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.......

[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]

Originally Posted by 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.

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]

Originally Posted by gomer

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]

Originally Posted by 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.

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]

Originally Posted by gomer

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.