Using a leader on the bow river?

[Fenix_84]

So i was fishing the bow for the first time the past week with my spinning reel and was wondering how common pike are in the river?

When i fish pike I always use a steel leader but since I'm fishing trout i thought I'd pass on one.

What do you guys normally do? Leader or no leader? And if so what kind of leader should I be using for trout?

Thanks

[Erik]

You could always buy some PowerPro and use that as a leader. I sincerely doubt that you will find pike chomping through that and you won't lose too much of the sensitivity or fishability that you would if you use a steel leader.

[WayneChristie]

What part of the river are you fishing? and Erik I wouldnt bet a good lure on the powerpro, had pike bite thru my 30 pound like nothing last winter, and not very big pike either.

[Fenix_84]

Well ive been fishing all over the bow. When I was fishing near the glenmore bridge i lost my lure. Just felt a jerk and then my rapala was gone.

So would you say I should use a leader?

[Geezle]

What part of the river are you fishing? and Erik I wouldnt bet a good lure on the powerpro, had pike bite thru my 30 pound like nothing last winter, and not very big pike either.

X2 on what Wayne said. Pike are not to be trusted with your lures. I wouldn't trust even my 80lb PowerPro against a set of pike teeth. Steel (or titanium) leaders are the way to go if you're expecting to get into pike...and walleye to a lesser extent.

[Photoplex]

So i was fishing the bow for the first time the past week with my spinning reel and was wondering how common pike are in the river?

When i fish pike I always use a steel leader but since I'm fishing trout i thought I'd pass on one.

What do you guys normally do? Leader or no leader? And if so what kind of leader should I be using for trout?

Thanks

I bought myself some ultra light steel leaders (6", less than 12lb) for using with raps. Had to hunt around a few stores (most stores sell really heavy leaders - 20lb to 50lb) but eventually found them at Canadian Tire.

They're steel so they'll protect your rap from the pike, but they're also so light visually that it shouldn't spook most fish. Haven't hooked a trout with that rig, but plenty of walleyes, and they have really acute eyesight. They just look like heavy braid.

Also, don't forget that swivels ruin the action on raps. With these light leaders, I cut the swivel off and tie my line directly to the loop in the leader where the swivel was.

If you're interested, I can dig my tacklebox out and give you the brand.

[DarkAisling]

Well ive been fishing all over the bow. When I was fishing near the glenmore bridge i lost my lure. Just felt a jerk and then my rapala was gone.

So would you say I should use a leader?

So you're fishing around Calgary?

There aren't many pike in the Bow up here, as compared to other places (farther downstream).

Using steel leaders could certainly interfere with the catching of trout. Could the knot have failed when you lost the RapÉ . . . arrgghh. French keyboard.É is supposed to be a question mark.

[Photoplex]

Could the knot have failed when you lost the RapÉ .

I was wondering the same thing - lots to get snagged on (even light snags on weeds) and the knot could have failed.

[Duramaximos]

I used 40# florocarbon leaders with good success this past summer while targeting lake pike. I never lost any due to leader failure.

You might want to turn it down to 20# for the Bow, and tie your lures with a loop knot to maintain good action.

[Photoplex]

You might want to turn it down to 20# for the Bow, and tie your lures with a loop knot to maintain good action.

Only for raps that have no split ring (only a fixed nose ring). If you're attaching to a split ring you need a double loop knot:

http://www.rapala.14e1.com/pdfs/instructions/lures_knot.pdf

[Duramaximos]

Good point - the split ring essentially acts like the open loop.

[Photoplex]

Good point - the split ring essentially acts like the open loop.

