Lead line

[olfishead]

I bought some lead line to try while trolling with a crank bait. I spooled it on a couple of older Garcia ambassador reels. I tied a 4 ft. Flourocarbon leader to the end of the lead line with the crank (flickershad) on it. According to the lead line package instructions, each color change in the line would cause the lure to go 5 ft. Deeper. it didn't. Using the same lure on a lighter monofilament line produced approximately the same depth. Has anyone had that experience? Advice? Also the lead line tangled, kinked and broke off. I'm not impressed!

[tjm]

I have used up almost five colors of LC tying flies over the years and can tell you that about five to seven turns of the core lead is about perfect for most weighted flies. It's also useful as a sink tip on a fly line but can't be cast by itself.  I don't troll but I have questions, speed? how did you measure the depth the lures reached? when did the LC tangle and on what? current?

[nomolites]

1 hour ago, olfishead said:

I bought some lead line to try while trolling with a crank bait. I spooled it on a couple of older Garcia ambassador reels. I tied a 4 ft. Flourocarbon leader to the end of the lead line with the crank (flickershad) on it. According to the lead line package instructions, each color change in the line would cause the lure to go 5 ft. Deeper. it didn't. Using the same lure on a lighter monofilament line produced approximately the same depth. Has anyone had that experience? Advice? Also the lead line tangled, kinked and broke off. I'm not impressed!

Lead is very speed dependent due to the large diameter(it will rise the faster you go)and is not user friendly.  That said, when used properly it is VERY effective for trolling deep.  I use it almost exclusively (sometimes use snap weights)when trolling once we get a thermocline(June-Sept).  The depth you mention is IF you are traveling @2 mph.  Faster is less depth, slower is more depth - @1 mph it is more like 10’ per color. The crank bait’s dive curve also has some impact on where you end up; it takes practice to master but lead puts FISH IN THE BOAT.   You can easily fish that flicker shad at 24’ which right now = crappie.(for that bait(#7) at 24’ @ 1.5 mph I would start with 100 feet of line counted out)
 

Mike

[eyeman]

Tadpoles and dipsy divers get down with less line and not near as much rise and fall in turns and curves.

[nomolites]

53 minutes ago, eyeman said:

Tadpoles and dipsy divers get down with less line and not near as much rise and fall in turns and curves.

Very true, bur with lead core your line will follow the contour you are running instead of cutting sideways on curves, AND if you find yourself shallow or over a brush pile you can simply speed up briefly and the lure will rise allowing you to avoid getting hung up.  Also, when you do get snagged - as you will when trolling contours for walleye, you can run the old Hound Dog retriever down the line and recover things 95% of the time.  Can’t do that with tadpoles or snap weights(unless using the 50/50 method) - but for open water trolling those devices do have their place.  Like anything, best setup depends on what type of fishing you are engaged in.
 

mike

[olfishead]

In plain terms, I guess I just don't  know what I'm doing when it comes to lead line. Maybe I just need to spend some time with it. I had a feeling that it had something to do with speed and line diameter.  Thanks! 

[MrGiggles]

I use it. I usually run about 60-75ft to stay close to the bottom in <20ft. I use a longer leader too, 20-30 feet.

I really don't like it that much. It's like fishing with steel cable, but it works. Snap weights are a little handier, but I don't use them all that often either. Most of the time I'm trolling over shallower water for walleyes.

I don't even bother with a lure retriever anymore. I'd say 3 times out of 4 a snag will free if you turn around and go the other direction. My opinion would probably change if I used more $8 Rogues and Wally Divers though.

[nomolites]

16 hours ago, olfishead said:

In plain terms, I guess I just don't  know what I'm doing when it comes to lead line. Maybe I just need to spend some time with it. I had a feeling that it had something to do with speed and line diameter.  Thanks! 

The guidelines I follow for calculating lead core sink rate:

5’ per color at 2mph

7’ per color at 1.5 mph

10’ per color at 1.0 mph
 

add to that 1/2 of the dive curve depth for the lure you are using for the amount/type of line in the water.

 

As Eyeman pointed out when you turn the inside lines will slow and sink faster and the outside lines will speed up and rise.  This speed/depth change is often when You will get bit as it triggers a follower to strike so running shallow “S” curves is an often used tactic, just be aware a sharp turn will have the inside lines sinking rapidly and can lead to problems.  ‘Smooth” turning makes life simpler and more trouble free.  Just as speeding up will make the bait rise, if I mark good fish below the level I am trolling I can s l o w down and let my lines take the lures down to that range as I pass(within reason) and sometime pick those fish off.  If is a very effective system, but as MG pointed out not very sporting with smaller fish.  Hook up with a large hybrid, striper, or big blue cat and that lead line is unnoticeable.

 

Mike

 

[hambandit]

This may be what one of the previous posters is referring to as snap weights. We run 30lb braid main line to an in-line swivel sinker. Off of that a 3’ leader to the crankbait. With that setup the dive chart for the bait doesn’t really matter. We use a livescope to verify depths but it’s easy to run them wherever you want. 25’ down is no issue. Generally we’re in the 10-12ft range earlier on, going deeper as the days get longer. We run them off the front of the bot so you don’t need 600yards to turn the boat around.  

[MrGiggles]

8 hours ago, hambandit said:

This may be what one of the previous posters is referring to as snap weights. We run 30lb braid main line to an in-line swivel sinker. Off of that a 3’ leader to the crankbait. With that setup the dive chart for the bait doesn’t really matter. We use a livescope to verify depths but it’s easy to run them wherever you want. 25’ down is no issue. Generally we’re in the 10-12ft range earlier on, going deeper as the days get longer. We run them off the front of the bot so you don’t need 600yards to turn the boat around.  

Snap weights are just an egg weight with a planer board snap on them, you clip them on the line ahead of the bait.