Suggestions for Walleye Crankbait Trolling Line?

Looking for brand/type/lb test suggestions…

I was thinking 10lb braid…

Anyone using mono leaders with braid main line?

Fireline, Spiderwire Stealth, Power Pro.
You will get different answers from different people.

As for a mono leader, there is a conversation about that Here. It seems that NO is the answer.

Ron

Power Pro or Fireline is all i run when you have a 5 dollar bill hanging out behind ya im not going to loose it b/c i got a little snag up

i think i have 12 pound on mine i have yet to break it and it is a little forgiving on the toothy critters that seem to always bite mine instead of eye’s.

I like 15/4 Power-Pro with no leader. I’ve also used Fire Line in the past but I prefer the rounded shape of the Power-Pro. I’ve heard good things about SpiderWire Stealth (never used it though). The good thing about the braids and super lines is the smaller line diameter with higher strength. With the small diameter, you can get your cranks deeper with less line out.

If you’re a guy who likes mono, Trilene XT might be a good line to use. No need to go heavier than 10 pound test in my opinion.

One very important thing to remember if you are going to use a non-stretch super line for cranks is to get a pole with as much action as possible. Super lines don’t stretch like mono so the only give you will have is in the pole itself and you need to have at least some give. Many people have gone back to using fiberglass rods for cranks with super line just to have the extra play. I believe there are newer fiberglass rods on the market just for this purpose. I have a fiberglass rod and a 7’6″ IM7 graphite rod with lots of action. Also keep in mind that super lines, especially braided super lines, are very hard on equipment. The line is advertised to be stronger than steel but what they don’t tell you that it also cuts better than steel. Braided line acts like a continuous saw blade on your pole’s ferrels so make sure you check them often.

Eyehunter

I’ll be the odd man out here. I still use 10lb XT. I’ve tried the super braids but still prefer the mono. The braids give you great feel, but I’ve always caught more fish with mono. I think that running power pro with a mono leader would probably be a good compromise if you want the best of both worlds.

As far as snags go, I loose very few cranks over the course of a year, just drive back behind the snag and about 98% of them come right out. Gander has an extendible pole snag remover that works wonders too.

My vote would be Spire Wire Stealth. 10 lb. I also have Fireline 10lb, but prefer the Stealth. I tie direct to a cross-lok snap, no mono leader. I use these lines on both my planer board trolling and longline trolling. The no stretch in the Super Line is awesome for feel and sensitivity. I get my “shock” absorption through longer rods. I troll with 8.5 to 10.5 foot rods. Just remember to have your drags set correctly and it is an awesome set up.

Ditto what Rob said about the drag. You also won’t need to set the hook when pulling cranks with the superlines. It should be nicely embedded already. With the superlines having little give to them, you may pull the hooks out of the mouth on a hook-set.

Good posts guys. I’ve used both Mono and Braid for trolling before but wanted to see what people are up to these days. I just bought a couple trolling rigs, long rods with the counters etc. Once I spool them up, I don’t want to change things too much so I can get some consistency from my line counter. That’s another reason for braid IMO. However, I have always tried to use mono if possible.

Lip Ripper, what in particular do you like about stealth?

Is 150yds on a reel enough (with mono backing of course) or do I go to 300?

II use to be a die hard Fireline guy, still am for other presentations. However, I tired Stealth a few times trolling and loved it. In my opinion the sensitivity isn’t quite as good, but very close to Fireline, but it doesn’t cut into the reel and line at all like Fireline does and spools up much better on the reel. I have a lot less issues with the line coming off the reel with Stealth. The strength and durability of the line seems to be comparable if not better also. This is where I did not like Power Pro in my short stint trying it.

I just bought 2 Shimano Tekotas and but the mono backer on and spooled it with 150 yards of Stealth and it appears to be enough. Remember that is 450 feet. The longest I have long lined is 200 yards. I still have at least half to go, so I ‘m not worried but will have to see. I know through out the year I will lose some of that, but I picked up the Stealth for under $10. If I just have to re-spool the Stealth at the beginning of every year, I’m not worried about dropping $10. Plus I like to keep my line almost maxed out on my LC reels because it seems to keep them a little more accurate on the LC readout. There is a point if you spool enough line on it, the line cpoounter read out is dead on to the actual. This is important to me to keep my precise trolling depths and curves of my lures and to know exactly how deep they are running. I hope this makes sense.

It all makes sense…except for the 200 yds long lining…I’m guessing you meant 200 ft?

No, I think I saw somewhere that Lip Ripper could get a #8 Shad Rap down to 40′ with 600′ of line out.

EJ

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It all makes sense…except for the 200 yds long lining…I’m guessing you meant 200 ft?

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Yes 200 feet

powerpro 10/2, no leader tie the line directly to a snap, then to the crankbait.
This stuff gets a lot deeper than similar test mono.