Which is a good thing, because the Rapala knot is a PITA :)

[Duramaximos]

I usually use the Surgeons loop. I think it looks easier than the Rapala loop, but I've never tried it to be honest. I implement loop knots when fishing rivers with spinning gear. I noticed my sucess rate improve after trying it for the first time last year. I think it helps make up for the otherwise "bulky" tackle by giving the lure a more realistic action in the current. I thought of this while fishing red fish with live shrimp in Georgia. Our guide scoffed at us when he saw us tying our bait hooks with a uni-knot. :sign0161:

[Christofficer]

Honestly, I haven't used a steel leader in years, even for pike. I maybe had two lures break off in the past 8 years fishing my usual pike spots. If I was fishing for trophies, maybe, but if there's trout present definitely don't use a steel or braided leader. It's just pointless and you won't hook into any trout with that kind of gaudy hardware. infact, use a flourocarbon leader instead of mono.

[Fisher_man#1]

I think its unnecessary to fish with a steel leader on the bow in Calgary. There arnt to many pike in that stretch and its a crime to use a leader for trout. Just get yourself some good 8 pound line and tie a Duncan Loop. These knots are great as you can slide the knot up and down and it cinches down when a fish strikes. It is alway a pain losing those raps as they cost like 8 or 9 bucks but the vast majority of the fish in Calgary are trout and they can be picky sometimes.
Hope this helps.

cheers.

[pikester]

It's a pretty induvidual thing as to what people use for pike, all based on personal experience. I tried using just Fireline (20lb) as well as a couple different braids in 20-40lb without a leader one winter & they chewed through it like a fat kid through a Smartie! Had a little better result with 25lb fluorocarbon but still had about 40% break offs. Changed to 60lb fluoro leader material & haven't been broke off ( or chewed off) since ;) Still using the same ones I made up last fall without fail.

[WayneChristie]

It's a pretty induvidual thing as to what people use for pike, all based on personal experience. I tried using just Fireline (20lb) as well as a couple different braids in 20-40lb without a leader one winter & they chewed through it like a fat kid through a Smartie! Had a little better result with 25lb fluorocarbon but still had about 40% break offs. Changed to 60lb fluoro leader material & haven't been broke off ( or chewed off) since ;) Still using the same ones I made up last fall without fail.

how did you put the snaps and swivels on your leaders, did you use knots or sleeves?

[pikester]

how did you put the snaps and swivels on your leaders, did you use knots or sleeves?

I looped the leader ends through double barrel sleeves then melted the tag ends of the fluoro to "mushroom" them in case of any slippage but so far so good ;) Found out the hard way that it's VERY important the crush the sleeves in the center , parallel to the direction theleader material runs through the sleeve if that makes any sense. My first leader I made the mistake of crimping across the sleeve & the leader failed right at the crimp on a pike I estimated at 26-30 lbs right before I could net it in the summer :( If I can get good enough pic after supper tonight I will post pics but my camera kinda sucks on clos ups so don't know if it will work.

I should mention that I have done up some leaders using knots as well which also seem to be fine but when you're dealing with 60lb or heavier leader material it makes for pretty bulky knots which I don't care for.

[WayneChristie]

I made up some 60 pounders with single sleeves, so far have caught 4 pike on one, best an 8 pounder, and so far its done great, no kinks either like steel. I plan on trying it out with a smaller hook and bait on the ice, I want to watch and see if the pike can bite thru it or not. As for leaders on the Bow, I use them all time, but I catch pike and walleye not trout.

[jeprli]

Get you line down to 4-6lb(a good quality line), get some duolock snaps, tie the snap to the line with a palomar knot, wet the knot before you tighten it and voila you have a fish catching setup. Set your reel drag just tight enough so it doesn't slip on a hookset but so it gives line easily if a bigger fish comes along. Floating raps, and countdowns in sizes from 3-7cm are the best, you can go bigger but there is no real need for it.

Good luck and stay away from the leaders on the bow river, absolutely unnecessary, THEY WILL NOT SAVE YOUR LURE. Your weakest link is the knot, and it will always break on it no matter how big and strong your leader is.

Braid works great for the river, cuts through water a lot easier than mono or flouro, just set your drag like i described above.

[gordfishing]

never use a leader , tie a rappala knot on 10lb mono line, works best from what I have seen, doesn't hurt to re-tie half way through the day thou:sHa_shakeshout::sHa_shakeshout::sHa_shakeshou t: