Seaweed and Beach Fishing

[EamonX1]

When Beach Fishing (I am relatively new to it) along the South-East Coast of Ireland I encounter a lot of sea-weed, especially after storms. Any tips on coping with sea-weed would be greatly appreciated. Does one search for spots where there is little or no sea-weed (very rare) or can one fish fruitfully in the presence of moderate seaweed?

[maidstonemike]

When Beach Fishing (I am relatively new to it) along the South-East Coast of Ireland I encounter a lot of sea-weed, especially after storms. Any tips on coping with sea-weed would be greatly appreciated. Does one search for spots where there is little or no sea-weed (very rare) or can one fish fruitfully in the presence of moderate seaweed?

 

 

After an on-shore blow, weed is a problem. You either just have to live with it, or avoid the conditions that produce it. Sometimes, it's so bad, that fishing is impossible.

After a blow, wait a couple of days for the weed to subside a bit.

Some areas do seem to be worse than others though. The problem with a great big lump of weed on your end tackle is that it deadens any feeling of a fish on the line. You can of course still catch fish, but it is more difficult, and not so enjoyable.

It's a matter of choice. Hope this helps

[coelacanth]

Larger leads with grippers if your struggling to get a hold on the bottom.Do away with the shockleader and knot,and fish with 30lb mainline straight through,ONLY if safety is not an issue..ie..not a crowded beach and NO powercasting.

Minimise the fussiness of your rigs, doing away with extras such as booms etc.Keep it as simple as possible.

After casting, keep your line taught and as high as possible as you walk back to your rod stand.If you let the line sag and drop you will pick up weed from the off, and it will only get worse from then on.If you`ve adjustable butt cups on your rod stand, raise them as high as needed for your mainline to gain entry into the sea over the weed.Longer rods like shakespeares K2 ie. can give you an advantage in the same way.Also when bringing your tackle in, reel as fast as possible to climb over the top of the weed.And last but not least,fishing neaps instead of spring tides can reduce the amount of weed you catch, but at the same time can reduce the chances of catching some species.

[garfish]

If the weed is in close, as it often is after a blow the most effective way to fish it is to cast as far possible, keep your line as taut as possible immediately after cassting. keep your rod as high as possible in your tripod by moving the cup upto its highest position. Keeping the angled stem as vertical possible and well dug into the shingle, the ultimate way to get height is to trap the but of the rod in the leg lock kit (if you have one). Use either a fixed grip lead or even more effective is to remove the wires from an impact lead, using a drill increase the diameter of the holes and then replace with a much thicker wire. Leads altered this way hold extremely well but are dfifficult to breakout and require patience. Do not let your line fall into the waves at any time, stand by the rod and take up any slackm in the line as soon as possible.

 

If the weed is spread at all distances and being carried by the tide it is a real struggle. However, using the tactics above it should be possible to hold for 8 to 10 minutes which is plenty of time of to catch fish. If the weed is in close and floating on the surface fish will usually be found beneath it, particulary Rockiling & Flounders. An effective method is to use braid with no leader and boom rig with weights at both ends, cast the rig past the weed and wind back in until under the weed.

 

Other good tips are if possible avoid the use of a leader if at all possible, if you have to use a leader the best bet is a tapered one or reduce the size of your leader knot by using a bimini twist. To avoid weed covering your baits use larger than usual bait stops e.g. large sequins. Using a fine rig link such as the smaller gemini link also makes it easier to remove weed from the leader / mainline after retrieval. Avoid tag ends on all knots, ideally cover them in silicone.

 

Hope this helps.

[glennk]

I would echoe that excellent advice. MAke sure you dont get an over run on the cast as that means the line drops in the water and covered by weed. Stopping the reel early can prevent this. Wind down as fast as you can on the gripper. Avoid a tripod if you can. Here in the north east we rarely carry them and if we do its only to use as a bag rest. Hold the rod up high, I often fish with the butt in my coat pocket. Even better get up somewhere high a cliff is excellent for avoiding loose weed.

 

Also try a little move. A couple of spots I fish can be knee deep in weed but moving along the beach 30 yards and suddnly your free of the damn stuff. It appears to all be in one place and moves about with the tide. A better cast can also be helpfull as youll often fisnd the weed only covers the area about 30 yards from the shore.

[EamonX1]

Thanks for these excellent replies which I will take seriously to heart.

 

I would echoe that excellent advice. MAke sure you dont get an over run on the cast as that means the line drops in the water and covered by weed. Stopping the reel early can prevent this. Wind down as fast as you can on the gripper. Avoid a tripod if you can. Here in the north east we rarely carry them and if we do its only to use as a bag rest. Hold the rod up high, I often fish with the butt in my coat pocket. Even better get up somewhere high a cliff is excellent for avoiding loose weed.

 

Also try a little move. A couple of spots I fish can be knee deep in weed but moving along the beach 30 yards and suddnly your free of the damn stuff. It appears to all be in one place and moves about with the tide. A better cast can also be helpfull as youll often fisnd the weed only covers the area about 30 yards from the shore.