I used leadcore for the first time in my life yesterday on the St Croix and within the first 20 minutes I caught a nice sauger. Why didn’t I start using this stuff YEARS AGO! 
I also got fish long lining but I really like how you can use small baits like x raps and original floaters down deep. I think I’ll be picking up a few more combos for the boat.
Haha, we have 9 leadcore rods I think. I’m pretty sure that I could use a couple more. If you’re going to get serious about it, get longer rods 9′ and some shorties. The 5’ers would be perfect. Trust me when I tell you that the last thing you want to do is to get 3 or 4 leadcore lines tangled. Just ask Marbleyes how that works.
Took me a few years to jump on the bandwagon as well, but I am absolutely sold on leadcore! Except for those tangles…Your first 4 rod mess is a fun one!
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Took me a few years to jump on the bandwagon as well, but I am absolutely sold on leadcore! Except for those tangles…Your first 4 rod mess is a fun one!
This is exactly why you want a rod, long and short, that will telegraph the movement of the lure. Nothing worse than not knowing a lure is fouled and having it blow out towards the rest of your spread.
Looking at trying leadcore myself.
What leadcore line weight is best 12#,15#or 18# and what brand due you recommend. The Cabelas is out of stock,whats the best substitute?
Thank you for the help.
Suffix 18# for me. Bright colors are nice. Try calling Thorne Bros they should be able to take care of you. 
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Haha, we have 9 leadcore rods I think. I’m pretty sure that I could use a couple more. If you’re going to get serious about it, get longer rods 9′ and some shorties. The 5’ers would be perfect. Trust me when I tell you that the last thing you want to do is to get 3 or 4 leadcore lines tangled. Just ask Marbleyes how that works.
Yes they are a pain in the 
when they get tangled up, but if you take Wimwuen with you just hand the mess to him and he will take care of it. 
It worked pretty good yesterday and caught a couple nice fish.
I’ll have to try it. My cat/musky rod is a 8′ Shimano Talora lead core trolling rod, so I’m already geared up for it even…
Does heavier test lb line mean heavier? deeper running baits? or does it follow the rule of thumb that thicker line means not as deep? Never used lead core but starting to think I’m missing something. 
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Does heavier test lb line mean heavier? deeper running baits?
Leadcore line has the same sink rate for all weights I believe (18# vs. 27#). So with that in mind, it makes sense to run the heavier line. At least I do because my leadcore reels do double duty for Walleye and Salmon.
Keep in mind that heavier line will also take up more space on you’re reel. Most people run either 18# or 27# lead core. Sink rates are about the same with these two.
I’ve run 18# lead core for many years for both walleye & salmon with no significant problems. Some people do like the the heavier lead core line because they feel it gives them an advantage when it comes to getting out of snags.
I was told the lb/test was the outside line covering the lead cord and that all lead cord was the same on the inside.
Yes, the lb test refers to the strength of the dacron coating over the lead. I use 18lb because it’s fine for everything I do. It’s strong stuff, it does have issues kinking up in the reels sometimes, but experience will help prevent that.
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Yes, the lb test refers to the strength of the dacron coating over the lead. I use 18lb because it’s fine for everything I do. It’s strong stuff, it does have issues kinking up in the reels sometimes, but experience will help prevent that.
X2. That’s leadcores biggest downside. Don’t let it backlash and make sure your lures are running true before you get 2-4 rods with leadcore running out the back. One big fish or a foul running plug can twist and ruin a lot of dollars of leadcore.
Ditto what Ruger said > I like wise use mine for both walleye and Salmon fishing.
I have also pulled about the last 10 inches of lead out of the line and then tied on a 15 foot 17# fleurocarbon leader
section, then that to a very good barrel swivel.
When duping walleyes, I go with a 8# to 10# fleuro about 3 foot to the crank bait behing the barrel swivel. SR 5 and 7’s do well for me with this set up. Other cranks to for that matter. (all the rules change when going after Da Salmon)..
Not sure what the others here are using on the terminal end. But for me it does make a difference. 
just my .02$
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(all the rules change when going after Da Salmon)..
At least 60# swivels for salmon. I can tell you that a big King will make short work of your 20# snaps. I learned that the hard way.
I too am trying leadcore for the first time this year, only tried it a little bit to this point. A question came up between a buddy and I the other afternoon, we were wondering first off how many fish are spooked by a bottom bouncer, and second could a lindy or spinner rig be run behind leadcore? Maybe with a splitshot just under the barrel swivel to help put that part on the bottom?
You can run anything that you want behind leadcore, so go ahead and experiment. You can also run core off of boards, so if you think you have spooky fish, you can give that a shot (you COULD clip the leadcore right into the board release, but you risk damaging your core/line, so I don’t recommend it)
The leadcore will get it to the bottom, but you will need to know how many colors to let out… It probably won’t quite bang bottom like a billed crankbait, so you might need to pay a little more attention to depth/depth changes vs colors out vs speed. I would let the leadcore be your weight, vs trying to add aditional weight.
The other thing is speed… Spinner rigs are generally run much more slowly than summertime cranks, so you will need less ‘core out. You probably won’t be able to run a mix of cranks and rigs very well for this reason. Generally you are better served with bottom bouncers, beadchain sinkers, 3 ways, etc, with spinners but go and try…. Worth a shot!
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You can run anything that you want behind leadcore, so go ahead and experiment. Worth a shot!
A little outside the box thinking is a good thing!
Cranks & rigs can be run together on leadcore.
Rigs or harnesses will tend to run higher than cranks ,which varies by size of blade, # or type of beads or addition of pill or similar type floats.The larger blades tend to give more lift to your rigs so you might need to adjust accordingly by up to half a color + if your targeting specific depths,to see similar depths acheived by cranks.
Run the rigs or harnesses on the outside of your spread if your running in conjunction with cranks & you should be good to go.You need to make sure if your targeting bottom hugging fish or working breaks & your making turns to speed up or possibly run a few feet above the target zone if you like the zig zag approach! Or you might find things on the bottom you do not want to catch or cant bring on board. Good luck in your quest for possibly running multiple applications for core. 
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