Lead Core line / fishing set up help

[CMJ76]

Hi, I am wondering what is a good lead core line fishing set up? I am considering trying it out for trolling Rondout/Ashokan for trout but I never used it before. What type of reel would work best and what size line and leaders? Also what type of lures/spoons? I appreciate any help.
Thanks

[Gino_Alessandro]

I personally use 8'6" medium heavy Daiwa Accudepth rods with Okuma Magda Pro line counters. 18 lb Tuf Line or Suffix leadcore with a 30 foot flourocarbon leader ( I use P Line which works fine but Seaguar is technically better just more expensive lol) . I like Sammy Pac/Sutton spoons, Michigan stingers, Flatfish, Rapalas, Mooselock Wabblers, etc

[CMJ76]

Thanks Gino.
Your YouTube video was awesome. I really enjoyed it.
Thanks again.

[brushwolf]

My setups are 8.5 ft. Triton med.light action rods with Abu Garcia 6600 c4 reels . Loaded with 12 lb. suffix leadcore and a 30 ft. 10 lb.  flourocarbon leader. Lures are mostly rapalas and rebel plugs.

[Mallon]

A little late to this thread, but i figured id share my set up. As of now I am running 8'6" Med-Light Fast action Daiwa Acculite rods, paired with Abu Garcia Ambassadeur 6600 C4 reels. Loaded with a small amount of 15lb mono backing (maybe 30yds), 10 colors of Suffix 832 Advanced Leadore in 12lb test, with a 30-35ft 10lb Seagar flourocarbon leader. Terminated with a size 1 ball bearing snap swivel hooked directly to my bait. I mostly run Sutton Spoons, and Michigan Stingers. Occasionally at low light I will run YoZuris, Rapalas, Flicker minnows, Flatfish etc.


For the rods, i have had 7' Med-Fast ugly sticks, to 8'6" Med Heavy Slow action dowrigger rods and everything in between. Ive settled on the 8'6" Med-Lights because they are still have enough backbone to drive the hook into the fish, but the longer length allows a lot more forgiveness when those fish jump out of the water, or take hard runs near the boat. Also it just allows more feel to the fish. My previous rods just felt overpowered and it was not as enjoyable.

For the reels, I started with Cabela's Depthmaster 30's with line counters. I then bought Okuma Magda 45xt's with line counters. I almost preferred the old cabela's over the okumas actually. One thing that I liked about both, was the power handles that these reels offered. But they felt a little bit big. Also, both reels were a bit of a pain to get the line to feed out, without pulling it by hand in between rows, at least until you got the first color out. These reels didn't have the greatest of drags, but they worked. Just were a bit touchy. But, none the less, they got it done for me the past couple years, and i would definitely recommend them to someone starting out. I just upgraded recently to the 6600 C4's which better suit my personal preferences, and have been very pleased.  Food for thought...

[ruck]

The Ambassadeur 6600 C4 are hard to beat, but regardless of what you buy make sure that it has a synchronized level wind, that is, as the line goes out the level wind goes side to side with the line. A disengaging level wind, like most baitcasters have, doesn't allow the lead core line to come off the reel smoothly.
 I prefer Sufix Performance lead core in 15lb (that is NOT the breaking strength, it is much higher) I found the thinner ones like 832 or Tuf Line Micro lead tend to wear faster, and tangle worse, at least the few times I used them. I found no advantage to them, and regular Sufix  Performance lead core is much cheaper. I personally use 30lb braid backing, then 5 colors of lead, then 50' of 8lb or 10lb mono or fluoro leader depending on what I have, it really doesn't matter.
 For rods I personally like 7', anything longer feels awkward to me in a rowboat, but that's just personal preference, I'm that guy who used to get made fun of for surf casting out at Montauk with a 9' rod. To the other extreme I saw a guy once who was trolling lead core using rods that were really, really long, they looked like outriggers! His reasoning was using longer rods keeps the lines from tangling, and spreads the lures further apart to cover more water while trolling. Again personal preference.
 I listened to a lot of advice, and ended up doing my own thing eventually. I was lucky to have a friend who lent me several different setups so I could form my own opinion.

[Mallon]

Great advice ruck! I am constantly learning more with every trip out, and I am always willing to try new things. Definitely if there is one thing to invest your money in, it would be the reel. I do think I may switch back to the regular performance leadcore line next year. It almost seems like the advanced 832 is more noisy in the water. Whether its the sheath, or the thicker lead, i don't know.  As for my rods, i run them almost straight back off the boat, i just set them on my seat, out through a set of V-clamps on the sides of the boat, rather than placing them in say, a down east rod holder, out perpendicular to the boat. i find i get better hook ups this way, and can get my hands on the rods faster. Also don't seem to have an issue with tangles. Theres and article that mentions this, I'll see if i can find the link

[Mallon]

https://chasintailtv.com/articles/how-to-articles/216-rowboat-trolling-spoon-tactics-for-trout

[ruck]

Some guys swear by the rods straight back in a spring clamp, others like me prefer the rods out to the sides. I have days when I hook every fish that hits, and others like a couple days ago when I get 10 hits and can't hook one. But then so do guys who fish straight back in clamps. One thing is for sure, you gotta keep the line very tight with lead core. If using a rod holder it MUST be one you can get the rod out of smoothly while maintaining a tight line. I use Scotty Orca which I like, but a friend has the Folbe Advantage Jr.  and he loves them.

[wardy]

Good advice Ruck! I have a abu c4 and a shimano calcutta for my reels and two whippy fluke rods for bay fishin. Gotta upgrade my rods one day. I have a boat on cross river now and have never rowed to troll. Used electric motor for all my trolling on sylvan. Need some advice on rowing techniques.

[ruck]

Awesome Mike, I've heard Cross River has been on recently. I have keys to a friends boat there but have never used it. I got called off the wait list about a year ago but didn't bother putting a boat. As for rowing there is no specific technique really. I usually do two sharp pulls and then coast until going slow, then two more. Sometimes the changing speed draws strikes.

[Mallon]

Wardy I personally use a speed up, slow down technique like ruck.  few strong pulls gets your speed up and allows to spoons to rise, then back off the oars and let them flutter back down, and repeat. Also do a lot of S turns. Early season i will row much slower and use a lot more of the slow flutter to my advantage. A lot of bites will come on the fall. As the season picks up i seem to do better at higher speeds. Change of speeds definitely draw strikes though. Early season I did best between .5 to 1.5 mph gps speed. with a lot of strikes coming on the fall. Later season like now I have had a lot of success trolling faster. generally 1.5 to 2.5mph even up to 3.0mph (gps speed). with more strikes seeming to come on the rise