# Question for Trollers



## nodakoutdoors.com (Feb 27, 2002)

I want to add around a 5-8 ft Flouro leader to my trolling rigs that are running Power Pro. I was thinking about going about it one of two ways, keeping reduced friction as a high priority because at times I like to troll deep.

a) Size 12 crane swivel - extremely small for a swivel but still will probably have more resistance than the other option

b) Blood knot - do any of you use one for your trolling leaders? I know it's common for fly fishing and other fishing applications, but I don't hear about it for trolling.

Thanks!


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## T Shot (Oct 4, 2002)

Chris Hustad said:


> b) Blood knot - do any of you use one for your trolling leaders? I know it's common for fly fishing and other fishing applications, but I don't hear about it for trolling.


Personally, I don't like messing around with swivels when trolling. This is what we do and we haven't had any problems.


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## fubar (Mar 10, 2008)

how deep are you fishing? if i were going to do this i would tie the blood knot. there is no reason to put a swivel down there it is just more resistance on your line,just my thoughts on your situation at hand. we usualy just drif a jig for the first month or so in shallow water (4-9 feet or so) then just lindy the rest of the summer on the bars. dont know where you are fishing but that tactic is prety simple to fish any depth, cheap and it seems to keep the cliants happy for me throughout the summer. i dont know if i helped at all but i just dont think it would help out much to put a swivel down there when you can just keep it to a simple knot.


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## T Shot (Oct 4, 2002)

Fubar,

I'm sure he is talking about trolling cranks. IMO, there is no better way to cover lots of water in a short period of time. Can't beat it!


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## fubar (Mar 10, 2008)

i know what he is talking about lol. i jsut get to rambling and never realy get anywhere. yeah its a good tactic i have no problem with it. i was just shareing what brings me success and kinda stateing in a indirect way that i dont fish cranks much. i just wanted to try to help him out with what i know.


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## T Shot (Oct 4, 2002)

Fair enough...


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## nodakoutdoors.com (Feb 27, 2002)

I grew up doing A LOT of live bait rigging in MN. The past 3-4 years I've really hit the trolling bug and it produced my biggest fish last year. It's a fairly big learning curve considering using boards and working different depths and situations, but worth it when you get the system down.


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## luveyes (Jan 22, 2005)

Chris,

What are the main lakes you pull cranks on??

I pull cranks ALOT on Devils, and have pulled them alot on Sak, Ashtabulah, and Jamestwon Res in the past. I too, use power Pro 10/2 and never use a leader of any type. No need in the muddy water lakes found mostly in ND. The more different knots in your line to more areas are prone to fail you out on the water. Heck, a Deep TD can pull on the rod quite a bit with 90ft of line out ticking bottom in 25 FOW at 3MPH (like I mentioned the more areas prone to fail the more knots or splices on the line). The way I look at it cranks pulled at a fairly fast speed the fish are reacting as much as they are following the bait and hitting 50yds down the shoreline. There shouldnt be a need for a leader when longlining. I do use a PP leader on my lead setups, tied behind a small swivel.

Just seems your trying to make it a bit more complicated, especially when the fish arent smart enough to tell the difference.


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## T Shot (Oct 4, 2002)

We do it so we have a failure point that isn't the rod in case of snags.


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## Bigdog (Aug 13, 2003)

I use a Uni-knot, some call it a back to back Uni, for tying leaders to PowerPro or Fireline.


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## Traxion (Apr 16, 2004)

10-4 on the back to back uni knot. It has done the job well for me with mono to superline.

I rarely use a leader with my PowerPro. Sometimes if I feel like I am losing too many fish I'll put a leader on for more shock absorbsion. I have yet to feel that my PowerPro is hurting the # of fish I catch due to visibility.

Also, if I am in really snaggy stuff (like trees on Oahe) I will go with a mono leader just to prevent nasty snags and bad break offs. This is more important for me with leadcore (I hate break offs in the middle of a color).


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## T Shot (Oct 4, 2002)

The back to back uni knot works great too. The mono leader is almost a necessity on the NE SD lakes. Too much junk in the water.


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## luveyes (Jan 22, 2005)

Tshot and Chris,

I guess Im still not feeling the reason "why" the need for a leader. I fish the same waters, at speeds up to 4.8 MPH GPS speed and never use a leader, never have broken a rod, and have a very good hookset ratio. I set my drag so it is just barely tight enough to hold the line from freespooling out while trolling; fish hits, rod bends, maybe up to a couple of feet of line lets out heard with the clicker (to take some of the shock out of the bite), give the fish a 3-10 count, and gently remove the rod from the holder and the fight is on. If I hit a snag the clicker lets me know if my eyes arent on the rod tip and I just pull the rod out of the holder, point the rod straight back parallel to the boat and hold the spool either getting the crank back or breaking the crank off; never a rod failure with my equip or that of others I fish with.

Like I mentioned in my previous post if I were fishing clearer lakes I would definately consider a leader (and have used them in the past) just not necessary on DL, Sak, Oahe, Ashtray, Jamestown Res, and "most" of the local lakes around the area. Seems to me you are making it a bit more complicated than it needs to be in a vast majority of the cases we encounter in local lakes.


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## T Shot (Oct 4, 2002)

I've never actually had a rod break. I just feel more comfortable with a leader in certain situations. I should mention I don't have a leader on all the trolling rods I use, just a couple. Don't know how its any more complicated, it's just a leader...


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## nodakoutdoors.com (Feb 27, 2002)

Well I've always used PP without a leader in the past, I just thought I'd give it a try when fishing SaK, DL, or our other no-name lakes.

I agree, it's probably not needed ever in dirty water such when I'm fising the Missouri.

I'm a trial-by-error nut and stubborn to boot so I guess I wonder why I always learn the hard way.... :lol:


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## bulkdriverlp (Apr 21, 2008)

in lake huron they dont use leaders at all. use bottom bouncers or keel weights with rapalas. sometimes they put on a crawler harness. this time of year its 1.8-2.2 mph gps


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## pikeman1 (May 6, 2008)

I also use the leader of flouro with the uni knot. Also a swivel is good to use if there are weeds in the lake you are fishing.Most of the weeds will hang up on the swivel and not on the lure. I fish little bay de Noc.


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