Doing More with Leadcore - Advanced Tactics

Photo Credit - Matt Addington

My initial forays into leadcore for walleyes were pretty basic.  Start with a full-core (10 color) setup, drop back a crankbait until it “ticked” bottom occasionally, and wait for a walleye or sauger to pull on the other end.  The more I used it however, the more advantages I saw it present for all kinds of situations.  Lessons learned from numerous salmon and trout charter captains helped shape the way I think of it for walleyes no matter where I fish.  From deep clear water lakes, to even shallow river situations, there’s much more you can do with a leadcore setup than the old drop-back-and-drag.

I think the first key to fine-tuning different approaches with lead line is to fully realize where it excels, and where it does not.  By its construction and very nature, leadcore fishing involves trolling, and is best utilized for pulling at consistent depths.  The string of lead running through that tube of braided line serves a single purpose, and that’s to sink, such that letting out more means more depth and vice versa.  Hairpin trolling runs along tight, variable breaks are challenging and only encouraged where leadcore fishing presents the last or best means to offer baits to fish.  Another key for taking this technique further is to realize that sinking line doesn’t always mean sinking to the lake or river bottom.  Here are my top methods for extending leadcore beyond simple back-of-the-boat trolling:

Segmented Leadcore

It’s likely you’ve heard of open basin trolling, where suspended walleyes chasing Tullibee are targeted by imitator crankbaits at the depths of fish gorging on bait.  Segmented leadcore, or a finite number of colors of lead line spooled to backing, is a primary driver for the technique.  For example, a 3-color segmented leadcore setup simply means 3 colors of lead, then backing are spooled to the reel.  Charter captains that utilize leadcore for salmon fishing often have 2 rods (one for each side of the boat) rigged with 3, 4, 5, 7 or other numbers of colors per reel each.  This is with the idea that a specific rod/reel combination will serve a separate portion of the water column, no matter where you want to reach.  For walleye anglers, quite often I recommend having a 3-color segmented leadcore setup.  This is simply achieved by spooling up your backing, then 3 colors of lead. 

Remember that the driver behind this is depth, and if you’re using Sufix Advanced Leadcore, your dive is 7-feet per color, and various forms of standard leadcore 5-feet per color when trolling around 2mph.  Pull faster, and you raise approximately 1 foot for every 0.2 mph in speed, pull slower, the same is true in reverse.  From there, add the depth of your crankbait depending on the length of your leader.  Long leaders make for a truer dive depth as advertised on the package.  Shorter leader lengths in the 6 foot or so category, and you’re only going to get an additional foot or two of dive. For example, if I’m running a #5 Shad Rap on 3 colors of Advanced leadcore at 2.2 mph with a 6 foot fluorocarbon leader, my math would be as follows:

(7’ per color X 3 colors) + (2 foot crankbait diving depth) – (1 foot for 0.2mph speed increase) = ~22FOW     

If that math is confusing, try breaking down each step that contributes to dive or rise.  If it’s still confusing, there’s an app for that.  It’s called the Leadcore Depth Calculator on Android/IOS and is pretty handy.  From there, even if you’re confused, get out and pull it around.  Depth is relative, and if you find success, repeat, repeat, repeat. 

Planer Boards

Salmon and trout guys will tell you that their biggest fish often come on the outside “boards,” which is no surprise in clear water given that often these fish are less than 50 feet down in ultra-clear water where the boat will spook fish.  Walleye anglers should pay attention, as the same is often true when pulling segmented leadcore in open-basin situations. 

Attach planer boards above leadcore a few feet on the backing to avoid ruining the lead inside your line, and cover various depths via your 3-color, 4-color, or more segmented leadcore rods.  Let your electronics tell you where you’re seeing feeding walleyes with schools of bait, then target those depths above, at, and below the same level as the fish.  Use planer boards to maximize the number of rods you can legally use by spreading out baits and putting them further away from the boat. 

Other Wrinkles

Tourney pros long ago learned to run leadcore in shallow water where it was murky or turbid enough to get away with it.  The benefit being that they could run 2 leadcore setups almost as if they were downrigger balls, directly behind and below the boat with very little line out.  This freed them up to run more traditional mono or braid long-line trolling applications further back behind the boat where more rods were legal, such that they could run 4 or more setups without anything tangling.  The leadcore is pinned directly behind the boat, and the other setups need to be back 100-150’ or more to achieve depth.

