Fish coming unbuttoned

I have just started leadcore trolling, actually only my third time using it. I am using a Perigrine 5 footer PC501LC with 5 foot leader of fireline, and am having a heck of a time with fish coming unbottoned. From right after the strike, half way to the boat, and right at the boat. I have not been setting the hook just keep steady pressure on the fish. I would say on average 3 out of 7 fish are coming unbottoned. I have sharpened hooks to see if it helps. It`s getting fustrating.

Any advice of what I am doing wrong? Or need to change?

Wacky! I run the same setup on my short rods, maybe a leader that is 2x as long as yours, but I don’t seem to have this problem. In fact, I was out yesterday, and I don’t think I had any fish come unbuttoned at all.

Is the rod in the holder or are you hand-holding it? (I prefer to put the rod in the holder and let the strike and boat motion do all the hook setting)

How fast are you trolling? (I have been running between 2 and 3, yesterday 2.0-2.2)

Have you tried a mono leader yet? On pool 8 on the 4th, the trolling bite seemed to be producing short hits so I changed to an 8lb mono leader. I believe with the stretch mono offers, it gives the hooks time to do there thing before pulling the bait away with out any stretch to the line. Keep in mind though, it is a sacrifice when you hang up using mono

Bret

I’m with Bret on the mono leader! The lines and rod length are working against you with little to no give or shock absorption to soften the pull. Also, try replacing your trailing hook(at least) with a Mustad Triple-Grip. This method helped Gary Parsons and Keith Kavajecz, the years they contracted with Berkely to use only Fireline on their rods, to win record breaking amounts of money. What happens is the hooks tear a large hole in their mouth and the hook unbuttons.

Bob

Try setting your drag loose enough so that a decent-sized fish will take out a bit of line when it hits. This should help prevent some missed hits. I also prefer to use mono with lead. For one it acts as a shock absorber, albeit a small one, and also when I get snagged up I just tighten it up and break the crank off and keep on going. I don’t like stopping when I’m trolling snaggy areas. It just takes too long to get the lines reset. It’s hard to do that with fireline without breaking the lead first.

Tom one of the thing I do when I’m running lead is to loosen the drag all of the way & set the clicker on the line counter. When a fish hit’s it pulls drag & the clicker makes noise. When I pull it out of the rod holder, I just tighten up the drag & the fight is on.

ill second that. that is the same method i use and its been working pretty good. also you may take a look at the angle of your rods in the holder ,and what your rod does when you remove them.also if you are not already try keeping the boat moving foward slowly as bring in the fish trythat will help to not givr them any slack and also not tangle your other rods if using mukltiple rods. good luck

I’ll jump on the bandwagon, with the above. Use the drag loosening as a shock absorber of sorts and the clicker as a fish alarm!

Eric

I read this thread before going out early Saturday morning… I felt like I’d been missing hits on my crankbaits while trolling (I run fireline on these poles) so after I read this, I loosened up the drag considerably and it really did make a difference!

Thanks guys…

My 10ft long line trolling rods with fireline I don`t have the problem of fish coming unbutoned. My drag is always set loose so just the cliker is holding the line while trolling.

I am wondering if it isn`t just the leadcore feeling so heavy ( not really fun pulling fish in on leadcore ) as I bring in a fish that I am putting to much pressure on them? Pulling in an 18 inch fish is like pulling in a stick. Smaller fish don`t even know they are there.

I am still learning. Lead core is sooooooo speed sensative…..

Tom, I may be in the minority, but I do not have my drags set that loose. I believe that you need some resistance from the line to drive those hooks home.

Think about it this way….you see two crankbaits hanging from the ceiling. One is attached to a long coil of line that flows freely (ultraloose drag) and one is attached to directly the ceiling. You grab both baits and run away. Which bait gets its hooks driven deeper into your hand?

I think that a semi-loose drag IS important when fighting a fish, especially a big girl. However, I think that there has to be some backbone, from the rod AND the reel to get the hooks home in the first place.

My drags, on both my long line and my ledcore setups, offer resistance…I can get line off the reels with a smoooth, steady pull, but I do have to pull to get line off. Feel free to ask me about this next time we’re both at Everts and I’ll show you what I mean.

(I’ll be down tomorrow morning with my 7 mo old, just to enjoy some baitshop talk. Drop me a PM if you wnt me to bring a rod/reel with me)

God, I love the bait shop talk!!! I actually go there and buy soda like I used to buy beers in the the bar even for customers that come in.

Mark

This has been bugging me all day and I wanted to set things straight. My post above makes it sound like I’ve been doing this for years. Not so. I just bought leadcore rods/reels this spring and have done it 5 times or so.

But I did have hook % problems early on that improved once I set the drag loose. I’m no expert yet, but this has worked for me so far. I found this info on IDA. I was just passing on what I’d learned to date and read on the site.

Whew! That feels better! Take it for what it’s worth.

Eric

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I believe that you need some resistance from the line to drive those hooks home.

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That makes sense.

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Is the rod in the holder or are you hand-holding it?

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About fifty fifty. trolling the ends of wing dams I am usually holding it. Working larger areas it is in the rod holder. It dosen`t seem to matter weather I am holding it or in the rodholder. I`ll try tightening up the drag a smidg.

Thanks

When I run my lead I always use fireline! My father in-law only uses steel leaders And hes always out fishing me

You cant break leadcore!!! If it broke you should have checked it before you put it in the water!!

I do the same as the most of you, I alway check my drags on all rods and make sure you can pull line out.. 90% of the time the hook is set when you pick the rod up out of the holder. Are you setting the hook and ripping it out?