#19 Leadcore Presentation Basics

The primary presentations I use at this time of year are planer boards, dipsy divers and leadcore. If your budget allows, I would recommend trying a leadcore line set up. Click photo to read article

By Capt. Jim Hirt In previous articles we covered some ways to present lures in early summer. This time of year look for most of your fish in the top 50 feet. Keep your eye on your locator and also work deeper marks when you see them. My experience this time of year is the deeper fish are less active and tend not to bite. Most often you will not mark well above 30 feet because those fish are out side the cone of your locator’s transducer. The primary presentations I use at this time of year are planer boards, dipsy divers and leadcore. If your budget allows, I would recommend trying a leadcore line set up. This presentation will work when all others are dead. The basics of leadcore are simple. The most expensive part is the reel. It must have enough line capacity to handle the leadcore line plus mono and Dacron for a total of anywhere from 300 half core to 600 yards two cores. I run my half cores or five colors on Daiwa 47H. This is the smallest reel a half core will fit on. Line counter reels are not necessary. Leadcore sinks at a rate of 4-5 feet per color. A half core will run about 24 feet deep. When loading this reel, start with 100 yards of a braided Dacron then strip the lead out of the end of the leadcore and tie a Blood Knot to the leadcore. Finish with a Willis Knot and 60 feet of a 20-pound monofilament to a ball bearing cross lock snap. You will need a heavy action 8-foot rod to work with lead. You may run this with a planer board if you are going to use multiple set ups. Snap on your favorite lure and let out all of the line to the Dacron. Then install your board so it does not release. I usually run them 150 feet off each side of the boat. Very wide turns and low boat traffic are a must to avoid tangles and getting run over. I set my drags light. When the reel starts to scream, adjust the drag as necessary. Reel in the line until you can reach the board and hand release it. Now the line is clear to bring in the fish. I don’t fish lead early in the morning. I use it when the early bite is over. Some of my biggest fish are caught on this presentation. Copyright© 2006, James J. Hirt, All Rights Reserved.