Weedless Pike Lures

[Errrm]

Hiya,

 

I fish a pond with Pike up to about 15-20lbs and I like lure fishing for a few hours after work. The problem is from my own experience and advice from club members that lures don't work very well on the pond. I think it is just a problem with presenting them correctly and at the correct depth though ( might be wrong though? ) When fishing with deadbaits i've fished a floated deadbait along with a deadbait flat on the bottom and it is always the bottom deadbait which gets the takes. The pond has loads of weed across the bottom and fishing deep lures just end up raking in weed can anyone give me some advice on weedless lures that work well? If you know of a link online that would be great.

 

A bit on information about the pond...

Only a 1-2 acres, lots of roach, rudd, skimmer bream for prey fish ( both appear to feed/hide in the bottom weed, although also do come to surface ). The depth is between 4 and 8ft depending on the part of the lake.

 

Errrm

Edited June 8, 2007 by Errrm

[Newt]

Is the lake bottom fairly clear then? Otherwise it would seem the floated dead would pick up a load of weed too.

 

What sort of weed?

[Peter Waller]

Try a surface lure like a Moss Bros or Scum Frog, can be great fun!

[Errrm]

Is the lake bottom fairly clear then? Otherwise it would seem the floated dead would pick up a load of weed too.

 

What sort of weed?

It seems to be a collection of different types of weed ( I don't know the names for it sorry ), most of it is not very dense and can be fished in as normal but moving a lure for it will pick up weed. The floated deadbait... as in a pike float suspending the deadbait at maybe half depth doesn't pick up weed it is the movement though it that seems to cause problems

 

Errrm

 

Try a surface lure like a Moss Bros or Scum Frog, can be great fun!

I have tried lures that work just below the surface, but I think most of the pike are on the bottom based on having more runs on the ledgered deadbait compared to the floated one.

 

Errrm

[Ducktape Corkfeet]

I have tried lures that work just below the surface, but I think most of the pike are on the bottom based on having more runs on the ledgered deadbait compared to the floated one.

 

Try something heavier like a big weedless spoon, which will give off alot of flash, which can be seen through the weed, and vibration. Spinnerbaits are a much under used tool as well.

[Andy Macfarlane]

I tried looking for those weedless treble crowns, which are similar to hook bonnets. The idea being that they cover the points of the hook, making them weedless to some degee but collapse, exposing the barb, when clamped down on. Anyone know the devices I'm talking about?? I can't find them anywhere.

[Ducktape Corkfeet]

I tried looking for those weedless treble crowns, which are similar to hook bonnets. The idea being that they cover the points of the hook, making them weedless to some degee but collapse, exposing the barb, when clamped down on. Anyone know the devices I'm talking about?? I can't find them anywhere.

 

I've tried them, but find them next to useless, as most types/thicknesses of weed will snag on them. Try weedless singles, which are altogether much easier to work with. Either a weedguard, or as I prefer, a cranked hook, with a soft plastic worm Texas rigged onto it.

[Andy Macfarlane]

I've tried them, but find them next to useless, as most types/thicknesses of weed will snag on them. Try weedless singles, which are altogether much easier to work with. Either a weedguard, or as I prefer, a cranked hook, with a soft plastic worm Texas rigged onto it.

 

Thanks for that. They weren't actually for me though. I thought Errrm might have a use for them. I'm from the old school of weedless fishing. If I'm that desperate to fish in weedy areas, I use the stiff mono loop, whipped onto the hook trick. That's usually too fiddly for most folk though. Cheers anyhoo...

Edited June 9, 2007 by Andy Macfarlane

[Newt]

I think for the venue described I would try three different approaches and then go with the one that seemed to produce best.

 

Heavy, single-hook jig with a weedguard and some sort of trailer to increase the vibration.

 

Toss it into the worst of the weed and retrieve in short twitches so it hits bottom between each movement.

 

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Weedless lure like this Johnson Silver Minnow

(note: "Silver" is part of the lure name since the originals were all that colour)

 

Fish it with or without a trailer. This lure rarely ever drags the cabbage along with it.

 

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Shaky Jig

 

You can use any sort of plastic that you please on this rig. Toss it out, let it settle. Raise your rod tip to about 1 o'clock and then give gentle side to side movement to the rod tip. The jig head should remain in place and the plastic will wave around a little.

 

After a couple minutes of 'shaking' twitch the jig about a foot forward and then shake again for another minute or two.

[Dick Dastardly]

Yes I would agree with Ducktape those crowns are pretty useless! Like Andy says using A nylon (I prefer wire so it triggers better and is tooth proof) is fiddly but effective.

 

Simplest way though is to use a single hook riged with a plastic worm.

 

One really good lure of this type is the Mepps Timber Doodle,really pulls them in just wish you could get them bigger than 1/2 ozs (if I remember right!)

 

Forgot tomention about choice of lure shape to help avoid weed.We all get hung up (no pun intended!) on trying to stop the hooks snagging up and often with heavy weed as oposed to hard structure it is the lure itself that collects the weed.Things like diving lips/vanes and jointed bodies can soon collect weed which desroys the action and renders them useless.Old Peter Wallers favourites the plastic Shads are a good choice in weed as you can fish them at any depth by just varying the sinking time,they have no vanes/lips, are a relatively smooth/streamlined shape and of course being soft can be rigged "weedless" with a single.

Edited June 10, 2007 by BUDGIE