Line Selection

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I am in the process of trying either color line or braided line this year but don't know what to use or if the reels can handle either of them.

I have a matching set of Shakspear Tidewater 30L reels that are rated for 20lb test and 330yards. I normally fish for walleye using bottom bouncers but last year I found myself in 100 fow because the temps were so high and that just happened to be where the fish were.

Any help would be appreciated.

[j1musser]

braid would help ya get deeper along with more capacity and sensitivity. You could then add a section of mono or flourocarbon to the end if u needed rather easily.

Are u using these for dipsy divers, ur bouncers, riggers??? Im not reel familiar with the reels. Application would help determine what lb test to use

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I was told that in order to fish the deeper water that I should get away from the bouncers and use the lead core line. But, I also seen where some guys perfer copper instead.

What happened last year was the salmon guys were constantly picking up walleye in the deeper waters and they convinced me to move out with them.

Well, the bouncers and banana shaped inline weights worked only because of the line counters but they were not nearly as productive as the lead core.

Yes, I do run alot of harness but also body baits and small spoons.

[j1musser]

How deep ya talking? That reel will prob fit 5-7 colors of leadcore at most i would think with backing. Getting u maybe 25-30ft deep. Copper dives quicker but takes up more space on the reel. Thats easily done with bouncers. U might be looking at getting some bigger reels.

Braided line with dipsy divers would get u deeper but im not sure that the reel would hold up to the pull of dipsy divers.

Misunderstood the color line=leadcore before

One pound balls/ heavy snapweights/ Dive bombs/Torpedo divers are all options also to get deep with less line. U would prob want braid for this with no stretch. These would give u a little bit versatility by changing weights. The leadcore or copper is basically one depth per rod.

Leadcore is more forgiving to work with than copper so i would recommend getting used to it before copper as it can be a headache. Although some of the newer supercopper is more forgiving.

[fuzzy]

I have 2 of those reels and do like them better than the okuma's.

I have put 5 colors of lc on them only getting down to about 25'. One could probably get 6 or 7 colors on with a braid backing. Just won't reach the 100' depth. #1 balls would work better at that depth with braid then a mono leader.

[Nailer]

I am in the process of trying either color line or braided line this year but don't know what to use or if the reels can handle either of them.

I have a matching set of Shakspear Tidewater 30L reels that are rated for 20lb test and 330yards. I normally fish for walleye using bottom bouncers but last year I found myself in 100 fow because the temps were so high and that just happened to be where the fish were.

Any help would be appreciated.

Mark, Welcome to the site.

[snowking]

If you try copper use only the silver colored coated super copper. The non coated copper is real hard to work with. With my leadcore I am going to use a piece of mono between the Braided line and the leadcore to clip the boards to. I had trouble last year with braid on boards because it is so slippery. I had been using Stren Sonic Braid. I have been looking at the new suffex Brand braid with gore fibers. It looks real smooth and round.

[Daybreak]

Catching a big King on Copper is not even that much fun ...I cant imagine Walleye fishing with copper is even worth it.

lb. Balls and drop weights/torpedo divers would probably be your best option. Or get a downrigger if thats an option. You can find the manual riggers pretty cheap, and then its just mono between you and the fish.

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Thanks Nailer, Ya I know I won't be getting anywhere near bottom but it ended up being a real guessing game with what I am currently using. Any trolling speed change seemed to bring the baits up alot higher then I wanted. Slow it down and the baits are not working. So the thing I am trying to figure out is how to stay in the 30 40 fow water range without spooling everything out. The other thing is presentation. Not having the chunk of lead grabing the water would make things a little not natural looking.

I have increased my leaders to 4 foot but that also is a bit more difficault for my wife to net. For some reason she doesn't like me yelling at her. I call it coaching.lol

[Priority1]

Mark, A warm welcome to the GLF site.

I fish Bouncers and don't have any trouble getting down in the 30-40 ft range with 2 and 3 oz bouncers. I fish AuGres a lot and typically were fishing 25-35 FOW. We do fish in the weeds once in awhile also.

I did do some deep water fishing also. I have run crawler rigs off my downriggers when I need to get down deep and dirty. Most of the time walleye are not as spooky as people think. Put the goods in their face any way you can and they will smack it.

I run 10# Ande Mono. I spool my reels most of the way with 20# and splice on 100 yds of 10#. The 20# is red and the 10# is clear. When I start seeing too much red I strip off the remaining 10# and splice on a new piece. This keeps the reel full and the line I'm using fresh. I fish a lot so my reels get re-spooled at least once half way though the season and sometimes more depending on tangles etc.