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LEADCORE
Lead
core line: People tend to think that lead core line is for
fishing at great depths, for me this is not the case I use it as
a method for fishing the 10 to 15 ft depths with shallow running
rapalas etc. I find that with 30yds of lead core out with mono
backing, a shallow crankbait trolled at 2 to 2.5 mph will run at
the 10-to15ft depths. However it is highly speed dependant if
you speed up the lure will rise and if you slow down the lure
will fish deeper, that is why I find the luhr speed so useful as
you can constantly monitor your speed and have some control on
how deep your lure is fishing.
Lead core line is a different colour every 10 yds this way you
can tell how much line you have out, the way I run lead core is
to use a section of lead core 30 yds(3 colours) on one rod and
50 yds(5 colours) on another rod this way I am able to fish at
different depths.
Pike caught on a baby Thunderstick fished off leadcore.
The
rod I use for fishing lead core is a “Ron Thomson” Hardcore
8 ft spin rod it is similar to the Shakespeare “Ugly Stik”
rods but at a cheaper price. The rod has a softish tip, which is
ideal for leadcore as it is a low stretch line, if you used too
stiff a rod you could break-off on a fish or pull the hooks out
on a strike. I use this rod along with a line counter reel or a
clip on line counter made by Shakespeare, by using this I am
able to work out how deep my line will be with a given amount of
line out.
linecounter reel w/leadcore
Shakespeare clip-on line counter
This
style of fishing is called “segmented lead core” it is
because you have a segment of lead core line between 2 lengths
of mono line I start by loading around 150yds of 20lb mono on to
my reel and then attach the lead core to this I then wind on 3
colours of 18lb lead core cut this and then attach 50ft of 15lb
mono, so the lead core is sandwiched between the mono, this way
the lead core is separated from the lure and the 50ft of mono is
used to attach you lure, you can cut this back due to wear and
tear and when it gets to 4 or 5ft
in length replace it with a new section of line.
I
use monofilament line for my leadcore fishing because I like to
fish leadcore with planer boards, if you use braided line you
will find that because it is so thin and slippery it will
continually slip from the attachment to the planer board causing
wasted fishing time as lines have to pulled in to go back to
retrieve the board.
To
attach lead core to mono you first remove a section of the lead
wire from the braided Dacron outer to do this you expose a bit
of the lead and then pull back the Dacron until you have exposed
about 6” of the lead wire, you then break off the lead and
pull back the Dacron. You now have approx 6” of Dacron with no
lead core you can join the mono to the lead core with a back to
back uni- knots or by inserting your mono line into the Dacron
to take the place of the lead wire you then tie 3 overhand knots
in the Dacron/mono and pull tight this will hold the mono in
place and gives a “smoother” finish than the uni knot.
If I
am fishing alone I will only put out one rod with lead core as
it is quite a slow line to put out and get the lure running, if
you try to let the lead core out to fast it will overrun and
cause a “birds nest” and in lead core it is a pig to try and
undo the tangle, likewise if you are using a lure that spins
make sure you have a good anti-kink vane on because if the lead
core line gets twisted it’s only fit for the bin.
When I do fish alone I put the lead core line straight out the
back of the boat, this way because know the depth the line is
running at I can keep my eye on the sonar and if the bottom
rises too shallow I can turn the boat into deeper water, and as
the lure is about 80yds back from the boat it can be trolled out
into deeper and safer water, and if you speed up the boat the
line will also rise and fish shallower, and this might just
trigger a following fish to take.
A
thing I plan to do this coming season is vary the speed with
lead core, to do things like speed up and then go slow and
sometimes even stopping and let the line sag and sink and then
start-up again, as there have been plenty of cases when Ferox
have taken the lure after someone has stopped, sorted out a
tangle or whatever and when they set off again a fish hits the
lure.
One
case is when I fished in Lake Michigan. The method was
downrigger fishing but the principal is the same: the boat
was fishing using an underwater video camera mounted at the
cannon ball and this was watching the lure some 80ft + deep they
saw fish following the lures but not interested in taking them,
so they increased the speed, the cannonballs and lures rose in
the water and the fish followed, nothing! They slowed down the
boat the cannonballs swung down and the fish followed, this went
on for a while fish going up and down but not taking, then the
guy running the boat stopped the engines, the boat stopped, the
cannonballs swung under the boat and the lures (spoons)
fluttered to the bottom. And then the fish hit!! They were brown
trout.
I
believe that fish follow lures more often than we suspect, and
by speeding up, slowing down or any other ways of “jerking the
fish about” we might get them to hit the lure more often.
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