What test do you guys recommend for leader line on tip ups. I'm thinking 15lb fluro?
Ice Fishing
Leader line for northerns
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Had a pike break off on 30 pound floro this week-end. It was coming in and then it got hung up. I applied a little more pressure and pop. Gone. The line was cut about 6 inches above the hook. I don't know if the fish was hung up in weeds or stuck it's head down into the bottom but it would not budge when it hung up. Does floro get weaker if it stays waterlogged for while? I noticed that the spools of a couple of my rigs were still soaked from the last outing a couple of weeks ago. I didn't get them out and let them dry out as I usually do. Never had that problem before. Going to 40 pound next year. Mrt.
Fireline is not a braid. It is a fused superline. Yes, it can be cut. Regardless, it works well for me. I have not had a pike bite or cut through it yet. Nor have any of the people I fish with. So, to each his own. All I know is that there are a bunch of pike swimming around out in my neck of the woods with hooks and mono streaming out of their mouths.
My buddies have all experimented with different leader materials over the years, too, while I stuck to simple wire leaders until just a few years ago. Where we fish on the Miss. R. it used to be turbid enough, it didn't seem to affect the bite. Now the water is clearer, and they started outfishing me with mono. The tradeoff, though, is getting bit off, frequently. All the guys I know who fish mono get bit off. Last week, one of our guys got bit off by a big one. I gave him some of my 30lb fireline. Next day he cpr'd a personal best - 41", in the weeds and lots of power runs. It depends where you fish. Around here, you can get away with fireline. Some places, the water is clear enough you will have to go with mono or fluoro, but you will get bit off. That's just the way it is. Truth be told, a pike's teeth can saw through just about anything. You just have to decide where on the spectrum you want to fish between hook security or stealthy presentation.
Sorry to hear the kid lost one, hope he got a glimpse. I've lost more than I care to admit at the knot, precisely why I am a fan of sleeves - Flouro loses too much strength if you are not patient (which I have never been accused of being)
I use 40# 18" this time of year for most set up's. On auto's or spring loaded I'll go down to 16#.
If it's straight up pike action you are looking for - 8# Flouro, on an auto with nothing but a #12 Gama treble. Hooks corner of the mouth every time, lose a few at the hole but I don't keep them anyway.
With all due respect jkb, you are out of your mind if you think a pike ate your leader 24" deep. That is unless perhaps your flag was up for a week before you got to it and you had a mile of that 20 lb big game on your spool. You might just want to check your main line on your other boards for freys and consider dacron instead.
If you are willing to switch to circle hooks and a snell knot you could go as low as 8 or 10 # test Flourocarbon. If you want to stick with trebles I would say 20 #. Circle hooks are great for bass and pike just start pulling in do not set the hook they end up in the corner of the mouth pretty much every time. I have never tried them for walleye.
Flouro is the way to go. I don't fish pike all too much but when I do it's floro. 15-18 years back I did a bunch of pike fishing winter and summer. You can get away with 20lb but make sure you change it often. they will put nicks in it, i've even broke a few off. If you plan on getting into it heavy, i'd run a couple with 20 and a couple with 30. Just my thinking. a big boy will break 20 with no problem.
I have limited experience with wire but when I did run it I never caught anything. mostly clear water though.
When i was a kid, we used to run 20 trilene, they use to break that no problem but even with snap offs, we still outfished people running wire.
Circa 2000, my introduction to flourocarbon, it's good stuff.
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