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Posts: 49
| What line would you recommend for open water trolling? The fish I'm targeting are usually in the upper 12' of the water column, so it'd be nice if the line actually helped keep my bait higher up. I have a couple rods that will be on boards and one that will be straight lined. From what I've gathered off of other threads, mono might be my best option, but I'd like to get a specific answer for this application so I'm not wasting time and money. Thanks! |
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Posts: 578
| If you are running baits that go deep like a plow or hooker etc, you can just shorten up the amount of line out to keep the baits higher in the 10-12' range. You can use any line you prefer. I like braid for boat rods and I use 80# but you could increase that to 100# and that would help keep baits high too. Sometimes with inline boards, it is nice to have mono for line capacity and for the clips on the boards. Anything in the 40# - 60# range should work. |
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Posts: 866
Location: NE Ohio | i have used 25# trilene XT mono for years with 40" wire leaders and have never had a problem handling any fish on prop wash, down, and side rods. with that being said i also like braid for that depth range. heck i've caught them with the leaders against the rod tips in 20' of water on both mono and braid.
i don't run boards so can't help ya there. run a search though, its been talked about before.
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Location: 31 | TSMUSKY89 - 3/19/2018 6:14 PM What line would you recommend for open water trolling? The fish I'm targeting are usually in the upper 12' of the water column, so it'd be nice if the line actually helped keep my bait higher up. I have a couple rods that will be on boards and one that will be straight lined. From what I've gathered off of other threads, mono might be my best option, but I'd like to get a specific answer for this application so I'm not wasting time and money. Thanks! 30-40 lb mono
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| braid braid and braid.less line out is better,and no stretch from line is needed ,we have rod n reel if we want something less hardcore |
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Posts: 947
| 40# Mono for open water trolling- Hi-Seas makes good stuff and Berkley Big game is good also.
Have caught piles of fish trolling mono, caught and netted a lot of 50"-55.5" fish using it never had any problems.
Jeff Hanson
madisonmuskyguide.com |
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| when a guy that have caught more 40 and 50 pounder than the whole m1 members together, we listen ! mono is good for nothing was his word |
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Posts: 386
| 100lb Masterbraid and Offshore SST Pro-Mag boards. |
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Posts: 4269
Location: Ashland WI | supertrollr - 3/19/2018 9:36 PM
when a guy that have caught more 40 and 50 pounder than the whole m1 members together, we listen ! mono is good for nothing was his word
Well I guess that settles it then... |
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Posts: 20230
Location: oswego, il | 14ledo81 - 3/20/2018 6:42 AM
supertrollr - 3/19/2018 9:36 PM
when a guy that have caught more 40 and 50 pounder than the whole m1 members together, we listen ! mono is good for nothing was his word
Well I guess that settles it then...
For sure! No kissing disease for me! |
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Location: Eastern Ontario | supertrollr - 3/19/2018 10:36 PM
when a guy that have caught more 40 and 50 pounder than the whole m1 members together, we listen ! mono is good for nothing was his word
And just who the F*** would that guy be? Not sure if I want to shake his hand or kill him. |
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Location: 31 | For you guys who do not understand the concept of monofilament for trolling I’ll elaborate. First of all is not just the line because the action of the rod is also an important part of the equation, as well as the reel, type/size of bait, and the speed of the boat. With trolling speeds under 2 MPH, or obviously when casting the nod goes to braid hands down.
However, let's look at the typical muskie trolling scenario with speeds above 3.5, a medium heavy action rod, standard size bait, and 30 lb mono. While in motion you can see that the rod is "loaded", the same thing is happening with your line… you just can't see it. When a fish strikes there's not as much give with the mono as one might think, and as long as you keep everything tight the fish gets hooked by the forward momentum of the boat. Assuming you can agree (or at least relate to this) all you have to do is keep your line tight and the mono acts like a shock absorber.
