I am new to using leadcore. Just picked some up with new line counter reels. I have mono backing on the reel now, but what is the best way to connect the mono and leadcore line? What type of knot is being used?
Thanks
A blood knot is what I was told but because I suck at tying those I bought the smallest barrel swivels I could find and as long as you are paying attention I have had no problems getting them through the first eye on the rod or the line guide by the reel. Not the right way but it works well.
One other thing I didn’t know at first was to slide the nylon of the leadcore up, break off 3-4″ of lead and then tie your knot.
Here is a link found in the articles section. There is alot of other great info there to.
http://www.idofishing.com/forum/showflat.php/Number/759159/fpart/1/the-art-and-science-of-trolling-with-leadcore-line
Back to back uni knots are easy to tie and have always worked well for me. I do use a very small barrel swivel between the lead and the leader on the other end though.
Make sure to put the same amounts of backing, leadcore, and lead on both rods/reels. Easier to put both of them in zone if they are matched.
Willis knot hands down….
http://www.chitown-angler.com/1tackle/fishingknots/willisk.pdf –
Agreed on the Willis knot. What they dont tell you is tie yourself two large overhand loops first up on the leaded portion then pull 6in. of lead out, insert your mono, then carefully slide you loops down where indicated and cinch the loops tight.
Willis not is the best and easiest for me . 
X4 on the willis knot however I don’t tie the 2nd overhand into it – just a single overhand an inch or so up from the end of the braided sheath.
barc 
Barrel swivel
Barrel swivel X3
If you are asking about connecting the backing to the leadcore my answer is forget about backing. Get a 47 series reel and put all 10 colors on.
If you are asking about connecting the leadcore to a leader I would suggest using a small barrel swivel that can be reeled all the way onto the reel.
I’m assuming you are asking about backing as your questions suggested.
What pound test leadcore does everyone use on the river ?
I switched from 18 to 27 for salmon fishing last year or the year before and haven’t went back. I didn’t see enough of a change in depth or spool filling to make too much of a difference. Besides, I like a little more abbrasion resistance and I now have chance to get back some of my cranks that I may have lost before.
Willis knot when connecting mono to lead core.
Albright knot when connecting superlines to lead core.
Every lake is different, but for the lakes I fish, (Lake
Wisconsin & Wisconsin River) I like to wind on a full spool of 30# Spiderwire Stealth or Power Pro onto a Diawa 47LC followed by seven colors of lead core. This helps tremendously when it comes to getting spooled by snags on windy days.
More than once I’ve snagged other peoples lines and ended up pulling a full core off the bottom of the lake from someone who got spooled.
Willis knot is great when you don’t need a swivel. A single knot is fine with mono, sometimes I’ll run a double with superline “just to be sure”. We will often run 50-100 foot mono leaders in the clear waters of lake Michigan for kings… In that case, line twist isn’t as big of a deal and I don’t want to have to reel a swivel that far before I get to the lure…
On the other hand, when I fish walleyes, I will tie a very small barrel swivel to a short (4-10 foot) mono (or even superline) leader. This helps greatly to reduce line twist. Example. A shad rap won’t twist line much when it’s running straight, right?? Imagine that SR when it picks up a piece of weed, leaf, twig, etc. Generally it spins like crazy until you reel it up. By that time, your leader is totally twisted and kinked. Better to go with a barrel swivel in this instance.
Mike
X2 I agree!
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If you are asking about connecting the backing to the leadcore my answer is forget about backing. Get a 47 series reel and put all 10 colors on.
If you are asking about connecting the leadcore to a leader I would suggest using a small barrel swivel that can be reeled all the way onto the reel.
I’m assuming you are asking about backing as your questions suggested.
I have mine setup similar to what Joel mentioned above. I will run 100 yards of 20# stealth as backing, and then load a full 10 colors of lead. I have not yet spooled the entire reel on a snag, but I have been close enough that had I not had 100 yards of backing, I would have been spooled.
I think 6# is a little light for backing, IMO. I don’t think you need to run the heavier lead either, but I know some guys do.
6lb mono is way to lite.
Consider using 20lb or something close to it.
I’ve been using 18lb lead core for five or six years now and have never felt the need to go any heavier. We use 18lb lead core to troll for king salmon on Lake Michigan also and it works just fine.
I run 27 lb core, but 18 would work ok too. I use mine double duty for salmon and walleye, so I use bigger 47’s (and in the case of full cores, use the 57’s) and put 150-300 yards of 30# power pro for backing. All my setups have: pp backing – certain length of core – leader… Mainly becuase kings are in the mix. If it were walleye only, I generally find myself (usually) running 4-5 colors max, so you could probably get away with a full core with no backing, or even just 5 colors with/without backing. I know some guys that do this with 27’s, but I’ve never run core on 27’s -> don’t know how much will fit sans backing…..(although I’d recommend some sort of backing -pp or ~20lb mono).
Whatever works – walleye generally don’t take drag. BUT… ocassionally you hook into a musky (or a crib/log/rock), and if you want to keep your lure/line, you might consider backing.
That being said, if I snag up while running multiple core lines, stopping and trying to unsnag usually means more trouble than its worth. Just point your rod, grab the spool, and hope those hooks rip out of the snag.
