Lb Test for Kings

[jigstick]

I fish mostly Erie for lakers, walleye, and steelhead. But occasionally make it up to a Ontario for kings. I need to respool my down rigging rods. I typically use Berkley professional Trilene 100% Flourocarbon in 12lb test. Ands it's worked. I kept 2 rods spooled with 17lb for my occasional King trips. I was thinking about buying a 2000yd spool of 15lb so I can do all of my rods with the same Lb test. Is 15lb too lite for kings?

[bandrus1]

we all use 30 plus because the diameter keeps the spiny fleas off our line in the summer

[Sk8man]

bandrus is right it used to be 12 lb test for years for me but the fleas changed that 30 lb Blood Run Sea Flee leadered down to Seguar fluoro 20 lb. (12lb  for early Spring browns and kings).

[pvelyk]

When everyone talks about going down to a flouro leader are you using pure flouro leader materiel with the small amount and higher pricier or are you talking about the flouro line in filler pack size?

[Sk8man]

The purists will say leader material (e.g. Blue Label Seguar) but I have also used the Red label Seguar it just seems a little less stiff and probably the blue label stuff has a hardened coating. Whatever you do DON'T use Berkley Vanish it totally sucks. 

[junebug2320]

^^^^^^ correct. ^^^^^^^^^

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[jason]

I never had a problem with Berkeley vanish.

[GAMBLER]

I never had a problem with Berkeley vanish.

You are the only person I have ever heard this from. 

[Tim Bromund]

You are the only person I have ever heard this from.

^^^this^^^

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[Sk8man]

I wish Jason "Good luck" with that stuff .....I threw out a bunch of new spools of it of various tests that had never been used because of the failures in knot strength (regardless of knot used). I have used Berkeley lines since the early seventies and this is the only one that I have absolutely no trust in.

Edited May 4, 2015 by Sk8man

[spoonfed-1]

I fish mostly Erie for lakers, walleye, and steelhead. But occasionally make it up to a Ontario for kings. I need to respool my down rigging rods. I typically use Berkley professional Trilene 100% Flourocarbon in 12lb test. Ands it's worked. I kept 2 rods spooled with 17lb for my occasional King trips. I was thinking about buying a 2000yd spool of 15lb so I can do all of my rods with the same Lb test. Is 15lb too lite for kings?

 

A quality 15 lb test will handle big KIngs if:

 

1 You have good drags

 

2. There are no fleas

 

3 You are not combat fishing

 

Kinda sounds like Heaven don't it?

[jigstick]

The reason I don't want to spool with heavy line is because I spend the majority of my time on erie fishing walleye. And they can be very picky about line diameter when the bite is difficult to come by, even when using Flourocarbon. My usual set up was 17lb Flouro on my rigger rods and dipsy leaders, and 12lb on my jet divers and stacker rods. So I'm hoping to get by using something in the middle, like the 15lb Flouro. Fwiw I have never pulled a knot using the Trilene Professional 100% Flouro.

When I do fish Olcott I really haven't had a problem with the fleas. My wire dipsys seem to stay pretty clear. And I just check my rigger rods every 15-20min

[jigstick]

What is the best way to join two runs of flourocarbon?  I am thinking of just buying two 200yd spools of 17lb test for each of my salmon rods.  But I will have to join the two spools together in order to get 400yds on one reel.  What knot do you recommend for for this?

[GAMBLER]

Use a uni to uni knot. 

[RD9]

Jigstick I have the same exact fishing patterns. I have two diawa 47h reels that I leave spooled with thirty pound test big game for my rigger rods when I go to Ontario. Got sick of re spoiling for my annual late summer trip. For walleye fishing I used to use the same reels for my riggers and used a small barrel swivel and just attached a 12 ft flouro leader.

[TyeeTanic]

30 lb is good. 20 lb leader for rigger rods though.

[Missdemeanor]

Spring time is 20# with various leader strengths...Brownie fishing in Skinny water, I leader down to 12# seaguar floro...King fishing is 15# Seguar.

Summer and Flea time I use 30# big game...If Im running flasher flies, its straight 30# . Spoons I run 15# Seguar leader.

Once the flease show up , alot of guys just splice in 100 ft (or so) of the 30#... Uni knots as Gambler has posted....

[dvdegeorge]

I run 12 lb mono in spring and early summer,then re spool with 20 lb and sea flea

[jigstick]

Well I decided to go with Seaguar 15lb Abrazx Flourocarbon. It has the same OD as the 12lb Trilene Flouro that I was using. Gonna be trolling cowbells and peanuts for lakers on Erie out of Dunkirk this weekend. I hope it has good knot strength. I figure if it can handle big lakers and cowbells that it should be able to handle Kings as well.

Edited May 11, 2015 by jigstick

[jigstick]

If fleas were not in issue, would 15 pound test be strong enough to land Kings

[dvdegeorge]

I land them on 12 lb without a problem

Again you need to know how to fight a fish , drag set correctly and don't horse the fish

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[Sk8man]

X 2 on DVD's post  and before fleas I used 12 lb all the time and even with 30 lb plus kings on the other end without break-offs.

[TyeeTanic]

Yes, 15 lb's is enough if fleas aren't a problem. I've landed 25 lb kings on 8 lb lines (center pin rod). It takes forever to bring them in, but it's possible.

 

I wouldn't use 15 lbs on the lake for 2 reasons - (1) fleas are a problem and they will grab onto that line size. (2) It takes longer to get the fish in, and that puts the fish in greater distress - so unless you plan on keeping it, you have to think of the mortality rate if fish is put under stress for longer periods.

[Tim Bromund]

If fleas were not in issue, would 15 pound test be strong enough to land Kings

Absolutely,

 

Prior to fleas, all I ever ran on my Rigger rods was 12 lb Trilene XT and many a 30+ king came to net,  I really can't remember many breakoffs, but I was using the soft yellow Eagle Claw Starfire rigger rods and Penn 209 reels.  Those rods offered a good cushion and drags on those reels are super smooth, plus, with a 2.8:1 retrieve, it's impossible to horse a fish

 

One of many on 12 lb,  this one was 32 and change.

 

Tim

[baitrigger]

15 is very light if you are targeting kings. You can land them, but tackle aint cheep. 20lbmin. I use pline floroclear 30. I dont loose much tackle.