fishing line setup

[fishon2020]

Need to respool all my lines for this upcoming weekend trip. Any suggestions of line lbs mono/braided color?? anything would help. Ive been strugglking this year on catching the fish and trying every little thing.

thank everyone for your help

[RogueRiver]

I use the blood run clear downrigger line in #20. I put it on the rigger rods and all the lead and coppers for leaders. I've been trying their new purple tint #25 tournament mono on two rigger rods too and that stuff seems super strong just not sure about the purple tint.

[Creekerman]

I can't believe the line color selection is going to make that much difference. I personally use mostly 50 lb test Power Pro backer and a good length of 40 lb test Mono for leader material on almost all of my combos...divers, downriggers, leadcore, copper. I just make sure it is in good condition so it can hold the big ones....especially this time of the season.

The rest seems by far more important; bait/rig selection, trolling speed, depth, temp, and simply being in the right place at the right time.

[TheLynnAnn]

I use 20lb for all liters on lead core, flashers, and basically all set-ups besides free spoons. For free spoons I use 12lb stren mono, because I seem to get more hits when using the lighter line on riggers with just a spoon. But make sure your drag is loose enough for the fight!

[sparky30]

I use 20lb floro on all of my copper and lead leaders, 17lb mono on riggers, and braid on my divers with 8-15 ft. floro leads. Floro makes a big differance in my opinion for leads and the lighter the better for riggers. I know a few guys that run 10lb on there riggers and do way better than the rest, i just dont have 500bucks to spend on reels with drags smooth enough to run that lite.

[Creekerman]

Personally, I just haven't seen any advantage to using lighter leader line when trolling Lake Michigan. I went out solo just 2 weeks ago and limited out with 3 steelies and 2 Kings. This year I've not had any skunks on any outing. Last year when I used 30 lb leaders I had 4 outings with no fish. This year I've exclusively used 40 lb mono for all my leader material. If anything, I've had better outings with the heavier line. That's just been my experience. I switched to the heavier line because most of the meat rigs and trolling flies use even heavier test line for the rig construction plus I had a few breakoffs last year on late season outings off of Frankfort. So this year, I have just stuck with the heavier leader line and seemingly with equal or better success.

[mrhookup]

20lb big game on pretty much everything, although I keep a couple board rods rigged with 12lb leaders for those glass calm days. All mono, no fluoro for us

[KICK'R]

I used to run all big game 25lb until we won a $333 gift card from Bullbuster.net this year in a tourney at that time we respooled all of our leadcores with 65lb high vis braid and all the rest of the reels with 25lb tenacity blue and clear so far we have been happy with it and best part was it was FREE!!!

[jeffsisson]

I use 25# mono maxima chamellion and 20# seagar AbrazX floro for leader. For both lake and rivers Floro IMHO is a true advantage my catch rate over the years bore out that Floro for leader far out catches anything else. My flies are rigged with 40# floro. The only reason heavier line is used for flies is for the action it produces behind the flasher thinner diameters just dont produce the whip. I also run 12# floro leaders when straight spoons exspecially on clear calm days. 40 plus years of fishing experience and I garantee you smaller dia. lines and Floro hook more fish with the obvious down side of if you dont play them right you loose them! Stay away from the cheap a@@ floro all the big name brands ie. sten/ berkley ect. their floros are junk! I've used them all again imho seagar makes the best by far. One other note on seagar dont use the lines they sell as leader line they are weaker and stretch out, stick with their main line type floro for leaders for greater strenght, low stretch, super abrasion resistant (for a floro line)!But hey to each their own! If ya find some thing that works stick with it! Good Luck!

[fishon2020]

Thanks everyone for the reply. This has been driving me nuts on what to do. Im likeing the braided with floro but not sure what #. I like the lower lines like 20# braid with 15# liter or should i do 30# braid and 20# liter to be safe?

[Boog]

I generally run 50# braid for my main lines and no less than 20# fluoro for leaders and quite often run 30# fluoro for leaders. The 50# Hi-Vis braid is what I use for backing on all my lines. (Lead core, riggers & copper) I don't run braid dipsies, only wire.

I always tie in a 6-10' section of 30# fluoro carbon line between the braid backing and the lead core or copper. This is for clamping the boards to and can easily be replaced

as often as necessary.

Three of the best fluoro carbon lines out there that I have run (IMHO) are Seagur, P-line and Bass Pro Shop XPS.

