leadcore line purchasing options

[ryan the poor college kid]

Where do you guys get it?
How much do you need to spool a reel with? (my max depth would be +-50')
Does it fit on a Ambassadeur Casting Reel 5601?
How big of a leader or what?

[Sluggo / NY]

Ryan..I'm not an expert on lead core, but I did just put together a couple of lead core rigs for this coming season after doing a lot of research and question asking. After looking at my notes (I took lots)..I'd say that your reels are too small for what you need. I doubt that you'll get more than 5 or 6 colors on them. To reach 50 feet down, you'll need 8 or 9 colors out. I went for a couple of Bass Pro's Gold Cup linecounter combo's. They're big reels..about the size of the Daiwa 47's..but you can fit 10 colors on them with backing and leader. I realize that you don't need linecounters, but my partner's color blind and I have no memory..Plus..the price is right! As for the line.. any of the bigger tackle stores will have it. I got it at Dick's Sporting Goods. You can also get it through Bass Pro or Cabelas. I was told that the 18# has the best weight to diameter ratio. Hope some of this helps...Good Fishing, Sluggo (Chris)

[Chad]

Ryan,

You should be able to buy leadcore line at any good sporting goods store. Cabelas and Bass Pro also have it. Most people buy the 18lb test. We usually go with a full reel of leadcore. You will need a larger capacity reel then the 5500 series. The 6500 series is barely large enough for lead. You may need to go to something like a 7000 Abu Garcia or Penn or Shimano. You do not need a line counter since the lead is color coded.

How much line do you need? Kind of depends what lures you are using. Diving lures will require less lead while spinners will require more. It is also speed dependant. Averaging 5' per color you would need 10 colors to get down to 50'. This would be 300' of line (30' per color) if my math is correct.

Most use leaders from 6' to 30'. All personal preference. Methods of attaching the leaders range from uni to uni knots, swivels and snaps. Some people like the leader to be the same length of the rod and others like 30' since each color is 30'. Some prefer fireline which is non strech (so is the lead) and others prefer mono which builds in some strech.

[RHLSnoopy]

Does anybody use wire line, we used it a lot on Lake Ontario for salmon.

[FROGMAN]

Great advice! Just remember that when fishing leadcore you should take a kid or, newcomer out with you and let them do all the reeling! 350'-400' of line to reel in for every fish or bait check gets old in a hurry! LOL

Good Luck

Keith Segar
NPAA #260

[ryan the poor college kid]

thanks for info fellas

[Chad]

With the invention of Fireline and its competitors I believe wire is obsolete.

[glb]

Hey, Ryan..........What college, if you don't mind me askin?

[ryan the poor college kid]

I am a Junior at SDSM&T in Rapid City, SD

[glb]

Wow, my kid is in his second year there. Small world!!!

I'm sure you have already been to Scheels at the mall, haven't you? The last time I was there (last spring) I saw several line counter reels (mostly Daiwa and Okuma). I'm pretty sure you'll find leadcore, too. What lakes do you hit there?

[ryan the poor college kid]

I'd have to say as far as my favorite lake now, well it would have to be Orman Dam. Since last October, my fishing buddies and I have pulled out some chunky walleyes. I fear that this lake might get hit hard as it is now being advertised on Tony Dean's report site. Maybe you fish it, I don't know, but I hope people are putting the majority of the large females back. I guess the new size restriction helps, but with the water down for a year (>36% of capacity at one point) I was told the walleyes are pretty much starving. It is filling up however, last I checked it was at 54% of capacity.
Other lakes around here would be Sheridan (perch, crappies, bass and pike), Angustora (walleyes in the spring), and I am going to try to fish Pactola this spring for lake trout..... no, BIG lake trout.

Do you fish in the area??

[glb]

Ryan,
I'm a Twin Cities suburbanite (Eagan). I have been there nearly a dozen times in the last three years and have driven around sightseeing, but I haven't been fishing or boating there, yet. Someday, I would like to though.......... For now the boat is still in storage. Usually we frequent the rivers or Minnetonka, with an occasional trip up north here and there.
On the topic of leadcore, I understand that lure depth can be rather speed sensitive, so boat speed control can be an issue. Sometimes this is good, such as speeding up a little over a small slightly shallower area. I read that many people use shallow diving plugs such as #5 & #7 Rapalas or Shad Raps. One nice concept of leadcore (over other types of weights or divers) is that the lure doesn't pull as hard, therefore you should feel the lure or fish a little better. The line still has extra weight to it, but not as much pull as other forms of deep trolling.