re-stringing question

[nacoo]

have to restring my rods today, whats a good line to put on the reels p-line 50? or spider wire stealth 50? or.......:help:

[skipper34]

Does the 50 mean 50 lb. test? If so, what in the world do you fish for in the Great Lakes that needs 50? Tell us what you are fishing for and we may have a suggestion.

[nacoo]

Does the 50 mean 50 lb. test? If so, what in the world do you fish for in the Great Lakes that needs 50? Tell us what you are fishing for and we may have a suggestion.
i believe my reels cam with 50# i do salmon fishing and lake trout with them, my other reels came with p-line 30#, these penn reels are alot bigger

[limige]

20-25# is good for salmon, regular mono like berk big game or ande mono.

for dipsy rods i suggest a braid like power pro...i'm experimenting with 50# spiderwire catfish fusion...it fills the spool nicely and is strong! only used it once out so far.

leadcore rods, i'd suggest power pro backing, followed by 25ft of mono, then your lead and a 25ft mono leader on the end. stick to the 20-25lb stuff again. adding the mono before your backing allows you to attach it to boards and works better for tying a willis knot on the lead.

[skipper34]

Why such heavy line for salmon? 17 lb. is the heaviest I have ever used and 14 is the heaviest I have ever needed, especially now that the salmon are smaller than in years past.

[limige]

how many 20-30# kings have you caught on that line?

how well do you think dipsy's would fair on such line?

how about a 10# king wrapping around your rigger line?

be safe, use 20+ i have 14 on mine and i'm getting ready to respool soon.

imo
mike

[SalmonBum]

I have used nothing more than 15 lb on my rigger Rods for more than 10 yrs. I regret never getting a 30+ lber, but I have many in the 25-29 range on 15 lb. Once you learn to use a rod properly, the less you'll need to rely on the line.

[limige]

well, if your a light line person stick to 14+ but 14 is bare minimum if you ask me...i hate loosing tackle for stupid reasons, much less big fish.

[gomer]

Salmonbum, I take it you don't run any flashers on your rigger rods then...?

[SalmonBum]

If you’re in a tournament and the guy next to you is hooking a few fish on 20 and your hooking twice as many on 12-15 lb (which I have done before), you won't mind loosing a $30 in spoons if you win $5000 on a tournament. I have done some tournaments in May on nothing but 10lb.

Fishing line is alot stronger than most people think. I have caught 50 lb kings on 6 lb test in Alaska, and that is not babying it. Talk to anyone that has fished with me and they will all say the same thing: I am ruthless to that fish on the other end of that line. I’m kinda different than some of the old schooler’s that like to “tire the fish out”. I’m not in this sport to drag in a 20 lb half dead salmon 200 yds, but to battle the fish the minute the rod goes off.

Next time you’re hanging with a buddy, throw on some 4 lb test on a rod\Reel and have one guy load the rod while the other holds the line. You will be amazed on how much pressure you can apply to the rod without stressing the line. Majority of the time, if a fish is gonna break you off on 15, he'll break you off on 20. Don’t take this the wrong way, but if you’re loosing alot of fish in tangles, riggers, etc, You need to re-think your strategy on your fighting techniques to get better control of your victim. Never let the fish control you, but you always control the fish.

[SalmonBum]

Salmonbum, I take it you don't run any flashers on your rigger rods then...?

Normally, I do not run alot of flashers off my riggers, but usually off 3-4 of my diver rods to pull the fish into my rigger spread. If I'm running std 7-8" flashers on a rigger, I will run my 15 lb. But I do have 2 rods with 20 If I am pulling the larger Shooters, which a rarley need to do. My best luck has been on the smaller ones, but that's just me.

[Jason Adam]

how many 20-30# kings have you caught on that line?

how well do you think dipsy's would fair on such line?

how about a 10# king wrapping around your rigger line?

be safe, use 20+ i have 14 on mine and i'm getting ready to respool soon.


Mike, I'm jumping on the boat with you if you're concerned about 20-30lb kings breaking your line. Unless you've been weekending on the Niagra Bar for the last few years, I dont know where your'e finding too many 20-30lbrs.

