copper rig questions

[gofishny]

New to site as of yesterday. I'm in the process of setting up my 1st copper rig. Purchased a Diawa Saltist lw50lca . My next step is to purchase a rod . I'm at a place now where i have a lot of questions : How long of a pole, do I go with roller guides or just with a roler tip ????? What # test do i get ??? How much backer do i need if i go with 45# . Any suggestions / or helpful hints would be greatly appreciated. Board looks really good and I'm looking forward to filling out my profile and getting to chat / exchange ideas / views.

[EdB]

I use 9 ft blue diamond rods for copper. They have one roller by the reel and then metal eyes for the rest of the rod. It has a twili tip. I've never had a problem with them, they get heavy use. I run them off walleye boards to get them away from the back of the boat.I use 50lb power pro for backing. I like to rig all my long lines with the backing being the heaviest strength, the the copper or core with lighter breaking strength and then a lighter leader. If anything breaks, it is usually the leader. You would hate to have the backing break and lose everything.

One tip when running copper, always keep some tension on it when letting it out. If you free spool it, it can tangle easily.

[1mainiac]

I looked up the specs on that reel it is a nice reel but really not enough line capacity for copper I also wonder if the line guide can handle the size of a copper connection going thru it. Based on the line fill calculator you would end up with roughly 175 yds of 30 lb power pro for backer and 20 yds of 20lb mono for a leader with a 300 copper in 45lb. Also no need for a line counter on copper and core setups my bet is it would make a great wireline reel for a diver rod. For copper setups it is hard to beat the Shimano 800's or the Okuma CV55L for the ability to hold a huge spool of line on a budget.

[Legacy]

Nice reel but it is only gonna get you 300' of copper or less. Alot of guys run daiwa heartland rods for copper or ive been running ugly sticks from Atommic http://www.atommiktrollingflies.com/uglystick.htm

[schase1]

hello, I also going to try to run copper for the first time. Was planning on using a Diawa 57LC with 45lb copper and 50lb braid for backing. Never put much thought in the type of rod until I read one of the replies. My original intention was to use one of my older downrigger rods, but now I am re thinking. Do i need a roller rod for copper, or a twilli tip on the end of the rod. Hope everyhting works out.

thanks

[Nailer]

Any rod will work. It doesn't need rollers. Although rods with big eyelets are nicer. A lot of guys like the shorter (7') rods, because it makes removing the planer easier. 450' braided backer in the 30-50 pound range is good. I stick a 6' pc of 30 pound mono between the braid and copper to attach the board to. If you can't get the full 300' on there, than just put what you can.

Here's a few older post to read.

#1

#2

Welcome aboard.

There are many that like to help.

When you get out this year, bring the camera. We love seeing those Lake O Kings.

Edited March 2, 2010 by Nailer

[1mainiac]

I guess the reason I say kinda small is my cv55l holds 520 yds of 30lb and the Saltist reel he is talking about holds 350 yds of 30lb. I have nearly been spooled a couple of times on my 300 copper so I am changing out the backer to power pro. I want to add a 450 copper this year but need to buy another reel for it. I am taking a couple of my old rod and Reel combo's and making them into 150 coppers so I can compare them to my full cores.

[Yankee Troller]

Roller rods are not needed. Get a 9'6" Daiwa Heartland or Uglystick and that is all you need. The Saltist 50 will hold 300' of 45lb copper no problem. I have heard maybe even 350'. That's the reel you want for copper and cores. get the 6.4:1 gear ratio model. I ran that last year for my 10 color cores and i will have them for my 300 coppers this year. You can get away with 30 or 40lb backing for a 300 copper, but when you go over 300' of copper you NEED to go to a 50lb backing. On Lake Ontario we use 300 yards of backing on our copper rigs.

[Lone Star]

I just bought some Basspro ss-30 reels for copper. They have no problem with 300' of copper and they only cost $49

[spoonfed]

we run okuma 55s for our 300 copper with 50 lb braid backer, and we use 800 tekotas for our 600 coppers, also backed with 50 lb braid. You dont have to have mono to hook it to the boards, just double wrap and you wont have any slippage.

[Treblemaker]

Nothing wrong with shorter coppers. 75-225' rigs rock, add a snap weight, dive bomb, or torpedo weight if you want to go deeper. The 450-600' coppers are a pain, but do work. It just seems for as much as you invest in them they don't see too much action compared to the shorter segments.

The Okuma Convector GL copper/leadcore series has the large stainless eyes and works great on a modest budget. The Shimanos are really nice too.

[Just Hook'n]

Get yourself some Okuma 55L reels, okuma copper/leadcore rods.

All good information here, but personal preference on the backer and leader.

I use all 25lb mono backers and leaders on my core and copper setups.

Of course we are catching the kings with shoulders like they get in Lake O.

For that you may need 50lb backer or you will be replacing your copper often.

[gofishny]

Spoonfed , Can you expain what you mean by double wrap on the copper line ??? Also if your running copper do you need to run a planner board ??? Looks like some folks are running in line or can you also run regular planner boards ( otters ). Is there a benefit with either one over the other ?????? Any and all input from everyone would be appreicated . Thanks

[Fishwhisperer]

Spoonfed , Can you expain what you mean by double wrap on the copper line ???

Wrapping the Power Pro around the pinch pad on the board.

[Nailer]

if your running copper do you need to run a planner board ??? Looks like some folks are running in line or can you also run regular planner boards ( otters ). Is there a benefit with either one over the other ?????? Any and all input from everyone would be appreicated . Thanks

The advantage of in lines is; you can keep them in the order they belong in.

IE, when running three lines per side, the shortest goes to the outside and longest/deepest stays closest to the boat. After a fish is netted on a particular rod, it can be put back to it's spot.

The answer is yes thought. You can run copper/core off a big board.

[spoonfed]

Wrapping the Power Pro around the pinch pad on the board.

Exactly, We run the braid as backer because you can have more at a smaller diameter, and its cheaper to replace leader than copper. We have run our 600 with a dive bomb and had no problems with the inline boards.