Pound-test flouro leaders for smallish pike?

Hello all,

I know I’ve seen it on here before, but a search found almost everything for walleyes during ice fishing or pike/muskies in open water. So I’m not quite sure what to do…What pound test should I use for fishing lakes here in central MN that don’t have much for big pike (low-30’s being about the biggest to expect)?

I use heavy-duty stuff (100 lb or more) for when targeting 40” plus fish, but on these little fish, that seems like overkill. I’m thinking 20# or thereabouts, but the stuff ain’t cheap, so I’d like some expert advice before pulling the trigger.

Thanks!

If you’re actually targeting pike I’d go with 30lb Blue Label. 40lb gets harder to tie. You could go lighter, but you’ll have to watch for scuffs more often.

If you’re walleye fishing with pike in the area, 15lb Blue Label holds up very well. I didn’t get bit off once last winter on a tip up or rattle reel.

Another leader that is almost as tough is Seaguar STS…..it’s about half the price of Blue Label. You’d be happy with it too.

I use a ton of it for Great Lakes fishing and some has made it into my ice fishing arsenal. I can’t say there’s a big difference between the two.

It’s $12-$20 for 100 yards depending on what size you want. Most other leader material comes in 25-50 yard spools.

https://www.amazon.com/Seaguar-Salmon-Fluorocarbon-Leader-Fishing/dp/B00GZJPCWG?th=1&psc=1

I like 30 lb Blue Label for any size northern. Don’t horse them they can bite through and check the leader after every fish big or small.

Seaguar 20# Blue Label leader material on most of my tip ups.

15 gives pretty good protection but will still allow for bite offs if not careful. If targeting smaller pike 25 or 30 lb should work well. Thin enough to handle easily and still be a “light” leader, but do a good job at preventing bite offs if you’re careful.

Sometimes I think we give fish too much credit for being line shy. Used to fish a lake for walleye that had more snake northerns than walleye. Started running half my tip ups with 25 lb fluoro and didn’t notice a difference in walleye catch rate between that and my standard 6 lb mono leaders. Water was relatively clear.

curleytail wrote:

Sometimes I think we give fish too much credit for being line shy. Used to fish a lake for <strong class=”ido-tag-strong”>walleye that had more snake northerns than walleye. Started running half my tip ups with 25 lb fluoro and didn’t notice a difference in <em class=”ido-tag-em”>walleye catch rate between that and my standard 6 lb mono leaders. Water was relatively clear.

curleytail:

I agree a 100%!!! I’ve been running 20# for years now, although I do carry 10# for more finesse situations, generally with panfish. I was lead to believe from my saltwater friends that braid to floro leaders should be of the same lb. test… but when I snagged my jigs on the bottom back home, I always broke off the 10# at the back to back uni. Well in FL my guides were always using 20#, so I figured what the heck, I’d try to beef up the floro and see if it helped with the breakoffs on the snagged jigs.

My experiement started in May during the walleye season fishing with my four classmates from home on one of our deep clear lakes. We are all pretty much the caliber of fisherman, so my hope was not to get outfished by a large margin!!! I often do things out of the ordinary, until primetime comes just to be that guy. I never really felt like I was getting outfished using the 20#, so I’ve just kept using it.

I’ve tested it on Rainy where northern hookups/biteoff opportunities occur much more often and considering we are fishing for a $5 bill per guy during that trip, I have usually been the winner because of it. That’s my two cents… I rarely carry any heavier, although in my boat I do carry 80 for musky.

Mark

Thanks for the replies, all. Yeah, I fish a lot of 100 lb. stuff for pike in lakes with BIG fish, and we catch walleyes often using it, so I know the fish can definitely get over some thick rope.

And yes, these are pike-only rigs. Catch rates on these lakes are about 100 pike for every non-pike (walleye or bass), at least for me.

I have 15lb PLine on all my Beaver Dams. Don’t remember the last time I broke, but rarely catch anything over 32″.