I never run mono dipseys, and I know bill has none either. Regardless, you're never gonna run a dipsey off a rigger rod anyway, so probably a moot point. If I were setting up a mono dipsey rod, I would probably go with 20lb.

As far as a 10lb king wrapping around your rigger line, just dont let a 10lb king swim into your rigger cables. I've had maybe 3(and that may be 1 over) kings ever swim in my rigger lines. Litterally 3 or less break offs from rigger lines with fish crossing rigger cables in probably 5000+ fish.

20LB is seriously overkill and is probably working against you in any great lakes fishery except Lk Ontario. I didnt see a handfull of 20lb fish come out of Lake michigan last year, and certainly not lake huron.

Buy reels with good drags and learn to control the fish on the end of the line. A break-off or two is gonna happen. Lost tackle is collateral damage. You will catch more fish with lighter line.

[Jason Adam]

Salmonbum, I take it you don't run any flashers on your rigger rods then...?

Bill and I run alot of the same program. I run 8" flashers off my riggers with no problems. I too, rarely run big flashers, and usually not off riggers if I do. I've had far better success with the smaller flashers(or maybe just less success with the big ones) over the years. Like bill said, keep one or 2 20lb rigs if you are really gonna run heavy junk down there.

[SalmonBum]

I do have 20 Mono diver rod setups, but I rarley use them. Never had a breakoff of the mainline in 12+ yrs

[limige]

well everyone is different, i actually like using lighter line but i've experimented salmon fishing. i've run 30# spiderwire for leaders and ran them next to 8# flourocarbon, and next to my buddies #15, i always caught just as many and just as big....

my conclusion is leave light line for bank fishing, i love using my 4# ultralight for bass, but on the boat i'm not screwing around. when you use lighter lines you have to keep cutting the end off and retying after you catch fish, otherwise the lines gets nicked up and you will eventually have a breakoff.
since i was using 14# i used the spiderwire leader to prevent the abrasion problem..
in the past i setup 6 poles with 47lc's and 14# big game for fishing all species. now that i'm more experienced i'm setting up poles just for dipsy's and leadcore setups ect.

if you look back at the original post in question nacoo just said he was restringing, he didn't specify rigger rods, he later stated salmon and lake trout...
fishing lake trout people will sometimes run alot of junk, flashers, cowbells, ect. salmon you could use dispy's, riggers, long lines..
anyway, for an all around rod i would suggest 20-25 like i first said...
yes, for a straightup rigger rod, running spoons you could do way lighter. but he didn't specify so i gave the best answer i could.

just because i use lighter lines i don't go around suggesting everyone do it. not everyone knows how to fight a fish properly, i see mainy people who try to horse them in. i've never met this guy never fished with him and in my personal opinion you gain nothing with light line trolling for salmon or lakers.

[limige]

Mike, I'm jumping on the boat with you if you're concerned about 20-30lb kings breaking your line. Unless you've been weekending on the Niagra Bar for the last few years, I dont know where your'e finding too many 20-30lbrs.

true, but he never stated where he was fishing, and you never know, we may see some big ones come back in the next year or two.

I never run mono dipseys, and I know bill has none either. Regardless, you're never gonna run a dipsey off a rigger rod anyway, so probably a moot point. If I were setting up a mono dipsey rod, I would probably go with 20lb.

i just ran a dipsy off a 14lb line up in port austin, i wouldn't recomend it but i did have that fish foul hooked and managed to bring it to the back of the boat before it came off, line never broke and that was no small fish, i'm guessing it went 15-20#'s

As far as a 10lb king wrapping around your rigger line, just dont let a 10lb king swim into your rigger cables. I've had maybe 3(and that may be 1 over) kings ever swim in my rigger lines. Litterally 3 or less break offs from rigger lines with fish crossing rigger cables in probably 5000+ fish.

if your using light line how you gonna stear a big king away from your rigger lines if he's still got some fight left in him? i had a king run into our riggers in rogers city the other weekend, luckily he swam back out.

20LB is seriously overkill and is probably working against you in any great lakes fishery except Lk Ontario. I didnt see a handfull of 20lb fish come out of Lake michigan last year, and certainly not lake huron.

