Derkd9 and others have said, 5 ft / colour give or take, and I was told, all the LC into the water and 50 ft of backing so the line can do its magic.

I have 7 LC rods now, none are sectioned, so if the fish aren't in that depth range, no point in using them to me.

Originally I had 2 rods, 8 & 9 colours. After a major unsalvagable rat's nest I went to 4 to 6 colour combinations as most marks seemed in that range. I now use those on my big boards to cover a wide swath of water until the fish go deeper and then I'm back to mostly dipsies, and many many days, all dipsies.

On some days I'll still run 1 LC straight out the back, and if a rigger is working, I'll run it with a slider, which produces more fish than the bottom line, day in and day out.

By trial and error I now have a fairly effective program on the boat, developed using a lot of the advice from here, and then, also not using some of the rest. LOL

While LC works it is slow to set up and even slower to retrieve and with Covid, I have to reel them in instead of laughing at a guest doing it.

The most lines I've run is 8 back pre Covid so I don't need 15-20 different length LC rods to cover different water conditions.

Yet. LOL
Click to expand...
So you run all the LC out and then some of the backing? Interesting. Does that still give you the 5'/color of depth?
 
DaveJ said:
So you run all the LC out and then some of the backing? Interesting. Does that still give you the 5'/color of depth?
Click to expand...

Yes @DaveJ , depending on the depth I want to fish, I choose the rod with the appropriate number of colours.

I don't have the bank roll to have 40 various length (# of colours) rods to use so I limit LC use.

Others here have segmented LC. So many colours, then a segment of mono/braid, then more colours, possible segment and so on allowing for more flexibility per rods.

I was told, right or wrong, that holding one end of the line up out of the water will stunt the action, all of it free flowing in water allows for everything it can do.

I've put more fish in the boat the latter way than hanging leadcore right from the rod tip.

Just my experience, could all be irrelevant. :unsure:😜
 
@hvyhaul
Next time I tie my lead I will be doing the segmented lc:braid to try it that rout and for being able to climb to the planet boards.
But straight lead out the back from the rod tip worked fine for me last year
 
@Derkd9 when I say rod tip, I mean some LC still on the rod into the reel, not all of it into the water.

If you mean exactly that, ok, that put fish in my boat too. Not just the as many as all in the water and off the boards.

But hell, any method that does, I'm in. :)😁
 
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