32 or 45lb copper ?

[fathobbit0074]

Getting ready to rig up

My sea gates with some copper snd I was wondering what others went with. I have 45 ON my old reels but I'm always open to change

[Sk8man]

I'm switching over my coppers to 32 next season. The 45 is a bit "clunky" in my view and you can get more of the 32 on a reel. Most of my use of coppers is on the Finger Lakes so I think the 32 is more practical there and although the 45 braided may resist kinking a bit better I am very used to using thinner copper so I shouldn't have problems with it. I use clip or slide weights to get extra depth anyway when I desire it. 

Edited October 21, 2014 by Sk8man

[Legacy]

Getting ready to rig up

My sea gates with some copper snd I was wondering what others went with. I have 45 ON my old reels but I'm always open to change

Whats the application? What are you setting up?

[skipper19]

I have 2 Seagate 60 with copper. 900 feet of 30 lb power pro backing will fit either 600 ft 32 copper...or 400 ft 45 copper. I use each and both work awesome. Two different planes trolling together less chance for tangles. If having one I would personally go 32 lbs. marked every 100 ft. fluorescent spray paint works. You will reach over 100 down with 600 32 out with most presentation and normal speeds and current. Everything between is 18 to 20 down for each 100 out.

What it looks like with 600 32 lb and 900 30 lb power pro.

Cent frum my notso smart fone

[John E Powell]

Without specifically plugging one brand of copper over another, if you do an internet search for copper depth charts you can find some charts that were created with smart-troll data that show there isn't a lot of depth to be gained using 45lb copper over the 32 until you get to the longer lengths of copper. This is because while the 32 is lighter in weight, it's also smaller and cuts through the water with less resistance than the 45, so at shorter lengths the weight and drag of the different weight lines tend to offset each other giving similar results on all but the longest lengths. The 60lb copper has quite a different depth profile, it's much deeper throughout the various lengths.

 

As others have mentioned above, the 32 is quite a bit smaller in diameter thus allowing you to use smaller reels than similar length 45 copper rigs, so this might be an important consideration if you already own reels and want to re-rig them with copper. If you're buying new reels, then you could go with either the 32 or 45 making sure you match the reel capacity to the line and backing you need.

 

I've spent a lot of time observing on pro boats over the years, and I've noticed two distinct approaches to copper among some of the boats that consistently place among the leaders. I'm going to overly simplify here for brevity and clarity. The larger camp of captains approaches copper from the viewpoint that the further the copper is from the boat the better. You'll often see all 32 or all 45 lb copper to lengths up to 700 or even 800 feet. Then there's a second smaller camp that mixes the weights. There's some variety here so I'll give one example. This very well known and respected captain runs lengths of 32lb on shorter lengths out to 300', and then 60lb on 250'-450' lines. He runs 1 or 2 inline boards per side. When he runs two he sets the 32 lb on outside boards and the 60 on inside boards. He's reaching the same depths with his shorter 60lb rigs as the first group of captains who are running the super long 32/45lb rigs. They all catch a lot of big fish, their success in tournaments is proof of that.

 

Maybe the long copper is a more productive approach for the really big charter boats that move a lot of water as they troll, but shorter coppers are certainly easier to fish if you have a small to mid-size boat which tend to be stealthier than the big charter boats.

 

Consider what you have that you want to adapt and re-use, and what you need to buy new, then pick an approach that makes sense for your needs and capabilities.

[fathobbit0074]

I got seagates as an upgrade I was running 45lb on penns but hated the ratio. I'm starting with my 100 200 300 right now. And a 400 500 later down road I usually run 2 a side off tx 22 Sometimes 3 if I'm frisky. Core off other side I'm about 50/50 between oz and fingerlakes depending on time of the year

[Xxx]

No wonder you guys catch fish, your lure is only a 1/8th mile behind the boat (660ft) lol I remember that # from my old drag car days.

[bloodrun]

We have used quite a bit of 32, 45 and 60lb...The majority of what we use now is back to all 32lb (which is where we started many years ago).   We have a couple of 200' 60lbs which are by far our best overall, but you can't beat the smooth deployment and greater capacity of the 32lb.

 

If you keep your boards spaced out good, you should have no problem mixing different copper sizes.    We use all Church walleye boards with the weight pushed forward for our 35'-150' coppers.   Everything from 200' and beyond gets a Church TX-44 with the weights pushed forward also.    Our boards get out real wide with great spacing, even on super long meat rig paddled setups 500+.  

 

We typically run 4 boards a side and have started loading up with multiple reels of the same segment.  Fishing is getting a little tougher the past year or two, and when fish are biting on a certain length, we will put out 4 to 6 of them at a time.    It has paid huge dividends.