 Many anglers run spinners and bait on leadcore as well, while again remembering that this technique is all about getting your presentation to a specific depth.  Leadcore achieves that objective and then some, with many anglers considering it a key part of their fishing strategy come midsummer.  I know I do.  Even into the fall, I use leadcore anytime there are walleyes deeper than 15 FOW, spread across or along a relatively unchanging depth, scattered or in small pods.  Utilize these more advanced techniques to get at them no matter where in the water column they may be. 

Getting Started With Leadcore

Photo Credit - Matt Addington

Getting off the ground with a new system can be challenging.  You’ve got the initial capital expense just in equipment, and a steep learning curve ahead regarding the use of it.  When it comes to running leadcore line for walleyes however, both the cost and effort to get better at it are justified expenses.  With leadcore trolling being a technique a great lakes charter captain would more likely deploy than a land-locked lakes angler, there’s a bit of an intimidation factor.  That’s probably why I field more questions on leadcore than any other subject during the summer months.  Rest assured, though it may seem tricky at first, it very quickly becomes old hat and something you wished you’d have tried sooner. 

As walleyes move progressively deeper throughout the summer months, having a strong leadcore game in your arsenal can be one of the best ways to continue getting bit well into the August doldrums.  No matter what part of the water column your ‘eyes are in, the idea behind leadcore is that a length of lead weight running through the center sleeve of a braided line can help sink any offering pulled behind it down and into the fish’s zone. 

More than just a search tool, it can be an effective way to target fish spread out along a long break or large structural element.  When pulling live-bait rigs and even spinners takes too long between pods of fish, and a healthy dose of concentration is needed in big-water, leadcore allows you to put rods in holders and ride out swells while putting fish in the boat at the same time. 

Leadcore is far from a big-water-only pattern either, as Mille Lacs guide and walleye-guru Brad Hawthorne will tell you, it works on smaller lakes just the same.  He recently took 4th place at the Camp Confidence Tournament on Gull Lake, a water-body he’s only fished a handful of times in the fall, by pulling his Mille Lacs-ready leadcore setups out of his rod storage and slapping them into holders.  “We smacked a 23 (inch walleye) right away, then another mid-20’s fish, and continued to put ‘eyes in the boat on a long stretch of break that people were lining up on to live-bait rig.” 

Personally, I’ve pulled walleyes out of lakes far smaller than Gull using leadcore, even at night for clear water bodies.  The point is that it flat-works, but how to get started?  You may have heard that it can be finicky, knot easily, while having the tendency to run together and tangle all the baits in your spread.  While there is some truth to that statement, the benefits far outweigh any negatives, and getting off the ground with this technique will prove it to you.     

The Setup – The cornerstone of every good leadcore program is a Medium to Medium Heavy, Moderate Action trolling rod, paired with a slightly oversized line-counter reel, and a spool of leadcore line.  You can easily spend well over $200 per combo, but you don’t need to, especially if you’re unsure how much leadcore trolling you’ll be doing.  Buy two combos at a time, so you can spool up the same way, with the same amount of line, on the same rod/reel.  Learning one system will make it less confusing. 

The Line - Big boxes and small tackle shops alike make it easy these days by helping you both with the purchase, and by spooling up for you.  Start with a reputable #18lb leadcore line, and for those looking to up their game, consider the Sufix Advanced leadcore.  Standard leadcore dives on average 5-feet per color, with the Advanced leadcore diving to 7-feet per color.  The result is more depth per less units of line, but either way, consider putting on a full-core.  Leadcore line is marked by a different color every 10 yards, so a full-core would be 10-colors, or 100 yards.  You will likely not need to dive to this depth, but it’s a good starting place to get you acquainted with the method.  Start by filling the reel first with some backing, which can be braid or mono, though mono is cheaper.  The amount is variable, so it’s often best to fill one reel backwards starting with leadcore, then backing until full, then fill the empty reel from the full one noting on your linecounter how much backing was used.  Fill the original, and now empty reel with the same amount of backing, then secure the leadcore for two full reels that are the same.

The Leader – On the end of your leadcore goes a leader of varying length and material.  On Lake Pepin, or other areas where I’m trolling hard substrate with zebra mussels, I run a 3-5 foot section of braided leader, then a snap, then my lure.  On ultra-clear water bodies like Mille Lacs, I run a 30 foot leader of 10# Fluorocarbon to keep my offering less visible.  Unsheath the end of your leadcore, and pull out 6 inches or so of the lead.  Pull the sheath back down and use it to tie an applicable braid to mono, or braid to braid knot.

