We anchored off about 3 times when the fishing would go dead. ALl in around 15 feet of water

Thanks

what kind of artificials do you use on calaveras? do you ever fish braunig? and if so what do you use for them?

Spoons. Swim baits.

Anybody tried lead core fishing line? It's a lot cheaper then buying down riggers, three - four colors of line will get you 15-20' deep depending on boat speed.

Huh, sounds interesting.

Lead core is a dacron line filled with a lead core, it comes on a spool with ten colors each color is 10 yards so a full spool is 300'. Lead core is speed dependant at 2 mph each color will run 5' deep now if you slow down( below 2 mph) it will run deeper if you speed up( above 2mph) it will run shallower.. For that 15-20' you guys are trolling 3-4 colors should be enough, it's bulky so you need a large capacity bait caster, abu garcia 6500 or something similar, you should be able to get 4 colors on with backing and leader if you want more than four colors you need to go bigger than a 6500. Spool up 65lb. braid first for backing(sorry can't remember how much) slide back about 8" of the dacron, break off the lead, now you can tie the braid to the dacron (uni knot) . Now for the leader you can use either mono or braid, use the same knot as for the backing, use a leader lenght of 15-25'. I know Cabelas carries lead line. BTW the best rod for lead line is 8' or longer fiberglass.



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Thx for info.

For those without downriggers I have had success trolling DD22 and the deep diving Strike King version. With 6/30 powerpro the DD22 runs appox. 22-23ft and the strike king will run 18ft.

Use braid and a bigger rod and reel than you need. When you get stuck hang thumb the spool and keep going your hook will bend and you will get your lure back, hooks are cheap.

matt

if your hooks are bending from being hung on the bottom, you need new hooks! if you don't believe me...just wait till a lardass red bends it and seeing is believing! ... and that lead core line sounds like more trouble than it's worth... downriggers are not that expensive...

I didnt say lead core i Said braid, and it is really easy to fish with 80lb brade with drag set to fight a fish and then crank it to bend a trebble hook, yes even a new nice strong one. I have caught plenty of "larda$$" reds up to 25 lbs out of braunig and cally without downrigers I know what they can do. If you are loosing lots of lures you should give it a try, wher it will bite you is if instead of putting a new hook on you just straighten the other back out and keep fishing.

If you are trolling with braid maker sure you use a fiberglass rod and set your drag light.

There is a learning curve to using lead line, but it's not that hard to use. Just another option for guy's who don't want to buy down riggers but can still get a shallow running lure to a desired depth. BTW is there much for submerged timber on calaveras.

gotcha redchevy! I would try it but i don't really want to use 80lb braid on my reels. I will keep that in mind though for sure!