Weighted steel. Yay or nay

[rolmops]

There is one thing that nobody mentioned in this thread. It is the amount of time that copper is out of the water because of yet another birds nest that needs to be unknotted. It takes a long time, a lot of cursing and nobody is happy about it. weighted steel hardly ever turns into a birds nest and if it does, it gets easily unknotted. Remember. any time a line is out of the water because of technical problems like a knotted line, that line is worthless.

[Gill-T]

I am a weighted steel user and will not go back to copper

[Dschaffer]

20 minutes ago, Gill-T said:

I am a weighted steel user and will not go back to copper

Do you back it with 19 strand?  If yes, and run with planer boards, how do you attach to the planer?  

[Gill-T]

No nineteen strand just braid backing. If I need additional depth, I add a torpedo diver or a keel weight to the leader. 

[GAMBLER]

I will stick with my coppers.  They flat out produce!  As for a rookie, I would buy 2 coppers to start.  300' and 500'.  These two have been my most productive coppers for years.  Another positive of copper over steel is scrap price.  When copper is replaced, you can get money back for it.  

[jimski2]

Too much Precious fishing time is lost dealing with the extensive reeling out and retrieving these extreme lengths.  Side planers are more effective and productive.

[Sk8man]

Fishing isn't a race. It should be fun and some of the fun involves trying different things and using different methods and experimenting. A true waste of time can occur though when someone does the same thing over and over the same way regardless of outcome. Each method of fishing has its strengths and weaknesses and place in the arsenal or "toolbox".

Edited March 1, 2021 by Sk8man

[Mike M]

Its a Yay for me. I've heard alot of positive reviews from people using it. I'm gonna put together 2 combos and give it a try. Never went all in on copper. Just own 1  300 copper. Don't use it that much cause its not user friendly. My fishing partners don't seem to like copper. Know some good captains that said goodbye to  coppers and replaced with weighted steel. Gonna try it this year.

[GAMBLER]

15 hours ago, jimski2 said:

Too much Precious fishing time is lost dealing with the extensive reeling out and retrieving these extreme lengths.  Side planers are more effective and productive.

Side planers are useless when fish are down over 100' in August.......

[jimski2]

Three  ounce lead sinkers get you down to 80 foot easily.

[GAMBLER]

30 minutes ago, jimski2 said:

Three  ounce lead sinkers get you down to 80 foot easily.

Not even close.  3oz. of lead does not go more than 30' at salmon speeds.  Put a paddle and fly behind it and you will be lucky to see 15'.  

Edited March 2, 2021 by GAMBLER

[dreamsteelie]

My friends were using WS for a few years and would constantly tease me about my unwillingness to try it.  So they brought a few rods on the VQ VI for me to try.  I converted totally to WS in 2020.  The positives outweigh the negatives.  It unspools like leadcore which means far fewer birds nests, in the event of tangles, it is wayyyyyyy more forgiving when untangling and does not twist like copper(copper is near fatal on tangles) , I never retied my terminal ends all year because the steel VS copper does not get as brittle and fall(strands break) apart at the connections (ZERO breakoffs in 2020) I could not say this with copper, and it comes pre weathered (camo brown) VS the new bright shiny copper(which takes a little while to patina).  Disadvantages: little more pricey but I feel over time you will recoup that considering longjevity and redo's with copper and less break offs, inability to cut and splice repair on the fly when needed and the terminal connections may be slightly more time consuming but..... they are long lasting, so....  I may have missed a couple more but those few key items that converted me.  BTW, I hate long lines but they are a needed part of one's program.

I never messed with adding wire line (19-strand) as a backer BUT have invested in the torpedo weights of varying sizes to add to the front end where my leader is, to instantly and easily add weight to alter my depths.  I am not a Voodoo guy, BUT I am convinced I catch more fish with that Torpedo weight added to my set ups.  It may create more noise, bubbles or alter the angle of the offering but..... LOL, foood for thought. We have been using add on weights since 1990 on Lake Erie to follow walleyes down as the season goes and they move deeper in the water column. What we have found is that by adding 1 OZ, your offering obtains another 4 ft of depth (when attached at the leader end of leadcore or copper or WS) Trolling 2.2-2.5 ishhhh... We would make our 5 cores into 7 cores by simply attaching 2 OZ on the front end (as an example)

 

Captain Pete

VQ

Edited March 2, 2021 by dreamsteelie

[Gill-T]

More efficient to learn how to run a dipsy off an otter boat for depths below 80’

[Dschaffer]

Hey all.  Is anybody using 19 strand backer and attaching it to a planer board?  If so, how are you attaching it?  Also, what knot are you using for the wire to weighted steel?  

Thanks 

Edited March 2, 2021 by Dschaffer

[Legacy]

5 hours ago, Dschaffer said:

Hey all.  Is anybody using 19 strand backer and attaching it to a planer board?  If so, how are you attaching it?  Also, what knot are you using for the wire to weighted steel?  

