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PostPosted: Sun Apr 14, 2013 11:16 am 
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When we Tuna fished off shore we used these tiny swivels. Amazingly strong. Form this the largest and way overkill for anything in the Great Lakes

http://www.tackledirect.com/spsb0250.html

To this the smallest of these which landed bluefin to 130 pounds. And nothing, I mean nothing, pulls like Charlie.

http://www.tackledirect.com/spsb1050.html

Of course we used lever drag reels so the tension could be set very accurately. I never use star drag reels anymore if I think I might get into a big fish.

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PostPosted: Sun Apr 14, 2013 2:08 pm 
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Im fishing kokannee salmon and trout up to maybe 10lbs....if yall are fishing big salmon (10+lbs) it seems they could snap leadcore no problem. Id just use braid to a banana weight with a flouro leader... or a downrigger why not just get the scotty or something....


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PostPosted: Sun Apr 14, 2013 5:23 pm 
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Location: Charlevoix, MI
Jude wrote:
Im fishing kokannee salmon and trout up to maybe 10lbs....if yall are fishing big salmon (10+lbs) it seems they could snap leadcore no problem. Id just use braid to a banana weight with a flouro leader... or a downrigger why not just get the scotty or something....


Jude - Most of the salmon I am targeting are easily 10+ lbs. Got a few 20+ last season. I have to admit that this foray into "lightweight lead core" is a potentially doomed experiment though. I am giving up my 30# braid for 18# lead core. But I am also buoyed by a recent ice fishing experience, where I accidently hooked into a monster pike while fishing for perch. I was using 4# ice fluoro line on a panfish rod. With careful attention to the drag I played the fish for 35 min before getting him up to my hole, only to discover that the girth of the fish at the shoulder was significantly greater the 6" diameter of my hole. ONE of the lessons learned was that proper attention to drag during a fight can make all the difference in the world when using lightweight tackle. The chinook I target are hard fighting but with enough line and enough time to wear them down I should be able to boat a few on this setup. Should be fun trying, anyway.


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PostPosted: Sun Apr 14, 2013 11:10 pm 
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I hear ya its all about drag. So i ran across a video a second ago by accident of fishing kings in lake michigan by Colin Belle of hobie fishing team... It looks like hes toplining.. Hard to tell. http://youtu.be/9NU9c5XQRr

the key with leadcore is not to kink it. If it gets kinked then tensioned itll snap. Kings are sure to give you a run for your money but i wouldnt shy away from the leadcore just because of that. Get a penn 209 or something simiar with about 15 colors and youll love it. I love the Penn, just dont get a reel thats too big because itll want to flip upside down. I like okuma convectors too... The 30 sz holds a good bit and has linecounter which is nice.


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PostPosted: Mon Apr 15, 2013 11:44 pm 
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just saw your post about your reel setup....sounds good let us know how ya do!!


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PostPosted: Wed May 01, 2013 6:11 pm 
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Location: Michigan
From a kayak you can get away with much lighter tackle on larger fish when compared to typical great lakes multiple rod trolling tactics from motorized boat platforms. Especially if you can quickly reel up any other lines and maneuver the kayak if needed. The relatively light weight and minimal resistance of the kayak in the water, adds a new dimension to fighting larger fish that motorized boat platforms and shore anglers can't experience.
Being able to have both hands free from paddling, allows the Hobie angler to steer toward or away from larger fish while reeling in line or allowing light drag to slip line, coupled with a nice limber rod... many dimensions that simply make for a fishing experience that boat or shore anglers cannot really appreciate.
Big fish can tend to settle in and pull the kayak around, if you aren't too aggressive with them, then seem to tire out well before exerting a lot of strain on your lighter tackle, if you can overcome the initial aggressive surges after the hit with light high quality drag setups and longer limber rods, if you can tolerate the extra rod length while in the kayak. A good hook set is still a must and can be accomplished with razor sharp hooks and steady pressure (maintain a bend in the rod)... no need to pull sharply like many bass anglers tend do employ.

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PostPosted: Wed May 01, 2013 6:18 pm 
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Location: Michigan
Forgot to mention the open waters of lake Michigan are a kayak fisher's friend.
Coupled with staying away from other boats and finding your own fish, is something that the successful kayak angler has to get used to doing... pressuring large fish to move them out of the way of boats that are on fixed trolling courses, is a recipe for dissappointment for the light line kayak fisher.