Here is a clip from LM – It shows how to properly fight a core fish… Don’t pump, just a steady retrieve to keep the bow/slack out of the heavy line… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSL9X1xR4GU
– They often hit with 10 colors out, and peel off another 100 yards of line in a hearbeat. In this case, backing is critical. I think this is a dipsy bite, not core, but there are some screamin’ drags – fun!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3MVNRV6IqE
whittsend – that first link needs to be fixed.
Good video in the second one.
About pumping the rod – I totally agree when fishing walleyes. Definitely don’t pump the rod.
Salmon on the other hand, I don’t think you would ever get them in the boat if you didn’t pump and reel to gain line back.
Salmon on lead core – now that’s fun! 
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whittsend – that first link needs to be fixed.
Good video in the second one.About pumping the rod – I totally agree when fishing walleyes. Definitely don’t pump the rod.
Salmon on the other hand, I don’t think you would ever get them in the boat if you didn’t pump and reel to gain line back.
Salmon on lead core – now that’s fun!
Thanks – that link should be fixed now…
You’d be surprised with salmon… Pumping a leadcore rod is the surest way to lose a salmon and get your a$$ chewed by the capn. 
Give them an inch of slack line, and they’ll take a mile and/or throw the hook. Steady retrieves!!
Salmon on leadcore is a blast, mostly because core flat out catches fish. A lot of seasoned salmon guys will “pass” the rod to newbies, though, because the fight is somewhat deadened (compared to pp, wire dispys, etc) and because it generally takes forever to get a fish it as seen in my first video. 10 colors = 100 yards of line + ~ 100 feet of backing to the planer board + ~50 feet of leader + whatever amount of line the salmon decided to peel off during those big runs… So you already start with potentially close to a 200 yard line deficit to make up… Takes a while!!! Now you see why we load 150-300 yds of 30# pp backing behind our core!!
Just an FYI – I’m not new to salmon fishing with lead core.
It’s common for us to run 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 or 8 colors of lead on different rods. (I don’t much care to run full cores and never run double core)
The rods we use for salmon fishing are much different than those used to run lead core for walleye and we definitely do pump them in. Not hard pumping mind you but a gently pump up and quick reel down. If we didn’t, we would spend all day fighting one fish.
We do not lose many fish either.
We use 9-1/2 to 10′ rods for salmon and I generally use an 8 footer or a shorty for walleyes.
Everyone does it different though and if it works for you, why change it.
p.s. – Good video’s! They’ve got me in the mood to get out and catch some kings.
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p.s. – Good video’s!
Right on!!
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Just an FYI – I’m not new to salmon fishing with lead core.
It’s common for us to run 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 or 8 colors of lead on different rods. (I don’t much care to run full cores and never run double core)…
After your backing, why would you not want to put on as much lead core as will fit on a particular reel (leaving enough room for you leader)?
NC –
Because those reels are generally dedicated for salmon fishing. And when we salmon fish, we usually let out all of our lead, let out some more backing, then attach the backing to a planer board, and get the line away from the boat/riggers, etc… We need that many different setups to be able to switch things up and target different depths. We never attach leadcore to a planer board release, unless you want broken lead.
To add confusion, we oftentimes run 2 colors off of a downrigger. Called an SWR, or secret weapon rig…
When walleye fishing, I’d agree that most of the time you can just fill the reel with lead, then let out as little or as much as you need (unless you want to run lead off of boards).
Joel — BTW, you should run full cores!!! We usually kick 
on full cores!
Thanks Wittsend. I heard about that problem with the lead core and boards. I have not had any experience with running boards, but figure that in the near future I would be. It is going to be a tough sell to the wife having a different reel setup for all the different lengths of lead core for trolling boards. Is there a good compromise option?
I suppose I could use my non-lead core setup for the boards and just attach snap weights (just more stuff to remove on hookups . Then leave the lead core rods for the non-board lines.
You shouldn’t need that many leadcore setups unless you plan on salmon fishing. All of my walleye leadcore fishing is done without boards, just run right from the back of the boat. Simply run 2, 3, or maybe 4 core rigs (4 at the risk of tangles) off the back. You can add longlines into the mix, too, which should stay higher than the core and hopefully avoid tangles.
Start with 2-3 leadcore setups to be filled with 5 colors (or whatever you can fit on a 27 or 47, with backing) and go from there. That should serve you very well indeed.
Leadcore off of boards can be a pain sometimes, and I find it easiest to run boards with core in the open water environments of Lake Michigan. If you start with boards for walleyes, keep it simple and run cranks or maybe spinner rigs. No need to complicate matters more than necessary. Just get the hang of using leadcore, then expand from there.
Note that when using core, going faster will make the bait RISE. Slower will make it sink. So if the bottom comes up, increase speed so the baits rise further off bottom to avoid snags. Somewhat counter intuitive if you aren’t used to using core.
Good luck!
Thanks for the practical advice – sounds like a good approach. How many colors should fit on a 27 sized spool? I’d like to be able to get down to 25′ (maybe 30). I’m thinking the 27′ might be a little boarder line, but I like it’s smaller size.
Whit mentioned tangles. Avoid them at all costs. It can become an aggravating and costly situation if it happens. Lead doesn’t untangle easily and you can start loosing a lot of line when you have to cut to untangle. I had a big Steelhead tangle 2 leadcore lines and 1 long line once. I think I took 2 colors off each leadcore reel just to save myself some sanity. I started off trying to untangle it.
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