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Lake Superior Line Weight Question


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What lb test line do you all recommend? I usually run 17 or 12 but am going to respool here soon and am wondering if anyone has any other suggestions. I plan to fish mostly for trout and salmon. Also I have a couple of reels with 30, is that too heavy for planer boards and downriggers?

Thanks,

Steve

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12 & 17 will work fine. planner any heavier will wont sink very well. 17 works great for riggers.

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I used 12 for some time till I went to Lake Michigan, now all my reels are spun with 17. If I were only on Superior I would stick with the 12, very few problems with it on this side of WI.

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  • 'we have more fun' FishingMN Creators

I use the same rods on my boards and downriggers. I like the lighter mono line when fishing the surface. One thing to consider as you start going deeper is the line stretch.

I've haven't lost any fish because of line stretch nor do hook ups matter off a rigger but when you have a bigger fish on down deep you end fighting the line. That could be a good thing with an inexperienced person because its tends to keep tension on the fish and acts like a shock absorber. The down side is when you pump the rod your stretching the line and as you reel down you don't gain much because of the stretch. If you went with 17# you'd get less stretch. Some guys will use a braid for downrigging the deep fall meat rigs, some run the braid throughout the whole season.

So you could use mono and have a couple rods spooled with a braid like Power Pro and use them for the deeper downrigger or dipsy sets.

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