Whether you're chasing salmon or walleye, you need to learn how to use lead core and copper line. They might be a little tricky and intimidating, but these technologies are great tools to put fish in the boat, especially when you're in a tournament and the midday fishing is tough.

To attach a leader to copper, tie an overhand knot in your wire. Thread the line through that knot and tie a cinch knot or a uni-type knot around the standing wire. Cinch it up like a blood knot, and you're ready to go. Photo by Ron Sinfelt.

In the past decade, tournament fishing has become very popular on the Great Lakes. One of the most successful boats on the tournament circuit is Best Chance Too.

Captains Dave Engle and Bill Bale combine state-of-the-art technology with their knowledge of salmon fishing. The result is, they win tournaments.

"Today there is lots of competition on the water," said Bale. "To win consistently, anglers must be on the forefront of technology. We are always looking for ways to put more fish in the boat and state-of-the-art technology to help us catch more fish."

While lead core or copper will increase your catch rates, Engle and Bale rely heavily on topnotch electronics and copper wire in particular. For years, lead core was the standard for trolling deep waters but recently copper has caught on among many serious anglers.

Copper is gaining in popularity because it's more fun to catch fish on copper than lead core. "With copper you can feel the fish fight even when you have several hundred feet of wire out. With lead core, you can't really feel the fish. It just feels like you are reeling in a log," Bale said.

The other advantage of using copper is its weight. An angler could use half as much copper wire to achieve the same depth compared to lead core. Copper wire is almost twice as heavy as lead core.

"It takes about 175 feet of copper wire to achieve the same depth as 300 feet of 27-pound test lead core," Bale said.

Often it doesn't take as long to reel in fish because only half of the wire is in water. But copper does require more of an investment. The wire costs more and anglers need a special rod designed specifically for copper wire.

And many anglers shy away from using lead core or copper because it's easy to get tangled up. It's true that you have to be more alert and watch for problems when trolling, especially if there is a lot of line out. Taking sharp turns and being in a hurry when letting line out can be disastrous.

Capt. Chip Klein of Hit Man Charters said anglers need to give copper or lead core another chance. The benefits are enormous.

"With lead core or copper, anglers can really get deep in the middle of the day when fish are deeper," said Klein. "Lead core and copper can go beyond 100 feet deep and allow more water to be covered because the lure rises and falls in the water column as anglers speed up and slow down."

If you cover more water, chances are you'll be putting your lure in front of more fish.