Leadcore – Insights from Professional Fisherman Dusty Minke

Growing up near fabled Serpent Lake near Crosby, Minnesota, I knew only 2 things about lead.  First, my jigs and sinkers were made from lead.  Second, when I was moving too slow at home or on the hockey rink, my dad would often yell, “Get the lead out!”  Little did he know that fishing pioneers decades ago were saying the same thing that would lead to a mini fishing renaissance which still is with us today.

Dusty Minke History

Professional fisherman Dusty Minke with a couple dandy leadcore walleyes

Professional fisherman Dusty Minke with a couple dandy leadcore walleyes

To gain a historical perspective, we sought out long time editor for In-Fisherman and current member of the Lindner’s Angling Edge staff Dave Csanda.  Dave explained that leadcore trolling actually began in the northeast with fisherman trolling for trout.  It migrated to the walleye world thanks to Bob Propst Sr. bringing to Lake Oahe and other waters in the midwest.  Leadcore stormed to the forefront as a technique thanks to high tournament finishes by Gary Roach, Gary Parsons and Keith Kavajecz in 1991 on Lake Erie.  As often happens with the fishing world, this began a trend which began to transcend into other parts of the walleye world.  Ron Seelhoff is generally considered the best leadcore troller of all time having utilized this technique to many big money wins and several championships in his career.  Today people are still slow to warm to the idea of using lead but there is a time and a place for lead outside of tournaments.

Basic Set-Up

“Fishing with lead core line does not have to be expensive.”, attests the Kruger Farms pro.  Minke said the when he first started experimenting with lead, he did not use line counters but was methodical in his note taking.  His suggestion is to take a few lures that you like, find a sandy area and begin to experiment with speed and how much line to let out.  Take notes on what you find and adapt from there.  The rod for lead can be anywhere from 5-8 feet, moderate action with a softer tip to help with snags and bigger fish.  A “color” of line is ten yards and for most fisherman, 4 colors is plenty.  When spooling the reel with lead, begin first with some heavier mono and then add you lead core line; for most applications, 18lb lead core will suffice.  From the leadcore, run a mono leader anywhere from 6-10 feet long to your crank bait of choice.

Trolling - The When And The Why

Trolling is effective

Lead core has been around for decades but a lot of fisherman are averse to change and don’t use this simple and effective technique.

The dog days of summer, temps in the 90’s, dew points are sub tropical and the fish have seemingly swam upstream to summer with Santa.  As surface temps approach 70’s, now is the time to get leadcore out according to FLW Touring Pro Dusty Minke.  Minke suggests that if fishing has gotten tough, set yourself up for a long trolling run through some deep water, 25-30+ feet.  Minke stated,”rather than finesse with rigs or jigs, it might be prime to provoke a reaction bite”.  “The benefits of lead, the Kruger Farms pro explained, is that you can cover a lot of deep water looking for those active biters.”  In doing so you can always go back and work fish again with a rig or a jig but this will eliminate water where fish are less active.  Nothing is more frustrating than sitting on a pod of fish that won’t bite.  Shawn Flemming, owner of Jolly Roger Tackle likes to employ lead as well.  Shawn likes to utilize lead to both cover water and trigger bites.  “I typically cruise around whether it’s a mudflat, gravel bar, transition area or basin and lay down waypoints where I mark fish.  I also pay attention to where the fish are in the water column to determine how many colors to let out. “Quality products also help Shawn dial in a program quicker, “I usually use a 30 foot leader of 10 lb Seaguar Red Label Fluorocarbon tied onto the lead.   For most baits you’ll get about 5 feet of dive on that leader, plus 5 feet for each color of line at 2 mph. “  Shawn has another advantage thanks to their custom crankbaits. Their crankbaits are hand painted and hand tuned to allow you to have confidence in both the forage imitation and the ability of the bait to run at the depth designed.  Both key in helping dial in that specific pattern to gain an edge on the water.

Dare To Be Different

Lead core has been around for decades but a lot of fisherman are averse to change and don’t use this simple and effective technique.  Whether you are a weekend angler or a tournament angler, dare to be different for a change and “GET THE LEAD OUT!”  As Minke and Flemming will agree, you will be glad you did.

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