Weeds - seek or avoid?

[Newt]

I notice frequent comments on here about avoiding weedy areas when fishing.

 

Granted, heavy weed can complicate matters a bit but since fish enjoy the growth for protection and for the way it attracts food, it's also a great place to catch larger fish.

 

I have lures designed with weed in mind; surface floaters with the hooks protected, heavy jigs designed to quickly crash through the heavy surface growth to the more open areas on the bottom, swimming lures with a streamlined shape and good hook guard so they work their way through the cabbage with very little of it getting on the lure.

 

In midday the shade offered by the weed makes for an ideal fishing area.

 

I also do some float fishing (the gross, unsubtle US style) where I cast to small open pockets knowing that if I miss, I need to retrieve, clean off the rig, and recast and if the wind is blowing, I will have to recast when I've been blown across the clearing and into the weed. It is one time I really wish that it was practical to use a pole from a boat and I do have several whips that see weed service.

 

It would seem with the often crowded fishing conditions in the UK, if most of the other anglers are avoiding the weed, it might be a good tactic to seek it. That said, I am confused with us having so much talk about avoiding it rather than celebrating it and the total lack of advice on how to best fish the salad.

[gozzer]

Definitely seek Newt.

Though I prefer moving water, I'll fish to any cover/feature I can find, be it weed, undercut banks, over hanging trees, etc. One swim I know has an old car bonnet, (that's a hood to you), it creates a great eddy with weed growth, and is a good perch and chub swim.

In still water, again fish up to weed, with float touching the weed. If you can draw the fish out, it makes it easier of course, but they're less likely to spook if they're close to a weed bed.

 

John.

[Newt]

Any idea why so many posters on here ask about areas where they can escape weed as if it ruined a swim? Is it a simple lack of knowledge of how to fish such places?

 

If so, I imagine Elton would welcome an article about fishing in the cabbage. I'd happily contribute lure selection and tactics but would be worse than useless at suggestions for using the typical UK gear.

[Errrm]

Any idea why so many posters on here ask about areas where they can escape weed as if it ruined a swim? Is it a simple lack of knowledge of how to fish such places?

 

If so, I imagine Elton would welcome an article about fishing in the cabbage. I'd happily contribute lure selection and tactics but would be worse than useless at suggestions for using the typical UK gear.

 

Well for a start some fish won't feed in weedy areas ( Bream ). I'm guessing you read my comments about the River Dove and asking if it is weed free... I was asking because I have this memory from childhood fishing on the River Dove and fishing a stretch which was totally weed free and it has to be the most beautiful place I have ever fished... not a very manly reason :-).

 

Errrm

[carper_AJ]

When ever i have a choice of an over fished,baited swim where fish may have become spooked of!

I ALWAYS INVESTIGATE WEED or where natural surface scum has built up.

THESE ARE ABSOLUTE GREAT HOLDING ZONES FOR BIG CARP. bUT MY VIEW IS THAT THE ONLY FISHABLE IS WITH FLOATERS, TO AVOID LESSSNAGS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

TIGHT LINES

[Newt]

Errrm - yours may have been one of the more recent comments but you are in good company as they have been common over the years. I know that many complaints have been from anglers targeting species that enjoy being in weed.

 

I have no idea about bream (don't have them where I live and only ever seen one) and wanting a pretty spot to fish is certainly reasonable. I seem to remember from other topics that bream enjoy feeding in an area that was recently cleared of weed by raking and if that is accurate, it might be a thought for you.

[Errrm]

Errrm - yours may have been one of the more recent comments but you are in good company as they have been common over the years. I know that many complaints have been from anglers targeting species that enjoy being in weed.

 

I have no idea about bream (don't have them where I live and only ever seen one) and wanting a pretty spot to fish is certainly reasonable. I seem to remember from other topics that bream enjoy feeding in an area that was recently cleared of weed by raking and if that is accurate, it might be a thought for you.

 

Yeah I keep meaning to speak to the people controlling the water to see how they feel about raking, which would also get tench feeding.

[Anderoo]

It also depends on the type of weed. Some (and I'm generalising) like eelgrass and canadian are good, others like silkweed and blanket weed are not. If I'm fishing for tench or carp I like to be up against weed rather than in it for ease of presentation and feeding, but carp are often right in the thick of it.

 

Richard Capper's not-too-shabby haul at Wingham this year was from a swim with new weed growth, and was one of the few (if not only?) such swim which was fished.

 

On my local gravel pit where I fish for tench I long for the weed to arrive and choke large areas of the lake. The carpers hate it of course, but it means that the tench start behaving like tench again (patrolling the margins) rather than carp (patrolling the bars at range where all the boilies go)!

 

In rivers, fishing the channels between streamer weed is good for many species.

 

It drives me mad when clubs 'treat' the weed on their lakes. The water clouds up, natural food is drastically reduced and natural feeding spots and holding areas disappear. It seems like no-one's happy unless their bait is on a hard gravel patch

[poledark]

Depends what you are fishing for, where you are fishing (river or lake) How accurately you can place your bait, and a host of other options.

 

River fishing, casting up to about 20yards max then weed is good...rolling a bait/float down weedy runs..laying on alongside weed is gooder

 

Fishing up to/alongside weed in lakes is good, when the weed is still growing/fresh. Not good when it starts to decay a bit (like now)

 

Carp/bream/tench fishing at distance acros large areas of weed in still water is not good. Bait presentation is not gauranteed, fish get damaged if hooked, if not damaged, then get stuck in the weed causing you to pull for a break. Very bad.

 

Silk weed...smothers the bait and hook.

 

 

Lots of options, final decision must be made at the lake/river side.

 

Lure fishing..I have no ideas at all :) (bodes well for me Newt )

 

There will of course be comments to the effect that some of us are not skilful enough to deal with weedy lakes/pits, but at the moment most of the pits around my area are choked with heavy growths of canadian pond weed, and are pretty well deserted. Still get the odd report that "so and so caught 3 and lost 5" though.

 

Den

Edited August 29, 2007 by poledark

[Newt]

Den - we will cure your lack of lure knowledge. Early November here is perfect since the fish can somehow sense the fact that winter will soon be upon them. They become eager eaters to about the same extent as during the Spring and do so in shallow water where it is easy to locate the sorts of structure they will be on.

 

Good time for surface lures as well and as long as I've been doing it, the sight and sound of a large pred smashing a lure on top still gives me a rush. Even more fun when fishing over the top of weed since you can see the signs of a fast approaching fish as the weed starts frantically moving.

 

One of my favorite local lakes is beginning to see lots of coontail moss growth which is a good thing as the impoundment is about 60 years old (river was dammed in the 1950s) and had become somewhat sparse in food for tiddlers and cover for bigguns.

 

http://www.cerexagri-nisso.com/ahm/Submersed_Coontail.asp

 

A slight hijack of my own topic but I have ordered an underwater camera (with infrared for low light conditions) that will display on a small TV screen and can operate to 60 ft deep with the camera cable. I expect to have it and get in some practice before you get here and we can have a play with it. Friends who've gotten the rigs say that they forget about fishing and enjoy watching at times.

 

One lake has a good population of largish blue catfish (to about 60 lbs) but all I've ever been able to see of them is blips on the fish finder. I'm anxious to watch them feeding and to finally be able to see if I've located catfish or turtles/carp/whatever.