Thanks 

 

I wouldnt even attempt to use 19 strand as backer. Stick with braid and you can thank me later.

[rolmops]

2 hours ago, Legacy said:

 

I wouldnt even attempt to use 19 strand as backer. Stick with braid and you can thank me later.

Sorry , but I must strongly disagree. I have used 19 strand as backing for three years now, without ever a problem. Besides, according to Matthew (the owner of Torpedo)the sink rate of weighted steel carries over to the 19 strand. 200 feet of WS + 200 feet of 19 strand gets you down to 80 feet. This is because of the weight of the 19 strand and the very thin diameter of the 19 strand which gives it very little water resistance. I checked it at 2 mph pulling a magnum lure with a fishhawk TD and it is a fairly accurate statement.

[Dschaffer]

1 hour ago, rolmops said:

Sorry , but I must strongly disagree. I have used 19 strand as backing for three years now, without ever a problem. Besides, according to Matthew (the owner of Torpedo)the sink rate of weighted steel carries over to the 19 strand. 200 feet of WS + 200 feet of 19 strand gets you down to 80 feet. This is because of the weight of the 19 strand and the very thin diameter of the 19 strand which gives it very little water resistance. I checked it at 2 mph pulling a magnum lure with a fishhawk TD and it is a fairly accurate statement.

Good to hear!  Are you running it off of planers?  If so, how are you attaching the 19 strand to board?  Thanks 

[rogertalk]

m not buying into it. It may offer some "versatility" but I certainly dont see it as a "replacement" for copper. I see this setup ONLY being used without worries as a chute rod or at least in the way it is promoted. The idea that you can run this off boards (big or small without worries) blows my mind. 

 

 

Nox Vidmate VLC

Edited March 3, 2021 by rogertalk

[Gill-T]

I would not be attaching 19 strand into a release over and over.........  Braid backing.....yes.  19 strand doesn't take much to have those small strands break and start to unravel.  Make sure you use 80 lb braid backing to make the knot connection to the weighted steel as 30 lb is not wide/strong enough to keep knot from slipping.  I am not a fan of using long lines down the chute.....you are asking for trouble at some point.  

[rolmops]

On 3/2/2021 at 6:13 PM, Dschaffer said:

Good to hear!  Are you running it off of planers?  If so, how are you attaching the 19 strand to board?  Thanks 

I sometimes run it off otter boards using rubber bands in scotty clamps. When in Owasco lake (solo fishing) I usually just run it out the back. In principle I treat it almost the same as mono(without stretch). My boat is fairly small -19 foot- and the main advantage that weighted steel gives me is its versatility. I used to have six sets of leadcore and 4 sets of copper on board and sometimes it caused me to feel that I was loosing control of the work place. With weighted steel I can do the leadcore jobs and the copper jobs all with just a few almost trouble free weighted steel rods with line counters.

Edited March 4, 2021 by rolmops

[Dschaffer]

10 hours ago, rolmops said:

I sometimes run it off otter boards using rubber bands in scotty clamps. When in Owasco lake (solo fishing) I usually just run it out the back. In principle I treat is almost the same as mono(without stretch). My boat is fairly small -19 foot- and the main advantage that weighted steel gives me is it versatility. I used to have six sets of leadcore and 4 sets of copper on board and sometimes it caused me to feel that I was loosing control of the work place. With weighted steel I+ can do the leadcore jobs and the copper jobs all with just a few almost trouble free weighted steel rods with line counters.

Got it.  I was thinking about using a Sam’s pro release on a church planer board.  The pro releases don’t pinch the line and when it “releases” the board would just slide on the line until it hits a bead before the lure.  It seems to me that this would be a pretty safe set up for 19 strand.  Thanks for your insight 

[Misdirection]

When you guys are saying weighted steel, are you talking single strand stainless? Thats what we use over on Erie and with 300' of wire and a Magnum Bomber 26A, I can sink it in the mud at 70'.

Sent from my SM-A505U using Tapatalk

[Sk8man]

http://www.bing.com/search?q=Torpedo+weighted+steel&form=QBLH&sp=-1&pq=torpedo+weighted+steel&sc=0-22&qs=n&sk=&cvid=5F310D29284D4BD18A0979C3753153BF

[Sk8man]

In my view this is not a yea or nay situation or decision. Like politics there is a place for moderation of view. As with leadcore and copper these setups have a different "signature" in the water and each type of them have their strengths and weaknesses.  Rather than look for quick or easy answers it pays to try things out for yourself and gather your own intel from which to make decisions based on your own specific situation, needs, boat setup. or tackle availability. There is no actual right or wrong to most of this stuff just different ways of doing things and  sometimes regardless of the particular setup the hands on experience is what leads to success in using whatever particular material, approach, or technique is selected.