Go to any good fly shop. They should have bulk wire leader material that is "knotable" and it comes in light weight pound tests. We don't have Pickerel, but we have Pike and Musky to contend with and this has proven to be the best solution so far.

Hey this sounds intersesting, can you explain this in more detail, In PA here we have tons of fly shops. Can you explain this more?

example: http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_-1_10001_92390_175003002_175000000_175003000_175-3-2

its made for fly fisherman who target toothy fish like pike, pickerel and musky and im sure there are some other saltwater fish that require a steel leader too.

the leaders are pretty lightweight so they should work well.

Thanks I will check this out locally because I am not familar with it.

Any brand names I should be looking foe?

FYI: Stainless steel in any form (piano wire, braided, knotable) is subject to kinking,

and once kinked the test strength is sharply reduced.

Titanium (actually titanium monofilament) is far more kink-resistant

and even if it does take on a subtle kink, the test strength will be relatively unchanged.

BTW: Titanium is highly shock-resistant as it stretches like nylon mono

Roger

I pretty much come from the land of Muskie's (upper midwest) and the only way around them is to use a steel leader, and yes it will weigh heavy on reduced bass bites.  Unfortunately, you really have no option other than just fish.  

I loose tons of money in baits every year, however it is just how it goes when you are fishing where "toothy" critters live.

I went through 15 black and blue jigs in a Fishers of Men Regional Tournament last year on Lake Wissota, and that is a typical day on Wissota .. just ask Ike as he was complaining about the muskie's during the Elite 50 tournament there as well.   ;D

Steve

I pretty much come from the land of Muskie's (upper midwest) and the only way around them is to use a steel leader, and yes it will weigh heavy on reduced bass bites. Unfortunately, you really have no option other than just fish.

I lose tons of money in baits every year, however it is just how it goes when you are fishing where "toothy" critters live.

I went through 15 black and blue jigs in a Fishers of Men Regional Tournament last year on Lake Wissota, and that is a typical day on Wissota .. just ask Ike as he was complaining about the muskie's during the Elite 50 tournament there as well. ;D

Steve

Jig makers gotta love us guys from the north.  

I use 30lb Braid and I catch a lot of Pike on spinnerbaits and jigs. Never had a problem. I'm using 30lb Power Pro.

Knock on wood kid.  Their teeth can part 30 lb braid with no problems.  You'll lose one day and many times in your days ahead.  Wire is the only thing that could be considered 100% "gator" proof.

Had the same with problem teeth, I tried several types of braid including 0,35mm fireline and spiderwire.. The only way to sleep tight is by using some sort of trace wire. Get the smallest diameter you can find and work with it

Knock on wood kid. Their teeth can part 30 lb braid with no problems. You'll lose one day and many times in your days ahead. Wire is the only thing that could be considered 100% "gator" proof.

Exactly.

When either of three things happen, you can boat a northern pike using 8-lb nylon monofilament.

1) The pike is a hammer-handle (bay snake)

2) The lure is "outside" the pike's mouth (out of harm's way)

3) The line is nestled in the space between two teeth acting like a stripper guide (out of harm's way)

Even if you're using 40-lb fluoro leader, the INSTANT the line is straiffed across the bottom teeth

of an adult pike/musky, it's Goodbye Charlie. Ironically, you'll get away without wire until you hook-up with that Gator of a lifetime,

then poof he's gone!! It's quick, it's silent but it's far from painless :-[

Roger

Everytime I catch a pickeral ,I run my pliers in one eye and out the other.That ain't no lie......

It would take a big set of pliers for this sucka... ;D

:-?.

This pic was on another site,some kind of a pending record...

yeah thats a whole different kind of pike (i think). its called the Baltic Pike. im not sure if the exact one in the photo is a Baltic Pike, but i know they exist, they are in Europe and they grow much larger than out Northen Pike. i did some research on it the first time i saw that photo a whilel ago!

Everytime I catch a pickeral ,I run my pliers in one eye and out the other.That ain't no lie......;D

;D   8-)  In the month of August I could literally fill my livewell top to bottom with 3-5's every day I'm on the water if I wanted to.  I got a buddy who grinds them up for trapping season.  Glad to help him out.

I would use a heavy fluoro or mono leader to keep them from stealing your jigs. I fish for big pike all the time, and the seldom bite through fluoro or mono of 15 - 20 pound test, so I doubt you would have a problem with little pickerals biting you off.

Pickerals are fun though.

I would use a heavy fluoro or mono leader to keep them from stealing your jigs. I fish for big pike all the time, and the seldom bite through fluoro or mono of 15 - 20 pound test, so I doubt you would have a problem with little pickerels biting you off.

Pickerels are fun though.