Lead vs 3-way

I know each system has it’s own time and place, but what are some of the obvious reasons why you prefer lead core over a 3 way rig of stick baits? Is it more than just being able to use larger lip cranks and get a different action of the bait? or is it easier to cover water? or can the dropper weight spook skittish fish? I really enjoy 3-waying and have lead cored in the past, but I haven’t made the investment yet in all of the gear. Any added info from all the great people on this site would be greatly appreciated.

I generally lead core w/ cranks and 3-way w/ live bait rigs. just my two cents.

You’re right – lead core and 3 way rigging crankbaits each have their time and place. Throw in snap weights, jet divers and dipsy divers, it gets to be pretty confusing what you should use to get your crankbaits down there. However, the most important thing to remember is to achieve the desired depth.

Now back to your question – leadcore vs. 3-ways using stick baits. Here are some general rules that I will follow:

I will use leadcore:

1) When fishing calmer conditions (no wind). This will help get my crankbait away from the boat and reduce spooking fish in regard to boat shadows and boat motor noise.

2) When fishing water clarity that is good. It helps to prevents spooking fish versus using a weight in front of the crankbait.

3) When fish are suspended higher in the water column. While trolling, using leadcore will allow you to move up and down the water column a little easier than 3-way rigging.

I typically use 3 way rigging with crankbaits:

1) When the water clarity is poor and if there’s a lot of debris in the water. Reeling in 3 colors of leadcore along with a longer leader to check for debris is time consuming.

2) When I’m fishing a lot of structure and I need to feel/keep contact with the bottom. It’s hard to detect the bottom using leadcore line.

3) When I’m fishing rivers and current is present.

Hope this helps!

I wish I could find my old posts on this. I use both, but much prefer leadcore when possible. Here are my main reasons.

Leadcore follows depth contours well.
If you get a snag with leadcore, you’ll likely only loose the crank instead of a crank, a swivel and a big sinker (faster to re-tie unless your whole leader broke off).

I like the way leadcore follows the boat, meaning you don’t get the big bows in the line like you do when turning a corner and trolling mono.

You can troll suspended fish a lot easier with leadcore.

You can use your leadcore in more situations (you typically don’t want to run 3-way rigs to troll 3mph in the middle of summer).

That being said, the only time I prefer 3-way rigs is during periods of high flow on the river. In the fall though, I can’t think of a more deadly technique than trolling leadcore and stickbaits, it just isn’t always fun letting out 3 colors at 1mph (the lead doesn’t come off the reals the easiest at slow speeds).

Another time I may switch to three ways and cranks is when there’s a lot of junk in the water. Like Brad said, it’s much more efficient to real in 40′ of line to check for weeds, than 3 colors of lead and a 20′ leader.

Leadcore also gives a very subtle rise-fall, snaking-through-the-water action to your bait that 3-ways or snapweights can’t. Sometimes that rise or drop with a speed increase or decrease (or around turns) is enough to trigger bites.

3-ways tend to shine in those situations mentioned above as well as when you really need to follow a tight contour… Such as trolling cranks or rigs tight to the base of a round or irregular shaped dropoff or ledge…. leadcore is a great open water / open basin tactic, or for straight and far running breaks such as on Pepin…

Thanks a lot guys – C ya on the water!

here is some of my thoughts on lead vs 3-way
I will use lead so I can troll fast or slow depending on the mood of the fish. You can speed up to lift or slow down to get crank to desired depth. With lead you can cover more open water and it does follow better increasing your strikes with trolling in the s pattern.3 ways are always in my boat for spring and fall. You can troll slow and you have better feel of the contour your fishing. They work great in rivers, debris will hang up on swivel first instead of crank. I will also troll inside poles with 3 way and outside poles with lead at 1.8 to 2.2 mph. just my thoughts