Questions on Lines

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Speedy
Posts: 40
Joined: Thu Nov 17, 2022 9:45 pm
Species: Trout/Salmon

Questions on Lines

Post by Speedy »

Remember the old 3 Stooges movies where they were tied back to back and told “Point Right”? Well that’s Me/Myself/and I. I could use some of your expert advice. I’m the new guy just starting out trolling. I have a couple new Okuma “Cold Water” reels and some others. I want to start out the season using the best-for-the purpose lines on these reels. Been watching videos on You Tube and most all of the Fishermen give instructions on loading lines for Great Lakes after 4 foot King Salmon. In my dreams. I will be starting out on lakes like Willoughby and Memphremagog and a dozen other in-land lakes all a short tow from my house. Later moving up to Champlain.

Question #1: On the reels it is marked with capacity, 20/420…25/310 etc. Is that using Mono? Mono and braid and Fluro are all different diameter.

Question #2: I installed on one reel 750 ft/250 yds of cheap 20lb test braid as Backing, attached to that 700ft./233 yds of Berkley Trilene 50lb test Braid with a “Uni-Knot” and then to that 6 ft. of Pline Flurocarbon 10 lb test as my Leader. Spool is filled to 1/8” from max. Does that sound OK? I will use lead core on some after the first couple are set up with braid.
Thanks
Speedy
striper192001
Posts: 277
Joined: Thu Jul 19, 2018 8:53 pm
Species: salmon

Re: Questions on Lines

Post by striper192001 »

Speedy......I am gonna let the veteran pros respond on this one and certainly follow. I have one request to add. What is best rod/reel combo for a lead core setup? Still need to add that to the arsenal...

John
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finsntins
Posts: 440
Joined: Mon Mar 23, 2015 4:58 pm
Species: salmon
Location: old forge,ny/little salmon river,mexico,ny

Re: Questions on Lines

Post by finsntins »

ill throw my two cents in and try to answer your questions.the numbers on the reels as far as i know are lb test line for mono and in yards.it should say on the reel what they are,also,most reels will show line diameter,so if you are looking to fill to capacity with braid,if you can find the line diameter of the braid you are looking to use,you should be able to convert over.as far as what line to use all depends on the purpose of the reel.braid is usually used for backing on leadcore and copper setups cause of the smaller diameter of the braid,you can get more backing on the reel and also it doesnt require replacement as often as mono.reels setup for divers,can be all braid or wire.reels for riggers are usually all mono.also reels setup for flatlining stick baits and surface lure are all mono.for the lakes you are looking to fish,you should be able to use 20 series reels for riggers,divers,and flatlining.you dont need high caapcity reels cause you really dont have to worry about a fish ripping off 300' of line off the reel,for the most part!!!in my opinion you should never need more than 300-400' of backing.if you already have 30 series reels to use,i would put heavier mono on for backing just to take up space and then choke it down to what ever lb test you want use and put 200' of that on.saves money and time when its time for replacing.you want to put 30' of mono on after your leadcore or copper.you can run 5-10' of fluoro on for leader,but its really not necessary.as far as rod and reel combo for cores and copper,depends on what boards you are going to run,i cant give you much on what rods to run for in-line boards,as i dont run them and cant stand them,but you will want a longer,limber rod to handle the pull of the in-line boards.especially in rough water.maybe the guys that run in-lines can give you more specific rods to run.either way you go with boards,you want all the rods to be the same length for stacking purposes in your rod holders.for rods using big boards,you can use a med-light rod,usually in the 7-8' range up to 6 colors or 200' of copper,anything bigger than that and you are going to want to go to a med rod cause of the weight of the copper or leadcore.again,make sure all your board rods are the same length for stacking purposes.this is just the way i do things on my boat,i try to keep costs down and keep things as simple as possible.others will have different ways of doing things,just need to get started with general ideas from others and get a program togther that works for you on your boat.it takes many years and many changes to get your boat and gear setup just right!!!!!
Miss B.Haven' sportfishing
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finsntins
Posts: 440
Joined: Mon Mar 23, 2015 4:58 pm
Species: salmon
Location: old forge,ny/little salmon river,mexico,ny

Re: Questions on Lines

Post by finsntins »

also,over on lou,they have a great chart for spooling up copper and lead core in the tackle and techniques section.gives you the size reels and amount of backing you can put on each reel.
Miss B.Haven' sportfishing
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