Buy reels with good drags and learn to control the fish on the end of the line. A break-off or two is gonna happen. Lost tackle is collateral damage. You will catch more fish with lighter line.

yup, run what you want if you go light you know the risk. i know it, some say you shouldn't run that light i like to i just don't suggest it to others, start heavy and go lighter when you are more experienced with these fish.

i find it interesting you guys would make such a deal over it, to my knowledge 20# is probably the most used line size for salmon fishing. i'd be interested in seeing a pole on how many people run lighter like us.


nacoo, it's obviously personal choice, if you feel comfortable go 14, if you rather play it safe go 20, 25# is probably overkill but i know some people use it.

[STEINFISHSKI]

Let's not get personal with this guys.

[SalmonBum]

Sorry, STEINFISHSKI

Didn't mean to get outta control.

[The Dog House]

Mike,
I know everyone has their own opinion....

Bill (salmonbum) isn't the kind of guy to spread things you can't believe.
Well let me re-phrase that....... :lol:

Fishing stories are indeed just that...... Stories.....

He isn't the kind of man that would (or needs) to go around telling
Fishing Tales...

He's direct. To the point. And would give ya the shirt off his back if ya needed it..... But he wouldn't BS ya about something like a 50 Kenia King on 6# test..... But I would also know that he didn't horse that puppy in, in 3-4 minutes either.....lol :lol:


My $ 0.02.......

[limige]

salmonbum, i'm intrigued, do you have a link where i could check this fish out?? maybe you are just one heck of a fisherman, i don't know, i just know some people run their mouth alot behind the screen. you wanna show me how to cast a fly rod, i'd love it, i just rigged up a reddington rod and reel for chuck and duck, i'm quite new at it.

btw i do apoligize i think i kinda came off the wrong way.

[STEINFISHSKI]

Not a problem. Everyone has their own opinion on line and that's ok. We have done well this year on 10-12 lb test on clean spoons. For flashers we'll bump up to 20 lb test. The fleas are starting to get bad now on Lake Michigan as the water warms more. With 20-25 lb test those little buggars tend not to stick to the line. Better keep the braid in the boat or check it every 10 minutes to keep them clean. The 30# wire and heavy mono seem to resist the spiny fleas.

Anyone have much luck with the Cortland Flea Flicker line? I have never tried it but may give it a go this year.

[live2fishdjs]

Limige...I can think of no less than 15 members that fish very regularly on this site and another 10 not on the site that use 15# line (or less) on the rigger rods and are very happy with it and don't break fish or tackle off. I think you may be a little "hightstrung" today. 20# will work fine and many chose to switch over to that and even 25-30# when the kings are staging, but you aren't going to lose fish on 15# unless your drag is real sticky-and you will probably get more bites in the long run as well. A fish in the rigger cables is angler or boat driver error in most cases, yes bad luck happens occasionally, but it shouldn't be a reason to use a higher pound test of line...9 out of 10 fish in a rigger cable are going to break the 20 as well.

As for the original question. 15-20# mono on the rigger rods will work great (Trilene Big Game, Ande, Stren High Impact, Maxima). 30# braid/superline (PowerPro, Fireline, Ripcord) will serve well for your dipsy rods. 15-20# mono as backer and leader for core is ideal, but if you need extra line capacity go with the braid for backer as well, but stick w/ mono for the leader.

[The Dog House]

Mike (Limige)
Clean out some of your PM's :cool:

[SalmonBum]

salmonbum, i'm intrigued, do you have a link where i could check this fish out?? maybe you are just one heck of a fisherman, i don't know, i just know some people run their mouth alot behind the screen. you wanna show me how to cast a fly rod, i'd love it, i just rigged up a reddington rod and reel for chuck and duck, i'm quite new at it.

Mike, Sorry for jumping down you back. But before you call me a BS'er, one thing you will know is that I am not and armchair Internet fisherman posting about things he's read on other websites. I was living fishing stories before there ever was an Internet. I swear on my Dog' life that fish was caught on 6lb. Jason should still have the link to it. I don't know if I'd call myself one hell of a fisherman, but I do (and Have) fished everyday for a LONGGGGGGG time. Most guys know me as the Big water guy, But I have fished the Majortiy of the rivers in MI (and UP), WI, PA, OH, IN and Ontario for steelies and such. I just keep that on the DL. I have trolled out of every port there is to launch a boat out of. I have broken Ice off ramps in Middle of January to chase brown in Lk MI. Trust me, I'm not running my mouth. I have nothing to proove to no one.

