I can’t get to the search in my iPhone.
Questions are this.
1. What typical rod should one be using, like action and length?
2. What is the calculation for how many feet of LC per depth? or does that depend on the crank bait being used.
I just posted a fishing report that will answer your questions:
Open Water Trolling Report Mille Lacs Lake 6.22.2013
Lead Core Trolling Rod: If I’m long lining a lead core line out the back of the boat, I prefer an 8-9’ trolling rod. I like a soft rounded tip as well. When you troll with lead core, there will be a bow in your line. The soft rounded tip will act as a cushion as your boat surges in the waves, which will allow your crankbait to run more consistent and help with depth control. The bank should be heavier than your planer board rod which will help carry the weight of the leadcore. Handles in the 10-12 inch range will help you stabilize the rod.
The longer lead core trolling rods also help me keep the lines away from the boat. This is important when you’re reeling a fish on another line and it will help you avoid tangles.
Regular lead core line sinks 5′ per color when trolling 2.0 mph.
Sufix 832 lead core line sinks 7′ per color when trolling 2.0 mph.
It does not matter what crank bait you are pulling but you do need to add the depth curve of your crankbait for your leader.
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It does not matter what crank bait you are pulling but you do need to add the depth curve of your crankbait for your leader.
I would agree with everything except this last statement and that may be the difference between open water trolling and contour depth trolling.
I’ve been using the new Sufix 832 Advanced lead core to catch walleyes on Lake Wisconsin for more than a month now and I can tell you that the lure you pull, does indeed make a difference. I’ve also used regular lead core for no less than 5 years before Sufix Advanced lead core was available.
For instance, in 15′ of water, the difference between a #7 Smash Shad and a #7 Jointed Shad Rap is usually about 5-7′ of line out in order to tick the bottom. Granted that’s not a big difference but that difference would be even greater if we were to compare a #11 Floating Rapala to a #7 Jointed Shad Rap. And if we were fishing these baits in 20′ of water, that difference would be even greater still.
That slight difference in contour depth trolling can also make a difference in the number of fish you catch.
This small amount of line out between different lures is also why its a good idea to use line counter reels when pulling lead core. The line counters definitely allow us to be more precise in our depth control when fishing with lead core.
Like I said above, it may not make any difference in open water trolling situations like what Brad does on Mil Lacs, but when your trying to fine tune exactly where your bait is when contour trolling, there is indeed a difference.
Riddle me this about lead-core, what advantage does it have if any in fishing Great Lakes salmon, trout and walleye, absent initial cost, when a) downriggers are an option for behind and under the boat presentations, and b) snap on or in-line weights are available to add onto planer board lines for horizontal presentations?
Lead core line is very speed sensitive allowing you to adjust the depth of your lures by simply speeding up or slowing down (just like down riggers and snap weights). If your marking fish on your sonar deeper than your lures, simply slow down which will allow your lead core to sink.
The biggest difference comparing to down riggers and snap weights is your lead core line will snake around back there as you encounter waves or as you turn your boat. You lead core line will move up and down and side to side a it follows your boat path. I feel this action will sometimes trigger fish to strike a lure versus being pulled directly behind the boat with downriggers or snapweights. Many guys use it when fishing close to structure because it rounds better and again, it follows you. Fishing with braid or mono whether it’s attached to something or not, will cut corners and your lure may bottom out on that piece of structure.
It also allows you to get your line further away from the boat. This is important when you are targeting fish higher in the water column and your boat may be spooking fish due to motor noise or boat shadows.
Using snap weights on a planer board can be effective but they are in some cases almost too speed sensitive and can be inconsistent. You have to troll straight lines otherwise as you turn your inside planer board with the snap weight attached will sink drastically and may bottom out. Simply put, lead core line has better depth control.
The last thing is ease of use. When fishing with lead core you do not have to attach/detach anything when your long lining out the back.
Lead core is very versatile, consistent and easy way to control your depth of your lure. With the use of planer boards you can get it away from your boat. Some guys attach it right to the board but you need to be careful because you can damage the lead core line. This is where segmented lead core comes in. You have a leader then splice in your lead core (3-10 colors) then tie that onto braid or mono which goes back to your reel. You then attach the planerboard right after the lead core on the braid or mono line. Only drawback is that you are pretty much locked into that lead core depth (3, 4 or 5 or 10 colors). You can gain some depth by attaching the planer board further away from the lead core line but it’s hard to be consistent.
Leadcore follows the direction of the boat much better than snap weights.
Leadcore can be segmented for great lakes fishing, and attached to planer boards to get farther away from the boat for those fish higher in the water column.
At typical Walleye depths, you can still feel a bait vibrating on a leadcore rod, Can you do that on a downrigger?
I would always rather get a crankbait snagged on a stump with leadcore than with a downrigger. At least if something breaks, it’s a rod or line and not my transom.
That being said, if I were fishing salmon 150′ down, a downrigger would be the way to go.
Personally, I don’t like having to take snap weights off while fighting a fish. Just one more time during the fight where you stop reeling and allow that fish more of a chance to escape. This is why I run inline weights when I run harnesses instead of snap weights.
All excellent answers to the using lead core for salmon.
The biggest reason why so many people use it for salmon fishing is simply because it works.
Like Brad mentioned above, lead core has a tendency to move up and down as well as back and forth in the water column. Especially on the Great Lakes where various currents can be encountered depending on how deep you’re actually fishing. That sway of the line in the water column puts tremendous fish catching action on the lure trailing the lead core.
