Lead core depth

[Milfish]

Does anyone know where I can get the depth chart for Lead Core line? I purchased the 7th addition precision trolling book and everything is based on 10 lb mono. I used to have the chart but I've misplaced it. Maybe someone knows a website I can download it from. Thanks!
Milfish

[Toolman]

Milfish,

A basic rule is 5' depth per "color" or 30' of line at approx 2 MPH. This is with 18 lb test dacron sheathed (pretty standard with 'eye guys) leadcore line. It's a little more complicated than that, but that's a good starter. Current, dive depth of lure and even water temperature (according to some research I've read-sounds a little too precise for me) affects the depths achieved with lead.

[Milfish]

Thanks Toolman! So lets see, if a crank dives 7' on 10# mono and I have 3 colors of 18# lead at 2mph that should be 22' deep. The slower the deeper I would assume.
Going to Little Bay again this weekend. The fishin will be great!
Thanks again
Milfish

[Toolman]

Milfish,

The shorter your leader the less the dive of the crank will contribute to the total depth achieved-i.e. a 10' leader won't allow a crank to dive additionally as much as a 50' leader. I feel shorter leaders allow a little more consistent depth control if you're really trying to hug structure/change depths with speed, etc. I'm not really what you would call a lead-core expert, but have been experimenting with it quite a bit the past 2 years. Maybe someone with more knowledge could answer a little more in-depth?

Edit: I'll add that I don't believe that diving cranks achieve additional depth with longer leaders (say 50') as they would with 50 of 10 lb mono but they do allow some additional-make any sense?!

[Bruce CFD]

A guide I used on LBDN showed me a trick. Set your rod up with three colors of leadcore and a 30 foot mono leader. Start trolling at the desired speed (1.2 to 1.5 )on a shelf with a constant depth around 25 ft. Put on your lure of choice and let out the lead and then set your counter. let out your backing until you tick bottom and note the number. reel in 5 feet of backing and you should be just above bottom and have an idea where that setup runs at that number at that speed. Clear as mud ?

[Bruce CFD]

A guide I used on LBDN showed me a trick. Set your rod up with three colors of leadcore and a 30 foot mono leader. Start trolling at the desired speed (1.2 to 1.5 )on a shelf with a constant depth around 25 ft. Put on your lure of choice and let out the lead and then set your counter. let out your backing until you tick bottom and note the number. reel in 5 feet of backing and you should be just above bottom and have an idea where that setup runs at that number at that speed. Clear as mud ?

[zpeters73]

OK, in light of what has been posted, let me weigh in with a flurry of questions. I have fished with lead once in my life in somebody else's boat, so I am completely clueless. Let's say I mark fish on a ledge in 25' and want to fish with a #5 or a #7 shad rap. Here are my questions:

- how many colors get me there at 2 mph? (I assume less than 5 colors since a shad rap is a diving lure)
- what is a standard leader length (i.e. 10', 20', etc.)
- what knot is best to use to connect the leader to the lead?

I have heard of guys using lead with spinner rigs on Lake Sakakawea. Any idea how this works? What is the advantage of doing this?

[Gilligan]

Lead without speed sinks. I have slowed to just over .5 mph and put 6 colors on bottom in 80'+. The same set up at 2.0 to 2.2 has that bait running 32-38'. Look at precision trolling and figure your dive curve off of your leader length, I run 50' leaders in front of the lead. A simple blood knot works well for attaching mono and lead. Strip out about 4" of lead first. Another myth about leadcore is that 18# is more desirable than the heavier 27# as it is smaller diameter and sinks better. They all have the same diameter and size lead, the only difference is the sheath strength... go with the heavier stuff.

[Toolman]

z,

3 colors and a decent amount of backing might get you there (especially if the backing is thin superline). 4 colors would probably get you there with little backing out. Five would be the most precise if you were longlining-you wouldn't need all five colors. lots of variables-speed being the biggest as Gilligan said. Watch the graph and the rod tips and bump the speed to keep the bait from digging too much or hanging up-definitely an art to contour trolling with the stuff-way different than using it in "open" water.

Standard length is whatever you want. I use 2 arm spans (12') of 12 lb mono on 2, 3 and 4 color set-ups. 50' of 6/14 Fireline on 5 color rig.

Lead moves differently than snap weights when you use it with spinners (or any other baits for that matter). You get more vertical "swim" with a snap weight which can be good or bad. Lead reacts more slowly to speed changes. I guess the diameter of the leadcore kinda' works against it's weight as it sinks (and vice versa) to keep it at a more constant depth. 2 colors will get a spinner down about 12' at 1.5 MPH (depending on the blade size/shape, weight, etc). You can let out more backing to increase the depth substancially.

Gilligan-I haven't used 27 lb core. I have read that the lead dia is the same in all test strengths 18 lb and up. You say that the 27 lb has the same dia as 18 lb. Isn't the sheath thicker (on 27lb) because of it'd greater strengh? Good discussion. Using leadcore effectively is kind of like a puzzle. I'm slowly putting the pieces together!

[Jim Tunney]

Toolman
18LB = .030"
27LB = .032"
2 one thousands of and inch thicker.
That's why they say it's the same dia.

Looney Tunes
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[Toolman]

Thanks Jim. As I said I haven't used the 27 lb. That difference probably has some effect on runing depth, but not much.

Tim

[Gilligan]

Tim...I have put micrometers to several brands and the diameter of the lead and the sheath is the same.

[Toolman]

Gilligan,

Thanks. It would make sense to go with the stronger strength leadcore, if they have the same diameters, to avoid breaking when snagged, or in case of a big steelie or salmon. Unfortunately I have 8 set-ups with 18 lb that are fairly new, so I'll wait until they need replacing to upgrade.

Tim

[Sunshine]

>Thanks Toolman! So lets see, if a crank dives 7' on 10# mono
>and I have 3 colors of 18# lead at 2mph that should be 22'
>deep. The slower the deeper I would assume.
>Going to Little Bay again this weekend. The fishin will be
>great!
>Thanks again


Milfish:
Your analogy is correct IMHO. Start with that setup and then play with speed to fine tune. Hold one rod in hand to see if you're ticking bottom at the speed you are going.

[Milfish]

Hey Dennis,
Great conversations huh? Lead is fun to mess with, and everyone I've talked to over the past years has a different opinion on the depth at different speeds. Its good to see that more and more fisherman are beginnin to understand and basically agree. I'll be on Little Bay again this weekend, starting about 6:00 on Friday nite. Been doing real well with Fireline and deep divers after dark. Still has seemed that lead is the trick during daylight hours though. The superlines are great 'cause it doesnt take as long to set-up and everything just seems smoother when running with them.
Good luck to all and thanks for the comments. I'm going fishin!!
Milfish, channel 68 Friday

[Jeff C]

I had the similar question and this was a response I got. Also check out the articles from www.thenextbite.com web site very good.

A spool of leadcore has ten colors on it, 30 feet per color. Most people on the bays use a 30 to 50 foot leader from the crank to the lead, then they splice in 3 colors of lead (90 feet) then put on a mono backing. Our reels are filled with 12 lb berkely sensation
backing then we splice in 3 colors of lead and we use a 30' leader of 12lb sensation. Trolling @ 1mph with the line clipped to the board just after all the lead is out we get down approximately 26'. When trolling this setup at 1.5 we get them down around 20'. Hope this helps - Greg
Also, "thenextbite" web site has a great 3 part article on trolling lead core. I think the link below will get you to the first article, if not go into their article library and search for "lead core."

<www.thenextbite.com/site/article.cfm?owner=F5B611D6-4BDB-4556-81141F2CC2091F66>