The Lures – Any crankbait runs well with this scenario, as do spinners and a variety of other lures designed to be pulled. 

Putting It Into Action – Start by letting out a few colors of line while going 2.2-3.0mph.  Let out line evenly to prevent overruns and do your best to keep kinks and tangles to a minimum.  When leadcore knots, the interior lead can break and poke out in places.  These fractures make everything more difficult, so avoid them by dropping line back slowly and evenly.  Deep diving crankbaits should be let out until you’re reliably making contact with bottom occasionally.  You don’t want to be digging in constantly, as this causes baits to wander then tangle.  Pull along gradually similar depths, and as you get better at both reeling in line and letting it out to trace bottom, work your way towards pulling it along breaks. 

When employed in this manner, leadcore is a great tactic for getting crankbaits near bottom.  Through experience, you can learn to do this well, and cover the bulk of advantageous leadcore trolling situations.  That said, there’s even more we can do with leadcore to cover all kinds of bases.  Stay tuned, as advanced leadcore tactics will be the subject of next week’s article.

Side-Imaging for the Walleye Crowd

Photo Credit - Matt Addington - http://mattaddingtonphotography.com

Walleye-anglers are a traditional bunch in-general.  New techniques and technologies are directly compared to known commodities, and rightly so.  There’s no use making things more difficult than they need to be, yet sometimes along the way what’s learned is in and of itself valuable.  I find that to be especially true in the case of side-imaging electronics for walleye fishing. 

So often, structural anglers are used to locating a spot of interest via high definition contours, then picking those locations apart with traditional down-sonar in an effort to locate fish, catch them, and store location (GPS) information in order to return to that spot someday down the road.  Lest we forget, at one time this technology was also new, though its adoption was rapid amongst the ranks of professionals and casual anglers alike.  Still, I’ve heard it mentioned in even upper echelons of walleye nerdery, that Side-Imaging is only for “bass-guys.”

A staple amongst tournament bass anglers these days is Side-Imaging runs that map both structural elements, and individual fish to target.  At last year’s Bassmaster Angler-of-the-Year tournament on Mille Lacs, dozens of complete strangers to the fishery pulled 60lb. bags of smallmouth bass during the 3-day competition, most of them leaning heavily on using their Side-Imaging to locate large boulders and individual bass off them.  This very application while being a classic use of the technology, is not a reason to classify it as a “bass-only” benefit.  

Shallow water walleyes can be found throughout the warm-water months during big wind events, even in clear water.  That same clarity provides a solid reason to consider Side-Imaging on your next electronics purchase, as walleyes rarely tolerate overhead boat traffic in clear-water shallows.  The imaging becomes your eyes up shallow, allowing you to stay back off of the fish, and put a multitude of presentations to them without pushing them around and killing the bite.  Shallow fish are typically feeding, so these are the fish you’re looking to target anyway.

While Side-Imaging proves very valuable for any species relating to shallow structural elements, the same also holds over the depths.  It’s a common misconception that side-imaging isn’t useful at the same depths we’re typically targeting walleyes.  On a recent trip to Grand Rapids, MN, I used my Lowrance Carbon-12 to image an underwater point I’ve fished often, both during open-water and through the ice.  While I knew there was an 8-foot rock-pile along the shallow lip of it, I didn’t give credit to that rockpile and how it affected walleye movements out and away from it.  All of our bites came off the pile some distance in 14-18FOW, as fish staged there before dark awaiting the low-light evening assault on those shallow rocks.  Not surprisingly, immediately out from the pile was a hard-bottom, rock-free shelf.  It was noticeably different from the surrounding break, and drew the majority of those fish.  Once I knew what I was looking for, I could find it on the down-sonar, but it literally jumped out at me on the side-imaging.

An even deeper application can be found on the famed mud flats of Mille Lacs, where savy anglers for many years have known that not all parts of all flats are mud.  There is a surprising amount of rock and gravel in certain locations, though most are in small out of the way places along the edge of the flats.  With a good chop, and the resultant screen display of your sonar showing a “wavy” bottom, it’s difficult to detect the tell-tale signs of rough or un-even rock bottom.  These locations, being different from surrounding substrate for at times, miles, almost always have fish on them or nearby.       

Perhaps the best way to introduce yourself to the technology is to image an area you already know, preferably if you know it holds fish.  So often as walleye anglers we stumble onto a mere piece of the puzzle.  We catch fish on one side of a reef for a short period of time in late afternoon, without realizing that we only intercepted fish in a 30 minute window making their way out of the depths and up to structure to feed.  Even if we know fish are likely to be up top and actively eating, we know not what locations have the largest boulders, the most pronounced feeding shelves, or what areas are too weed-choked to effectively fish in low-light.  All of those answers can be gleaned from a quick pass or two around the structure of interest. 

