Fishing Lead Core

Blue_Runner

Blue_Runner

God
Staff member
Anybody have experience fishing lead core line in freshwater lakes? I'm thinking to set up some of my classic penn reels targeting striper. I have old an old penn squidder, jigmaster 500, two 209 level winds and a #65. I saw where someone said to use level wind reels, which, some of mine aren't. Seems like it isn't an issue as long as you know how to guide the line on when reeling in. Rods are two ugly stick 6' medium heavy and three 6' 6" medium action. Rigs will be chartreuse and white bucktails and/or swim baits on double rigs or alabama rigs. I have a few umbrella rigs too but not sure if that is necessary. Also, how many "colors" do you normally load the reel with and what backing if any? Thinking to use ~20ft long leaders ~ 20lb mono or flouro with 27lb leadcore. Trolling with the main engine 2 - 2.5 mph. One thing I've seen is NEVER stop the boat while trolling, which makes perfect sense. Any tips and tricks are more than welcomed!
 
Last edited:
When we troll for king/spanish/grouper, you never stop the boat. Especially if u have more than 2 lines out. If you are in a pattern with other boats, peel off out of the loop and go deal with your fish, then troll back in the parade when finished.

If u need any Penn parts and can't find them, let me know. We have 2 very good dealers down here who stock a lot of old stock
 
phatdaddy said:
When we troll for king/spanish/grouper, you never stop the boat. Especially if u have more than 2 lines out. If you are in a pattern with other boats, peel off out of the loop and go deal with your fish, then troll back in the parade when finished.

If u need any Penn parts and can't find them, let me know. We have 2 very good dealers down here who stock a lot of old stock
Click to expand...
Hoping to post some pics if I ever get time to put this plan into action. But yeah, lead core line is going to sink like, well - lead. Not cheap line, then factor in all the tackle. Getting everything snagged up is going to cost you a pretty penny. I'll be fishing in about 25 - 30 ft, so gotta keep on movin along lol. But what I like is not having to deal with live bait. We'll see if this works...stay tuned
 
Phat, yes absolutely and many do both at the same time. I'm looking to keep it more simple and also the fact that I don't need to fish very deep in this lake. Planning on a 5 rod spread. On the business end will be an alabama rig with five 3/8oz bucktails with 7" curly tail worms.
 
Made a little progress. Ordered a couple more a-rigs, 3/8 oz bucktails in white and chartreuse and some 7.5" pearl white curly tail worms. I've gotten a couple things already just waiting for the others to come in. One of my orders got returned to sender (in Kansas) even thought it had the correct address. Still need lead core, just been too busy lately but the goal is to be fishing by memorial day. Also cleaned and oiled the old reels.
 
Had some family in for Memorial Day weekend and got to try out the new setup. It was a learning experience. Myself and brother in law had 3 bites, 1st one broke the 20lb leader in two. Turns out my V21 just bumped into gear is about 3.5 mph, which is faster than I thought, so any big fish is going to be difficult to reel in against all the additional current. We did manage to land the other two, which was a white bass and a ~20 lb blue catfish. Think I'm going to scale back the number of rods to 3 to allow me to clear rods quicker when I have a big fish on. That or get a trolling motor!
 

Attachments

  • IMG_1653.jpeg
    IMG_1653.jpeg
    474.8 KB · Views: 9
  • IMG_1656.jpeg
    IMG_1656.jpeg
    487.7 KB · Views: 10
  • image0.jpeg
    image0.jpeg
    419.3 KB · Views: 8
  • image1.jpeg
    image1.jpeg
    423.8 KB · Views: 6
  • image2.jpeg
    image2.jpeg
    484.1 KB · Views: 5
  • image3.jpeg
    image3.jpeg
    454.6 KB · Views: 6
Nice, sounds like you’re getting it dialed in. Sometimes when trolling for king we will drag a couple of 5 gallon buckets tied to the stern cleats to slow our roll. Also explains why there are so many buckets with handles ripped off floating in the gulf
 
The other thing about trolling leadcore line is at 3.5 mph the baits only get half as deep as 2 mph so it means letting even more line out to make target depth. I have a couple umbrella rigs that are larger than the alabama rigs. They have a ~6 oz weight built in. Thinking that will help a little. Definitely not done trying.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top