Precision trolliing question

[Jimmy]

I finally got my trollers bible lastnight and I was reading it and had a question about trolling leadcore. The book states that you tie 3 colors of leadcore on then 50' of mono leader along with your backing and I was wondering is that the way you actually troll with leadcore? I guess I assumed that you put a full roll of leadcore on and then tie your leader to that? If there a guide tht I can follow when using more than 3 colors of lead? I have bee trolling with leadcore for a couple years now and I have been just letting out enough line to tap the bottom every now and then but have never tried just using 3 colors like the book suggests? Anyone have any suggestions or comments?

[ETT]

Some guys have a couple reels with 2 colors and 2 with 3 colors and 2 that are all lead core. If you are running in line boards you have to get all the lead core in the water (obviously it would drag in the water and pull the boatd back). For running cranks on breaks or even on flats your approach (straight to the lures)is correct. On Erie lead core and spinners can be very effective, when the fish are deep and semi-neutral. Laedcore's draw backs are, no stretch, very speed sensitive, and it ties you to slower speeds (usually). The large diameter does allow the lure to more closely track the boat when running contours. Hope this helps. Good luck

[Jimmy]

Thanks ETT for the info, I guess my question was more toward whether or not it makes a difference if you spool 100 yards of leadcore or 30 yards on your reel and if there is a guide that a guy can judge depth with based on a full reel of leadcore rather than just 30 yards.

[Larry]

I'm not aware of any publication giving depth for all leadcore. Most people running all leadcore for walleyes are just letting it out until they tap bottom and then cranking up a bit.....no book needed!. Segmented leadcore is a whole different ballgame. You're targeting fish that are at specific depths and are fishing from the top- down vs bottom- up. It really is an "art" vs a "science" and your trolling book is only a guide for a starting point to get you near a band of depths. I don't know a soul that can pick a lure, select a given amount of leadcore, and tell you exactly how deep that lure is running. In a "nutshell" there's nothing that will tell you how deep you're running if you let out "x" amount of leadcore from your reel that's full of leadcore, short of ticking bottom. Just don't get too hung up on exact depths. You only need to worry about getting close and then repeating where you got the last one! Good luck using the segmented leadcore. I think you'll find it has some very nice "triggering" qualities that other presentations lack.

[Dave S]

With all leadcore line you can expect approximately 5' of drop for each 30'(one color of line) when trolling at 1.5 mph. To run 25' deep you would need to let out 25 / 5 = 5 colors. The line distance is measured from the point where the line enters the water so you need to add on the distance from your rod tip to the point where the line enters the water. For speeds less than 1.5 mph you will attain greater depths for the same amount of line.

[Neal/Co]

In 15 years of trolling leadcore for Trout and Salmon, those are same formula's I have found to be true. I have also had some luck trolling deep during the heat of the summer with Spinner and crawler harness's on suspended fish.