Take this technology for a spin on a few locations you’ve fished for years, and be amazed at the depth and level of information it offers you.  Consider it the best real-time map that’s offered today, and get used to seeing and interpreting what information in the plan direction really means to your fishing, rather than just the profile depth direction we’re so used to seeing in the sonar of old.   

The Next St(age)

After a fairly successful introduction to fishing for my two young sons, now ages 9 and 12, it’s been a slow-go in recent years.  It took some steady learning on my part to understand that snacks, bait, shoreline rocks, and frogs were far more interesting an experience, and that all the pressure I put on myself to keep bobbers dunked and lines tight didn’t really matter all that much unless they had the freedom to experience fishing the way they wanted to.  About the time it started clicking for me, it came to a grinding halt for them.  What was once an easy task to convince them to head out fishing for a few hours, became painstakingly difficult, requiring bribes and negotiations regarding all kinds of competing activities.  Maybe I’d made it too easy for them, or perhaps there was still too much focus on the fishing?  Either way I had somehow managed to do what I promised not to do, which was burn them out on it in some way or another.

Now, as my boys have gotten past those initial stages, I see them coming back to the sport of fishing that I know and love, just maybe not as much for the same reasons.  All of which is fine by me, as anything that gets them on the water is positive as far as I’m concerned.  A few fishing fanatic friends have really turned the tide, as angling becomes a way to hang out with their buddies as much as anything.  It’s amazing how “uncool” something can seem when coming from your parents, only to find out how “cool” it is when introduced to the very same activities and ideas by peers.  A bit of boyhood bravado, brought on by some impressive fish pictures, has helped to fuel that fire as they trade these photos back and forth as if they were a form of currency or man-measure.  All of which is not necessarily that dissimilar from our own grown-up angling aspirations.

I certainly don’t know it all as it pertains to helping your kids along with fishing, but my own family has provided a great case-in-study.  I continue to learn the do’s and don’ts of fishing with kids, and am anxious to see where it goes from here.  That said, here’s what I’ve learned in helping to take some initial interest and grow it into what I hope becomes a life-long activity for them:

Bigger Species – Kids eventually bore from the bluegills and crappies under a bobber routine, and at least for my own kids, by ages 7 and older they were ready to try some other species.  While they didn’t then, and still don’t, have the patience for an all-day walleye expedition, pike and bass provide more than enough excitement to keep them busy.  Going after the “big” fish becomes a great draw, even when not catching as their attention-span gradually increases.

New Techniques -   My children hated trolling or more passive techniques like live-bait rigging, even when catching fish.  Then, casting was the draw, and forcing them to keep the rod in a holder or worse, in-hand but still, was pure torture.  Now, simple patterns like throwing spinnerbaits to weed edges or casting senko-type plastics in the shallows will keep the kids busy for hours, especially if the action is reasonable.  As their fishing universe expands, you’re creating a feedback loop where the more they learn and understand, the more they want to consume.

Bring a Buddy – Take advantage of the fact that as your kids get older, they often naturally want to spend more time with friends than just family.  Recently, on a Lake Pepin trolling run, I had my oldest in the boat for more than half a day, and his buddy posted his (at the time) personal best walleye.  We were trolling crankbaits, something my son previously couldn’t stand.  Now I’m fielding requests from other friends of his that want some boat time, and the benefit is getting to spend some more time with your child and fishing all at the same time. 

Photos and More – With how digitally easy it is to preserve and send memories these days, take as many photos as you can.  You’d be amazed at how proud they are of fish or experiences you wouldn’t think to take shots of, like the recent 10lb Sheepshead my son caught while hoping it was a walleye the whole way to the net.  If you’re socially savvy, share their catch and watch their chest swell as others congratulate them and pile on accolades.  Those memories mean more to them than we know. 

Don’t Forget the Fun – Even though their patience level is increased and they may be able to make it all day, make sure the event stays fun.  For them, every trip on the water is special, no matter how often you get a chance to fish, so make sure to do all those little things right.  Maybe it’s a meal out on the way home, some special boat snacks, or even just letting them pick the music (as painful as that may be) in the boat or on the drive to and from.