There’s a reason why so many charter boat captains use it. And that reason is because it just plain catches fish.
One other item that hasn’t been mentioned yet. With segmented lead core, you can still attach weights to get your lead core setup even deeper while fishing for salmon. They make weights specifically for this purpose.
Torpedo Divers
When salmon fishing on Lake Michigan, I typically carry rods loaded with 2 colors, 3 colors, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 & a full core rod. This is quite common among hard core salmon fishermen on Lake Michigan. A few even carry a rod loaded with two full cores of lead. A close friend of mine claims this is his best rod during the heat of summer in July & August.
When fishing segmented lead core rods on the Great Lakes, we always let out all the lead on a given rod. If it’s a 5 color setup, all 5 colors are always deployed when using that setup. Same goes for any of the other lead core setups in this situation.
thanks for the info guys.
So another newbie question.
Just looking for a compairable rod here…a rod like this?
http://anglersguidehq.com/compre-83-cast-trolling-medium-fast-medium-10-20-lb-line-wt-1-4-1-oz-lure-wt/
Here comes the dumb question for the day. 
You use a leader to the lure right? braid or mono or personal preference.
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Here comes the dumb question for the day.
I prefer a six foot leader of 20# Seaguar fluoro carbon INVIZX line.
For rods, I use two Jason Mitchell medium heavy, 8′ telescoping rods and one 4′ Peregrine shorty rod. For what I do, these rods work quite well.
Brad may very well be using longer rods since he’s pulling lead behind planer boards.
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Here comes the dumb question for the day.
Yes – you always use a leader when trolling with lead core. Whether it’s braid or mono depends on your trolling scenario. If I’m targeting suspended fish on lead core, I like to use mono or fluorocarbon. The stretch in the line helps when you are fighting a bigger fish.
If I’m contour or structure trolling, I prefer to us Suffix 832 lead core due to it’s sensitivity and I use a braid leader to keep it sensitive. This helps me to know if my crankbait touches any structure or if I pick up debris. 
I apologize for commendeering this post, but how are you Great Lakes guys rigging your boats? 2 rods for each segment of core? If not, how are you getting the depth that you want with less than that (I’m more concerned about your board lines and trying to keep the core aware from the release)? Let’s assume that you’re keeping it practical and sticking with depths of 60′ or less. That could add up over time.
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I apologize for commendeering this post, but how are you Great Lakes guys rigging your boats? 2 rods for each segment of core?
I’m not sure I understand exactly what your asking but will try to answer as best I can. I have one rod rigged with 2 colors of lead. Between the lead core and my 50# Power Pro backing, is a 6′ section of 30# fluorocarbon line. This section of line is what I snap my board to.
We deploy all the lead core, snap the board to the fluorocarbon line and then deploy the board out to the side. The two color rod is always deployed first as this will most likely be my shallowest setup and will be the furthest away from the boat.
On the other side of the boat, I will do the exact same thing with a 3-color setup.
In the dark, I may run a flat line on the outside instead of a 3 color.
We now have a board running on each side of the boat. If its dark out, thats all the boards I will run. If the suns up, I will deploy a 4 color setup out next on one side & a 5 color out next on the other side.
Before putting out any board lines, I will have already deployed my down riggers and my dipsy rods. So with the current setup, I would now have 8 rods deployed. That’s my typical spread although sometimes we sneak in another deeper board line as well.
As the sun goes up, if the high lines (boards) are not producing, we switch out those rods to a six or seven color setup.
If other lines are not producing, we switch them out as well to a 8 color and even a full core.
The shallowest setups deployed are always pulled by the board the furthest away from the boat. This way, when a fish hits, it tends to go over the top of the deeper line and gets reeled in behind the boat. Some fish will create issues though and you just have to deal with it.
The object is always to find the depth where most of the active fish are at. To do that, we try to cover not just width but depth with our spreads. (Think both horizontal & vertical coverage)
I always carry a 2nd rod with 2 colors of lead core on it. This is my SWR rod and goes on one of the downriggers. (SWR stands for Secret Weapon Rig) We can go into that more later.
Besides carrying two rods with 2 colors of lead core, I generally don’t carry two of any other setup unless I know something has been really hot. Some years the six color setup is hot. If I know that ahead of time, I will definitely carry two on my boat.
I hope that helps but if not, keep asking questions.
I might add this is how I do it on Lake Michigan.
Fishermen on Lake Superior most likely have there own program.
On Lake Michigan, those who fish northern waters along Wisconsin’s Lake Michigan shoreline tend to do it a bit differently than those who fish the Wisconsin shoreline on the southern end. (pound balls or snap weights instead of lead core is common)
The best way to learn is to hop aboard someones boat who does this kind of fishing on a regular basis in the area you want to learn how to fish.
That about answers it. I’ve always tried to think multi-tasking if at all possible and could swap downrigger sticks with planer board (either in-line or main lined) if nothing more than for the sake of economics, space considerations being second. Obviously dips would have their own sticks. With leadcore, there’s another half dozen sticks to cover most applicable upper depth ranges. That’s a lot of rods.
Yup, its a lot of rods.. But some days core is all that is catching fish. I’ve had a number of zero fish days on the riggers while core is hammering fish. Usually worth it, I would say that leadcore probably has taken at least half the salmon in my boat over the last few years. SWR usually outperforms the other rigger, also…
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