# copper line???



## sherman51 (Apr 12, 2011)

I never hear about anyone using copper line. 300 ft of 30# is supposed to dive to about 50 to 55 ft. has any of you guys ever tried using copper??

I know a lot of guys use wire line. I don't know if I should try the copper on my outriggers or if it takes to much of the fight out of the fish. just asking for opinions or first hand knowledge here.
sherman


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## SteelEyes (Jul 1, 2013)

I know that copper is real popular among the salmon fishermen on the other great lakes. Sinks deeper than leadcore for the same amount of line. It's claimed that it is more pliabe than the single strand stainless or monel wire that still gets used a lot here in central basin Erie (stainless wire caught 75% of our fish this weekend). Plus there is more dive curve data out there for copper than stainless wire. We were talking about maybe getting a couple of copper setups, might be part of my christmas shopping. I know bloodrun tackle makes a 20lb copper that they market for walleye fishing and based upon their data hits pretty much the same depth as their 30lb. I've spotted the bloodrun and another brand on jannsnetcraft.com. I believe there is variation in brands with depths because of different densities/alloys (?). The link goes to their dive chart for 20lb, as you can see big variation between line speeds. If you go around their site they also have some numbers for the copper running various reef runners.
http://www.bloodruntackle.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Untitled.png

Bloodrun also has some reel capacity data for the 20lb, but most is for huge amounts of backing and 100' of copper. I have an email out to them to get the line diameter for the 20lb so we can use a reel calculator to figure out how big a reel would be needed. I've found some numbers out there but don't think they are right, but even so, doesn't look like we'll be able to get 300' on a Okuma/Cabelas 15 size or the Penn 109. We'll see about a 20 size reel. Once I get work back from them I'll post what I've learned into this thread.

I imagine copper fishes a lot like stainless, and somewhat like braid. With the stainless there is no give in the line. So you feel everything, and there is no forgiveness. Gotta keep your rod up and tension when reeling in. I had a rookie moment this weekend on the wire line, took half a step forward which eased tension and the fish was gone. Basically though with wire, just be patient and don't horse it in. Get a few steelhead on wire line and you'll work through the learning curve  . Aside from the long length to reel in, I find wire line pretty fun. You feel the fish and the fight, it's not like reeling in a log.
Also wire setups are good candidates for planer board programs, either mast or inline. So if you want outside lines that still get down it's definately an option.


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## ezbite (May 25, 2006)

Funny this thread comes up now. After my trip to olcott, Ny a week ago and seeing copper in action I just spent a few bucks to build a copper wire rod, FedEx has my order now and I should by wed or Thursday. You need a special tip either a roller tip or whats called a "twili" cost $7 at fishusa.com if not the braided copper will cut thru the ceramic guide. The wire I ordered is called "a-Tom-mic" it's 7 strand braided, 45# test, has a sink rate of 22' per 100' of line out at 2.2 mph. The one thing I noticed about it was how it seemed to snake thru the water another thing I really liked about it when I was reeling it in and those water fleas would clog the tip, I just grabbed the line just below the bottom guide, pulled down towards the reel and it sliced those fleas right off. I hope I can get it set up by Friday so I can run it out of conneaut Saturday.


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## JIG (Nov 2, 2004)

Stainless gives the same depth. 350 will hit bottom if you slow it down 2 much(70fow). Sometimes its the cats meow!!!!!!! Sometimes its more of a pain than its worth. 1 kink and you just ruined your set-up. They do though make a kink tool. Consists of a couple rollers to run your line though. They do work and pay for its self in a few trips.


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## sherman51 (Apr 12, 2011)

ezbite said:


> Funny this thread comes up now. After my trip to olcott, Ny a week ago and seeing copper in action I just spent a few bucks to build a copper wire rod, FedEx has my order now and I should by wed or Thursday. You need a special tip either a roller tip or whats called a "twili" cost $7 at fishusa.com if not the braided copper will cut thru the ceramic guide. The wire I ordered is called "a-Tom-mic" it's 7 strand braided, 45# test, has a sink rate of 22' per 100' of line out at 2.2 mph. The one thing I noticed about it was how it seemed to snake thru the water another thing I really liked about it when I was reeling it in and those water fleas would clog the tip, I just grabbed the line just below the bottom guide, pulled down towards the reel and it sliced those fleas right off. I hope I can get it set up by Friday so I can run it out of conneaut Saturday.


be sure and let me know how it works out for you.
sherman


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## SteelEyes (Jul 1, 2013)

Heard back from Bloodrun, they said their 20lb copper is the same diameter as their 32lb copper. Believe that is a 0.030 in diameter. So in order to get a full 300' on it would take a pretty good size reel. A Cabelas/Okuma 20 series or Daiwa 27 won't even hold all the copper let alone the backer. Lookls like you would need to go to a Okuma 30 series or Daiwa 57 size reel.

I was surprised at the copper thickness, a lot thicker than comparable lb test stainless or monel. Would be interested to know if it's really less of a pain to deploy/fish than stainless.


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## ezbite (May 25, 2006)

I purchased a penn 320 just for the copper.


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## Misdirection (Jul 16, 2012)

ezbite said:


> I purchased a penn 320 just for the copper.


Good choice. I run 320's for wire and they work great. Still looking for two more to complete my collection.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Ohub Campfire mobile app


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