It’s a fun ride, and I continue to learn more with each trip I take, but know that there’s not a bad time to take your kids fishing.  I find myself sometimes passing on the opportunity for better weather, longer hours on the water, or increased opportunities, but as long as you keep it a fun event no matter how well the fish cooperate, I’m convinced they’ll choose fishing first more often than not. 

Lure Color - When it Matters, When it Doesn't

“What color are you getting them on?”  It’s a common question out on the lake when fishing with friends, and often the topic of much controversy when fishing for all species.  It’s also typically one of the last variables I mess with when trying to fine-tune my offering in the great experiment we call fishing.  So many other factors will affect a fish’s willingness to strike, long before lure color ever comes into play.  Still, there are scenarios in coming months where color WILL play a large factor in your success.  Here’s a rundown of when it matters, and when it doesn’t. 

I spoke with famed tournament angler, Devil’s Lake guide, and fishing communicator Johnnie Candle at the recent Scheel’s University out in Chamberlain, SD this spring about the topic of color, and found his thoughts closely resembled my own on the subject.  “First and foremost you need to have your baits in front of fish,” said Johnnie un-prompted.  “Color can’t overcome fishing where fish just aren’t (nearby).  After you’ve found fish, gotten a few to eat, and then fine-tune retrieve, speed, action, and other offerings, then maybe you can start to crack the code of which colors work better,” says Candle.

I offered a few experiences when trolling in a more controlled environment where one bait in a certain color shined in the morning, then another color picked up stronger in the afternoon.  “Sure,” he said, “You see that quite a bit when light levels or overall weather patterns change, but fish can also move under these conditions or prefer another presentation.”  Which is why trolling multiple baits in varying colors, especially in areas that allow more than one line (the more the merrier), allows you to work through the initial variables until you can start to crack the color code.  Eliminate selection due to other circumstances such as bait, depth, speed, and method, then work through your colors.   

Color matters typically only when you can prove it matters, as in the above trolling example or in pressured water bodies where fish see it all.  Still, there are other reasons when color can make a big difference, such as during this year’s Minnesota Fishing Opener.  I opted to get after some shallow sunfish and crappies in a rather clear lake.  It was moderately windy, making strike detection a bear, but shallow sight-fishing was still in play.  For this tactic to work, you need to first and foremost pick apart likely locations in the shallows where you can see fish, but it also requires you to be able to see your offering.  On that day, lake, and with those light conditions, small white curly tail grubs were the most visible option as they were readily sucked down by anxious gills and a few big spawning crappies.  I caught a good number of shallow panfish that day, not necessarily because they preferred the color of my offering over another, but because I could visibly detect the strike and immediately set the hook.             

Baits come in a myriad of colors these days, though I keep reaching for many of the same combinations I always have.  Reds and oranges in crawdad patterns, perch, gold, firetiger, and purpledescent tend to be top crankbait colors for me, with plastics in chartreuse, white, black, and watermelon being staples depending on the species, time of year, and water fished.  That said, there are several times annually when a bite shows me something new.  An unintended wrinkle to an old pattern, or a forage opportunity that completely changes my perspective on a familiar water body.  Chartreuse pepper on the river, or shrimp-like colors near-shore on the Chesapeake, all indicate a local interpretation of preferred forage.  That's why I can't fault lure manufacturers, as we live in a wonderfully varied fishing environment, with even the weirdest of colors seemingly having a niche somewhere and sometime.  

Orange, and I mean the brightest, gaudiest, blaze orange you can find has been just that outlier for me in recent years.  I attribute it to the rise in invasive Rusty Crayfish in many of the larger waters I fish, as I’ve seen orange craw patterns dominate in many conditions as fish in the livewell regurgitate scads of orange carcasses.  From Lake of the Woods, to Leech, and other smaller waters in Northern Wisconsin, crankbaits and plastics that imitate a scurrying crayfish have been winners no matter the time of year, species, or tactic.  This preference in known infested waters has been the closest thing I’ve noticed to a “silver bullet” in selecting the right color for the job.  Rapala now offers several colors of Retreating Craw Patterns that have worked on numerous occasions, no matter where I'm fishing.

Still, on nearly all waters, I’m with Mr. Candle in worrying first and foremost about fish location, then putting together the right technique or bait that enters their strike zone in a manner which gets them to eat.  It’s easy to spend the entire day trying to piece together the small parts of that puzzle without ever getting to color.  In those situations, go with proven choices, confidence colors, and local favorites.  Once you’ve got a bite going however, work to change up colors to tip the scales in your favor, while being mindful of the few curveballs that nature can throw you along the way.