Georgian Bay Downrigging, Fishing Line Preferences

Once the 'stay at home' order is lifted I'll be fishing GB a fair bit this yr.

Question - When using a downrigger in the Georgian Bay (Honey Harbour area) what would be the preferred type & lb test of fishing line for downrigging?

I'm assuming either braid, fluoro or mono, or a leader combo.

I'm (obviously) new to downrigger fishing.

Thanks,

Stay Safe,

20 lb mono
Thats it

Usually no more than 12 although one year I had to use 17, nothing else available, mono.

Spring I run 12-14 lb mono with a 8# floro leader , summer 17-20 mono with 12-14 lb floro ..
This is for Gb not lake O with those dam fleas ..beef it way up

Good luck out there

Dave

Well...., Here goes! I'm not a fan of mono for downrigging. I said it.

I have rods/reels set up to run 10 lb line (pulling spoons or plugs only) for trout and salmon on G.B. Mono was ripping/burring from being pulled by a cannonball. Every third or fourth trip I would need to strip the last 100 ft of line because of this damage.

I switched to Seaguar Abrazx (Fluorocarbon) about 10 years ago as the mainline and have not had any issues with it -- in this same 10 lb test. No need to add a leader obviously. Depending of the amount of use, I reverse the line on each rod after a couple or three seasons and use it for another couple or three seasons.

(These setups don't get used for dodgers, dipsy divers, etc. I'll up the pound test on another rod to handle the added stress, but still Abrazx.)

I run 30lb Power Pro braid and a 15lb floro leader.

SDC

Thanks for your input Guys, lots of options to consider.

Cheers,

Stay Safe,

20 lb trilene big game green i pick up the big spools at crappy tire

trying to figure this one out is the same as choosing the right lure

Every boat, rigger and rod is different as are the applications

all I would say is you can get away lighter in the spring and then go beefier

On G bay I would be very comfortable running nothing over 20 pound test and it would be flouro all the way for riggers

braid for any dipseys

I like running braid but sometimes I use my rod for dipsy divers. Braid can be a little slippery on the release clips but I like the contact you feel with your lure / fish. I use Suffix 832 30 pound test to a 10 - 15 foot 12 - 15 pound seagar floro leader, hasnt let me down once yet for fishing gbay.

20 lb trilene big game green i pick up the big spools at crappy tire

Ive been running that off my riggers for years and never had a problem. Dipseys/lead core are a little more complicated.

I'm just curious as to why you like the fluorocarbon? I've watched a few videos on the abrasion test and haven't found much of a difference floro vs mono. Not questioning you, well maybe I'm I am questioning you as to why you feel that way. Obviously its working for you, just would like to know your thinking behind it. Learning opportunity here for me. I'm trolling usually 2.0 mph and above and feel the finess game gets less the higher the speed. Plus my warm water spring fishing is usually in stained water so line visibility doesn't seem to be an issue.

Thanks Longshank

Good quality floro has much more abrasion resistance than mono. Not sure which videos you watched, but floro of the same diameter as mono is way more durable.

I don’t mess around with my main line. I use 65 lb power pro on my dipsy’s and on my rigger rods. My rigger rods I run 20-30’ of floro carbon. I love the no stretch for the riggers and for spiny water fleas they don’t seem to be able to stick on the 65lb power pro when rigging lake O.
I have used my same set up in G bag and caught fish so I don’t think my main line makes a difference.

This is one of the videos I saw. I haven't seen it in 3 years so when I did a search there is no shortage mono vs fluorocarbon videos.

https://youtu.be/KiQTvmM-1cY