If you really do want to learn to cast a Fly rod, that I can help you with. You just let me know and I'll give you some pointers.

Again, sorry getting outta line...

[limige]

well anyone that can land a big king on 6lb test is a great fisherman in my book...not to mention theirs not alot of people that will break ice to go out on the lake for browns, that's my kind of fishing... i do want to learn fly fishing more, i only know one person that does it, a friend of a friend, i figure this fall i'll give it a shot, i like being a well rounded fisherman, each has it's own flavor, big water beast are great, but seeing those same fish 10ft in front of your face leaping out of the water is quite a sight.

jason, if you have a photo or link i'd be interested in seeing that.

doghouse pm's are cleared, sorry.

Mike, Sorry for jumping down you back. But before you call me a BS'er, one thing you will know is that I am not and armchair Internet fisherman posting about things he's read on other websites. I was living fishing stories before there ever was an Internet. I swear on my Dog' life that fish was caught on 6lb. Jason should still have the link to it. I don't know if I'd call myself one hell of a fisherman, but I do (and Have) fished everyday for a LONGGGGGGG time. Most guys know me as the Big water guy, But I have fished the Majortiy of the rivers in MI (and UP), WI, PA, OH, IN and Ontario for steelies and such. I just keep that on the DL. I have trolled out of every port there is to launch a boat out of. I have broken Ice off ramps in Middle of January to chase brown in Lk MI. Trust me, I'm not running my mouth. I have nothing to proove to no one.

If you really do want to learn to cast a Fly rod, that I can help you with. You just let me know and I'll give you some pointers.

Again, sorry getting outta line...

[nacoo]

wow great replies, thanks. my setup is dipsey divers with 0 or 00 flashers, and a spoon, i'm might put on one rod 20# mono and the other rod 25# spiderwire stealth with is equal to 8#, i dont have riggers i think they cost to much, i've fished all my life in florida, moved back up here and started fishing michigan this year. i've done very well with walleyes and just now starting with salmon and lakers, went out with a friend and all his rods were setup with 40# line, i'll restring my line and going up to port sanilac and try out the rods, and post my findings.
thanks all for your great replies.

[Big_P]

Mike, Sorry for jumping down you back. But before you call me a BS'er, one thing you will know is that I am not and armchair Internet fisherman posting about things he's read on other websites. I was living fishing stories before there ever was an Internet. I swear on my Dog' life that fish was caught on 6lb. Jason should still have the link to it. I don't know if I'd call myself one hell of a fisherman, but I do (and Have) fished everyday for a LONGGGGGGG time. Most guys know me as the Big water guy, But I have fished the Majortiy of the rivers in MI (and UP), WI, PA, OH, IN and Ontario for steelies and such. I just keep that on the DL. I have trolled out of every port there is to launch a boat out of. I have broken Ice off ramps in Middle of January to chase brown in Lk MI. Trust me, I'm not running my mouth. I have nothing to proove to no one.

If you really do want to learn to cast a Fly rod, that I can help you with. You just let me know and I'll give you some pointers.

Again, sorry getting outta line...

FIRST OFF.....:bowdown:

I'm not trying to jump in a thread that I don't know a damn thing about considering that I'm new and just starting out with this myself. You guys ARE A WORLD OF HELP by the way thank you but, I totally believe the 6 lb. test story. The greatest fisherman I ever knew and my mentor is my brother in law Tom. He used to be an avid Steelie chaser back in the day going ALL his free time literally until he was T-boned by a drunk driver at 00 mph coming back from the Betsie and broke his neck. Well luckily he wasn't paralyzed and came through but, the pain is so bad these days that he hasn't fished for steelhead in probably 10 years. Well he used to use 2 lb. sewing thread for leader and a lot of people didn't believe that either but, it was true. He had some break offs as everyone will have but, he NEVER came home skunked!!

[limige]

i believe it's possible, just most fisherman couldn't pull it off because they really don't know much about playing fish.....

first of all i believe he stated he was fly fishing, with a well known salmon reel. the fly line is strong and has alot of give, he was using a 6lb leader...
second of all the key to fighting big fish is side pressure, if your lucky he'll run upstream and not downstream, therefor he's working against the current as well as you.
if your wading you also have the option of chasing the fish which helps alot....

all in all the possibility is there, i know the people that are sticking up for him and if they say it's true i believe it, salmon bum has my respect, that's quite a feat...

if you still don't believe it thats your right, it really makes no difference, he knows whether or not he really caught it..

btw i posted that poll and the results tell alot, 20lb is general some go heavier some go lighter...

[ausable_steelhead]

Well I mostly cast for salmon, and use 8-10lb, and can put ALOT of pressure on fish. Last fall we were whipping pier kings in Manistee on 10lb, absolutely no problems. The only trolling I've ever did for kings is flat-lining, and 10 was plenty. So 14-15lb for rigger fishing on the lake would be alright.

[UBDSLO1]

17lb. P-Line CXX-XTRA strong. I don't go any heavier than that. I also use Ugly Stiks for my dipsy and rigger rods. BWD 1101, 9' model. Don't normally have break off problems either.

Now for the lite line part, I landed a 47 1/2" King, on a St. Croix 10 1/2ft. noodle rod, with Trilene XT 6lb. test line, and Shimano reel. It took me 1 3/4 hrs. to land, and almost spooled me 3 times. Caught it in 92, at the mouth of the Boardman river. I know I'll never land another king that size from Lake MI ever again.

[Z202]

Does anyone use the more expensive flourocarbon (sp?) for leaders while
trolling in the big lakes? (I know, what type, but lets just say off the
lead core or riggers with spoons)

[catchabunch]

The flouro works great as leaders. Try out the gamma flourocarbon was new last year and best chance tells in all their seminars if you are going to spend your money on changing one thing it would be to change your leads to flouro.

[Fishous]

A lot of it is in the rod. The largest salmon I caught was 29lb, on 6 lb line, with a 12 ft. rod. Took about an hour, that was at the mouth of the White River back when the wier was in.

When fishing on the peir, casting Cleos, I never use more than 10lb line.

Trolling I use 20lb line.

[adjusted3]

Just a bit of personal info on what I have ran and what I run now.

I used to be of the old school that lighter is better, I have sinced changed that. But for an entirely different reason then most. Let me explain...

I had the big boat with unlimited storage, multiple rods and had rods for downrigger use, planerboard dipsy ect.....The riggers were loaded with 10lb test and I agree, I never had a break off. I did have to strip a few feet of line now and then from the abraision from the release but that was about it. As I got more and more into this sport, I down graded to a 17' Lund and space was a premium. It made sence to start making rods do double duty. I loaded everything with 20lb Ande or Big Game. I can use the same rod for riggers, mono dipsys, planer rods or high lines. It is a bit stupid to take a 10lb set up and make it a dipsy rod. This allows less rods to put in the boat and leaves more room for the wire, core rods, copper and braided dipsys. Honestly, I have noticed little difference in hook ups going larger in the line dia since going to this system other then just I buy 2 bulk spools of 20lb for the season for backer/main and sliders. 6lb on a 30-40lb king, yep, not a problem. My best was a 30lb+ king on a 10lb rod off a rigger that fish was real angry.

Even with this system of trying to eliminate some rods, I still have more then I can put on the boat. When you get knee deep in this, it is not uncommon to get in the 40 to 60+ rod range to cover all aspects of the styles of great lakes fishing. Cutting a few corners to me soes not make that great of a difference. My wife and I spent a week walleye fishing up north last week and I still had 21 rods on the boat and I left the salmon gear at home.

Mark

[MI_STEELHEAD]

[ My wife and I spent a week walleye fishing up north last week and I still had 21 rods on the boat and I left the salmon gear at home.

Mark[/quote]

That is awesome. I have a 17ft lund too. I brought 12 rods out the other day with 3 people in the boat in a 2 rod limit lake. I usually try to get away with 10. 21 is just impressive.

Everytime out I am trying to find a better way to store/keep my stuff. Sounds like you have a pretty good system. I aspire to be so organized.