Line Recommendations for Trolling Musky and Pike

I posted this question in the middle of another thread and didn’t get a lot of opinions or suggestions. However Kong did a real good job of suggesting

Kong wrote:

60lb Trilene Big Game monofilament. When muskie trolling at higher rates of speeds i like the stretch and shock absorbing properties of a monofilament compared to a Braid.

Thanks Kong.

With that said I was wondering if others concurred with Kong on the Mono thing. I had heard Braid was the only way to go. So I would appreciate some alternate experiences on the topic.

I only use braid when trolling for muskies. 100lb Sufix Performance Braid or 80lb sufix 832 advanced braid. If you set your drag right, that’s your shock absorber.

The braid is a lot easier to manage, it’s tougher, it’s smaller diameter so you can get baits down deeper without letting out as much line, all dive curves for muskie trolling baits are typically calculated using braided line, and it lasts much longer.

^X2
but i use 100 lb Cortland Master Braid

I too prefer 100# braid over using mono. Yes, mono has a shock absorbing aspect to it, but its buoyant so it wants to float plus its thick.
Like Pat says, loosen the drag and make sure your rods are not pointing out at right angles to the side of the boat. Don’t ask me what happens when a big fish strikes.

I use to do a lot of deep water trolling, used single strand wire, I think it was 60 pound. No stretch, the copper wire would most likely do the trick also, when they hit the lure you know it . Hang on.

Pat McSharry wrote:

I only use braid when trolling for muskies.

And not only trolling, casting too. I’ve been using some type of braid since day one when I started muskie fishing 35 years ago.

With a heavy rod and reel, you don’t want any stretch or shock absorbing in the line. The rod will bend. Set your drag tight, but so it will give…barely. You won’t rip the fishes lips off.

Keep in mind when a muskie, or big pike for that matter clamps down on your lure…it is in there solid. It’s locked in their jaws and to get a good hookset, you need that lure to budge some and get the hooks to sink into their bony jaw.

It’s almost like you have to have it rip a bit and braid will do that while mono especially if lined out a ways will stretch like a rubber band and not sink the hooks.

And BTW Kevin, I’ll be up in Garrison this weekend which always includes a stop at the Harbor. PM me if you’re there this weekend, maybe we can meet for a beer and discuss this matter further.

I fish more Pike then Muskie. I use mostly 30# braid with the drag set properly (hopefully)

I would beef up if I was doing Muskie as my target species.

Thanks for the suggestions guys. That clears things up dramatically. Greatly appreciated.

I prefer the 50lb Big Game mono for my planer board lines when open water trolling. It’s easier to use as it grips in the boards better (no need to wrap the line, etc), is plenty strong, and the hook-up rates are just fine. I’ve got dive curves for my lures for both braid and mono, and the mono does require more line out but we’re often short lining big deep diving cranks under the boards anyway. The stretch in the line (plus a moderate action trolling rod) also allows me to set the drag a tighter so that the big boards aren’t constantly ticking out line.

For down rods or long line trolling, I use 80-100lb Cortland. Good abrasion resistance, consistent quality, great line. I set the drag lighter (hand pull tight) so the low-stretch isn’t an issue.

When banging rocks, I use a coated flexible wire leader. For anything else it’s a fluro. 3-4′ long in both cases.

Good luck!