Depth Charging with LeadCore

So,
A small portion of the conversations last night brought up the subject of using Lead Core to get down deep without the use of a downrigger.

Did some looking around on the web today and found easy places to pick up the stuff. Leaning towards the 36 lb test as a do all line. Found a lot of advice, including which reels are more friendly towards using lead core, how to adjust depth using boat speed etc.

Does anyone know of a chart some place online that can reliably help me ginsu lengths to make certain weights? say i cut 14ft of 18lb to give me a 2 ounce equivilant... thats what i need help with. 

I have tried Lead Core a few times from the PB.  Problem with lead core line is that to get a little ways down,  you have to let A LOT of line out.  Problem being the planing effect with Lead Core typically being close to twice the diameter of similar rated mono.     
 I found this chart that worked with multi colored line with each color change representing the start of another 10 yards of line.   



Amount of leadcore by Colour and Depth Achieved at 2.5 mph trolling speed

Full Core, 10 colours or 100 yards (knot at the water) GREY   50'-55'
9 colours AQUA   45'-49'
8 colours ORANGE   40'-44'
7 colours PURPLE   35'-39'
6 colours OLIVE   30'-34'
5 colours or 50 yards BLACK   25'-29'
4 colours YELLOW   20'-24'
3 colours BLUE   15'-19'
2 colours BROWN   10'-14'
1 colour RED   5'-9'


My concern is how many other boaters on the water have no problem crossing your wake only 50 yards or so behind me.  Perhaps even less when your just a kayak.   
It would be interesting to do some experimentation to see how much weight "Banana Sinker" and super braid line is needed to achieve that same depth at the same trolling speed.

Yeh I had seen that chart too. What i'm really looking for is one that tels you how much 12 feet of 18lb weighs, or how many feet of 36 lb equals 3 ounces. for example.,  The idea being to use certain lengths as sinker substitutes instead of a whole line.

Guess i go buy a small kitchen scale and experiment.

Maybe this will help. Roughly the lead core line is 13 grains a foot for the 27lb. Fly fishermen use something similar-Cortland leadcore line(LLC-13)or k-boom line. The other more popular line is the T-line which is Tungsten instead of lead. They go from T-8,T-11,T14,T17 and T-20. The T stands for Tungsten and the number represents the weight per foot in grains.So 12ft. =168gr. The T-14 is almost the equivalent to 27lb. lead core line +/- 4gr.

Thanks, thats a start... .. I know where to get the grain to ounce conversions..

Me thinks your over thinking it.  It's more experimentation than calculation.

Just spool up some 15# or 18#, tip it with 50 to 70 feet of mono (10 - 15#), swivel, 6 feet of flouro or your favorite leader and tie one on. At about 1 to 1.5 kts it sinks roughly 6 feet per color (10yds), more or less depending on your lure, currents...and many other factors.

When your rod tip bounces and grabs your snagging bottom, reel in clear the junk off your lure (assuming you still have one), go through the same area/depth again at same speed with a color or two less.  If you are trying to fish just above the bottom.  Sometimes trout are suspended, you might only want it to present 20 feet down.  All depends. It will be different every day.

36# lead core would be heavy duty stuff. Might work for trolling for salmon or deep lake trout in the summer, but this time of year all the action is 40' and less, no need to go deep. 10 full colors of that stuff might tip your kayak over, it won't be any fun to reel back in.

Awwwww c'mon. Half the fun is experimenting 

Honestly, just want to use sections of it instead of sinkers. That's why i ask what I ask

Sorry if I came off wrong, I think we agree.  My point being that it is all about experimenting.

I've got a couple of rods set up with lead core.  The lighter one has only 2 colors (20 yds) of 15# with 70 feet of 6 lb test mono. If I am barely moving it might keep a needlefish spoon down 10 feet. But I clip a 2 oz. snap-weight onto the lead-core right near the mono junction and it will reach 30 to 40 feet at the same speed.  I picked up a nice 2 lb smallmouth bass late in December on this rig.  There's a lot of ways to combine lead-core with other weight systems, you could probably even use it with a downrigger if you got real creative. 

Its all about getting a natural presentation in front of the fish, and then they can decide if they want it.