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PostPosted: Thu May 02, 2013 2:54 pm 
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Location: San Diego, CA
Very interesting read on a completely different kind of fishing that I'm used to. I sure would love to go after those big salmon! One question though - all these responses and not one mention of the use of a down rigger. I notice the Pacific Northwest guys use them for salmon up there...


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PostPosted: Thu May 02, 2013 5:50 pm 
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Baja_Traveler wrote:
Very interesting read on a completely different kind of fishing that I'm used to. I sure would love to go after those big salmon! One question though - all these responses and not one mention of the use of a down rigger. I notice the Pacific Northwest guys use them for salmon up there...


Downrigger was mentioned on page one. Even better with half the drag and a lot less carried weight is the Z planer. The OP was dead set on using lead core regardless of any potentially better options.

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PostPosted: Fri May 03, 2013 7:46 pm 
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Location: Charlevoix, MI
I have been out on Lk MI several times since spooling with 20 colors of leadcore. I can easily get down 80+ ft. I ended up adding 40 ft of fluorocarbon leader so this permits me to run shallow as well. Getting some walleye on 3 colors, trolling scatter raps in 35 FOW lately. No salmon yet this season.
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PostPosted: Sat May 04, 2013 8:25 am 
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Nice walleye. Dad always called them Pickeral, of course a misnomer. Whenever I can get out on the Great Lakes, I love to catch some yellow perch. Still the best eating fish there is. Yellowfin tuna is good too. Flounder is very tasty. And discovered that Blackfin tuna is at least as good as Yellowfin.

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PostPosted: Sun May 19, 2013 6:38 pm 
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OK, ran into a snag on my lead core adventure. I was fishing for lake trout, down on the bottom in 95 FOW. This required me to put out 15 colors of lead. With my long fluoro leader, I had 500 feet of line out. When I came to some shallower water I started reeling in some line and it just felt a little different. No fighting or tugging, but strange enough that I pulled everything in, only to find a nice laker on the end of the line. He had a few skid marks on him, so I suspect that I had dragged him around for awhile. I had my reel set to release line with a clicker alert and had the reel drag set to minimum for my trolling speed, but never got that signal. I suspect that 450 ft of lead core will produce quite a bow in the line between the lure and the rod tip, making it nearly impossible to detect a good tug from a hit. This was an unexpected outcome. Glad I landed the fish, but now I will be forever wondering if I have one on and just don't know it.
For all you long-line lead core guys, what's the secret?
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PostPosted: Mon May 20, 2013 2:20 am 
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A lighter rod... go softer & softer till u find the right balance. if u are fishing that deep u can getaway with a shorter leader isn't LKMI water vis low? try 50ft leader


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PostPosted: Mon May 20, 2013 7:43 am 
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When I loaded up my offshore reels with braid it is almost impossible to get enough drag while winding on line to be sure it is packed super tight. So when I got out on the boat, I would bring it up to offshore trolling speeds between 6 and 12 knots and let all the line off the reel. Even with only 50 pound braid it was amazing how much tension that line caused in the water.

I am not sure any rod will make a difference. With that much line in the water it will be hard for any fish to "shake" the line so you can detect a strike or a fish that is just dragging. Walleye tend to do that, bite light, get hooked and then just follow the lure. Many times in Lake Erie we would just think there might be a bit more drag on a trolled line, and sure enough once we started to move the line the walleye would begin to tug.

I know you are really fond of that leadcore. I would use other means to obtain depth and keep line length reasonable. IMHO 500 feet for trolling it just way too much line out. Even our way way back lines for offshore with a bird in tow we kept to 300 to 400 feet. We put that rod way high up and with the bird and a big lure behind the line would mostly be out of the water. I even rigged a center rigger to help with that. Many bigger boats used a system called a green stick to get the line even higher up.

I know you are really fond of that leadcore. I would use other means to obtain depth and keep line length reasonable.

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PostPosted: Mon May 20, 2013 8:07 am 
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Location: Gales Ferry Connecticut
I am new to lead core, I recently picked up some of the New Suffix lead core in a 65# braid line that has the diameter of a 27# mono. I Kayak and Boat fish for stripers around CT/RI . In the shop it looked more flexible than the old style lear core line. I loaded the reel with 5 colors and 200 yards of 40# braid backing.

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