Full disclosure; I started out trolling with braids and have to admit that it's pretty cool feeling every fish head shake, I could also pretty much tell you how long it was as well. However, after the frustration of losing umpteen jumbos halfway to the boat I reluctantly tried monofilament… and haven't looked back. With hundreds of fish on both line types I can tell you that mono has worked much better at keeping fish pinned, and there's been no discernible difference with hookups in my boat.
As an aside; although I know he catches a lot of fish trolling braid on stiff rods at 5 MPH, my opinion is that Mike would boat even more fish if he made the switch  |
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Posts: 238
| supertrollr - 3/19/2018 9:36 PM
when a guy that have caught more 40 and 50 pounder than the whole m1 members together, we listen ! mono is good for nothing was his word
Who are you talking about? Please try again this time in English.
I've had better hook ups with mono I use 40lb on board rods and 50lb on boat rods. |
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| if you have no idea who im talking about,continue to use your so good mono.a couple don't need to ask because that's a really easy one...... |
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Posts: 20230
Location: oswego, il | It depends on the situation. I like mono for warm water and trolling faster. Braid will work too with a good fiberglass rod and the drag backed off. Very late fall when you are trolling at 2-2.5 you definitely want braid for a better hookset. The bigger and thicker the hooks the less give you wat as well. |
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Posts: 4269
Location: Ashland WI | ToddM - 3/20/2018 6:29 PM
It depends on the situation. I like mono for warm water and trolling faster. Braid will work too with a good fiberglass rod and the drag backed off. Very late fall when you are trolling at 2-2.5 you definitely want braid for a better hookset. The bigger and thicker the hooks the less give you wat as well.
But Todd, you haven't even caught a 50" fish much less more 40 and 50 lb fish than all of muskies Inc members.... |
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Location: 31 | What's so hard about saying Mike Lazarus? He also trolls with wire on his down rods and I gave the stuff up 15 years ago because it's kind of fragile and kinky. That certainly doesn't mean I think I'm right and he's wrong or vice versa. Todd and I have had some disagreements, but I think his post is spot on based on my own experience... and not just repeating what somebody else has said they do. I think that monofilament would work perfectly fine for the original poster's application. |
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Posts: 422
Location: MN | Not a big fan of blindly appealing to authority, but if there was a single person in muskie fishing...
http://www.muskyhunter.com/musky-matters/famed-musky-guides-lazarus...
It would be nice to hear his reasoning/experience behind uniformly excluding mono. Also just to confirm this is in fact his position. In my limited use of 30 lb and 50 lb it seemed to do a good job of keeping tension on the fish while getting rods/boards in. Maybe really good trollers are just better at avoiding the slack that causes lost fish with non-stretch lines for some of us? |
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Posts: 20230
Location: oswego, il | The application, bait size, hook size, rod type, length, speed it all comes into play. I run both mono and braid. I typically only troll larger baits in very late fall and slow. |
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Location: Eastern Ontario | Mono, braid, wire, no matter what string you use you have to put your lure in front of a fish and that is what Laz excels at. Being on the water with 2 or 3 in the boat every day is a real advantage in patterning and staying on top of fish. Most guides network with other guides and friends which is also a big advantage over the guy that fishes once a week or every couple of weeks. |
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Posts: 49
| I appreciate all the responses, everybody. |
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Posts: 333
Location: SE Wisc | SuperTroll, if you’re this much of a know-it-all jag off online, I can only imagine what it’s like to fish with you! By the way I decided to buy an ugly stick for my daughter as her first fishing pole thanks to your advice! |
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Location: Vilas | Ciscokid82 - 3/21/2018 7:39 PM
SuperTroll, if you’re this much of a know-it-all jag off online.......blah blah blah
there is more than one here......
guys jump all over one another b/c of a different opinion....
everyone has different experiences and their opinions are based on those.
Theres more than one way to skin a cat
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Posts: 333
Location: SE Wisc | Absolutely there’s more than one way to skin a cat - that’s my point. Give your opinion but don’t give the impression that it’s the ONLY or BEST WAY. It may be the only or best way for you not everyone |
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