[DarkBlue]

20 pound Ande for mono. Tried and true.

Chris

[Creekerman]

Fishon2020

You might need to consider where your weekend trip is going to be. Next week I'm heading for Frankfort for some "combat" fishing. Last year those fish were running 20-30 lbs for most of the catch this time of year. Boats were numerable and in very close proximity. The leisure of fighting big fish for for lengthy periods and with considerable distance runs was not really there.

Good discussion you started here!

[jeffsisson]

Agree with Creekerman! Combat fishing is a whole different game. I dont use my lite line set ups as mentioned before! cOMBAT GOES TO 25# floro leader 30# backer and I can usually manage to keep the fish where I need them. No # test is gonna stand up to the clue;ess run over cut off though! Happens every year! Just gotta deal with that in the war zone. Thats a big reason I rarely fish the combat any more I'll head out deep and play with the steel!!!! Room for days!!!

[SUPERTRAMP]

20# Ande for riggers until the sea fleas hit us. The we have been using cortlandt flea flicker. That is no longer made so I got a bulk 2500 yard of blood run seaflea. If you continue using regular mono it can cause a lot of issues when the fleas get on it. We also run power pro divers in the early months March April and early may then switch to wire for the dipsy's . I know people using the red line and they catch fish. be sure to use good quality mono for leader material on your copper and Leadcore, the Fluoro Carbon is really expensive for leader material. The regular fluoro Carbon doesn't cut it as leader. Way too brittle.

[Boog]

the Fluoro Carbon is really expensive for leader material. The regular fluoro Carbon doesn't cut it as leader. Way too brittle.

Interesting. So your saying that what I've been using for the past 7 years doesn't cut it as leader material. Even though in all that time, I've yet to break a single fluorocarbon leader. If it didn't work, I would have quit using it a long time ago.

Brittleness - that is the very reason why I quit using Berkley Vanish as a leader material. I've never had that problem with the lines I listed above (Seaguar, P-line and XPS)

I'll stick with what's worked for me.

[DiverDennis]

I use 25# mono maxima chamellion.....If ya find some thing that works stick with it! Good Luck!

We use 25# Maxima Ultragreen on the downriggers and for leaders. It's the best.

http://www.maxima-lines.com/usa/product-ultragreen.html

[SUPERTRAMP]

I guess to each his own on the leader material, I tried 30#Seaguar on my coppers and leadcores, and it was a disaster, went back to 25# Big game for leaders and no problem. I do however use 40# PLine floro carbon leader material for flies..

[bloodrun]

Not to get involved in what brand is best (we are biased) we can comment on the color question. We have run every imaginable color in both our tournament and flee line just to gauge it's reaction to UV, etc with the dye. We can say with a good amount of certainty that line color does not seem to affect bites vs non bites...at least on Great Lakes waters with average clarity.

There are days in gin clear (we call it black water) that it would probably make a difference, but any water with stain/tint/color to it, line color does not make a difference.

Guys get wound up tight about fluoro vs non fluoro. Fluoro is not used on Great Lakes or inland lake waters for "stealth" due to the above (stain color). We use it for its properties of abrasion resistance, stiffness, and other attributes that make it superior to most mono in many situations (meat rigs, fly leaders, diver leaders, copper leaders, sliders)

Fluoro "stealth" properties were intended for Saltwater where you can see sometimes hundreds of feet (high clarity).

So you should not worry too much about line color impacting fishing results. Line color does matter above the water to see lines crossing, dark days, early/late daylight, etc.

[danagnello]

2 years ago our 20# mon got broke off along w/24# floro so ever since 30# mono leaders on riggers and copper and 35# Cortland Spectron Black Spot braid on dipseys and riggers.

When you have to fish deep say greatrer than 100' you need to minimize sway back on riggers, thus braided line on riggers plus rigger steel cable was replaced as soon as I bought them w/.o24" diam steel wire from McMaster Carr.

We'll be in Frankfort this Sun night and Mon am and Manistee Mon pm and Tues am.

My 2 cents.

Hockey Puck on THE REEL WOMAN;

[Boog]

When you have to fish deep say greatrer than 100' you need to minimize sway back on riggers, thus braided line on riggers

That works fine during the early months but this time of the year, that braid is a major flea catcher. Nothing sucks more than not being able to reel you line in because you have 2lbs of fleas hanging on your line just in front of a knot and a big salmon just out of reach of the net.