large leaf weed

[old novice - jeff]

today i went to my local lake for a few hours, i plumbed the depth and fished just on bottom with red maggot.

the lake has all the usual coarse fish plus a few carp and eels.

the bottom of the lake has a layer of large cabbage like weed, so my question is should i be fishing on bottom or on top of the weed ??

i only managed to catch 1 perch and 1 rudd, what was i doing wrong ?

[chesters1]

its probably still on its way up ,once it is fish next to it.

if its bottom cover the fish will exploit all parts of it so it doesent matter where your bait is,natural food will either fall on top or go between and fish know that.

lots of people fish next to lilly pads but in reality they dont hold much food ,the leaves have shelter shade and the odd crumb to eat but underneath its just stems so most fish will be taking food from near the surface not so much the bottom .the leaves also trap floating food so fish keep their eyes up rather than down food wise.

the worst weed is water soldier ,very invasive and extremly sharp bits that injure fish and cut tackle! nasty stuff

Edited June 5, 2007 by chesters1

[old novice - jeff]

if I'm aloud would it be best to rake a swim clear.

how would you fish it ?

[chesters1]

it depends on what your after ,if you rake it then a 16 with the appropriate sized bait will catch most things if the water is clear an 18 with a single maggot or bit of corn or pellet should do the job.

always fish as fine as possible no good using a 2bb float on 8lb line .we get members moaning they blank yet are using straight carp tackle with a huge float with 6" sticking out the water and size 6 hooks because thats all they had in their box.the fish no doubt just sit laughing as their mates steal the bait without the float moving a millimeter.

balanced tackle is the key .

if you get snapped up by carp then switch to carp gear but watch the other bites fall away from smaller fish ,or just set up two rods one for carp and have fun with the other catching more obliging fish while the carp find your larger bait.

in really clear water on a sunny day you will have to go very light this is when the pole comes into its own in float fishing.

if the weed is very thick and your fishing next to it then your first move will be to keep the fish from getting back into it .encourage the fish further out by slowly moving your freebies or groundbait further out every few casts.

i have seen fish dash out from the weed to take the bait ,if we were fishing a foot from the weed most times you hooked them but 2 feet out although they dashed out just the same they spotted the line and went back .

in very clear water even the groundbait spooks them if its lightly coloured .

Edited June 6, 2007 by chesters1

[old novice - jeff]

i don't care what i catch, i just want to learn how to fish better.

i was using 4lb line, small waggler and single red maggot on a size 16 hook, i tried different shoting pattens - most of the shot up near the float and just a dust shot about 3 or 4 inch from the hook, i tried moving the shot down near the hook to get down though the weed, speading the shot out.

i fished most of the time just on bottom, i did try over depth and up in the water but with no luck.

i used a few balls silver x super red ground-bait and was throwing in half a dozen maggots every 4 or 5 Minutes

there was small fish swimming about and leaping out after flys.

the water is now green coloured but i did go and have a look around before it coloured up and the weed was a blanket of large cabbage looking plants that covered the bottom of all the lake.

 

its a very nice lake surrounded by trees, this does make casting out a bit on the awkward side from some of the swims but i just love the place the only downside is its in a housing estate, i just wish i could fish it better, i must be doing something wrong.

i have learnt a lot reading most of the threads on this forum but there is no substitute for practice, i don't get as much time on the lake as i would like so any help anyone can give would be most welcome.

 

the lake has not been on the Lincoln book for very long (think this is the first year) before that it belonged to a fishing club run by a local construction firm, i have been told that when they gave up the water they removed all the large carp next time i go i will take so pics

 

birds eye view here

[Dave-C]

I'd try using a finer hook link, maybe buy hooks to nylon in smaller sizes, 18 or 20's. Also you could try natural baits such as worm. If you feed loose feed I'd try to mix it with ground bait so it goes straight to the bottom where your hook bait is, and that way you shouldn't need as much, just throw it in when the bites dry up. Put some in a couple of places you can fish but not close together and alternate between the 2.