bottom feeding on THICK weed?

blagoobs · May 20, 2014

Hi guys,

Local still water is very difficult, thick bed of week right along the bottom.

However some good fish butthey are few and far between.

I pulled out a 5lb bream by accident!

Any good set ups for fishing a weedy bottom? someone said fish dont eat over weed, but if they have no choice surely they do...

Could agood method be to ancnor a hair rigged dog biscuit so it floats up a bit or a boilie?

Thanks

john step · May 20, 2014

As its a local water it may be practical to visit regularly and pre bait with a handfull or two of hemp daily in a spot where others are unlikely to fish. The fish will clear a spot for you.
Also try float fishing at the depth the weed starts with a flat shaped piece of bread flake which will sit on top of the weed. A pole will help with keeping the bait steady.
I believe carp men use something called a chod rig for troublesome weed etc. Others will advise on its use.

rubio · May 20, 2014

Just about the simplest way to cope with weed is don't worry about it. Often your hook will present itself perfectly fine if you don't mess with it in the water. If on the other hand you deeply fear much time will be wasted waiting for a bite on a badly obscured bait then make use of PVA to drop a small parcel into a pocket of weed. I would choose this approach for tench and carp at this time of year. Bream generally sit back away from weed in my experience. Popped up baits could work well for ya too. For me that would be breadcrust, very durable and highly visible, others might prefer something manufactured.
Weed is the natural larder we are told, so it makes sense to fish near it if not right amongst it.

Andy M · May 20, 2014

I have similar problem on one of my local lakes. A bit earlier in the season I found popped-up art corn plus one real piece on a method feeder worked a treat but now even that seems to have stopped working even with longer hook lengths. Can you rake a swim?

terry m · May 20, 2014

I reckon that the weed this summer is likely to be much stronger growth than normal, especially on the still waters. The mild wet winter last year never got close to reducing it to its normal winter levels on the waters I fish.

The rivers will fare better because of the scouring and flushing created by the extreme floods.

Tee-Cee · May 20, 2014

I've fished very heavily weeded deepish water (bottom weed) for tench on over-depth float tackle with minimal shot down at the business end and found baits such as flake, flake with red worms or crust do pretty well as they tend to lay on top of the weed. Also used sweetcorn and caught decent fish..
Failing that, and if allowed I have raked extensively to fomr a clear(ish) patch which is then prebaited..

ps This is on still waters!

cg74 · May 20, 2014

What sort of weed is it; Canadian pond weed, silk weed (blanket weed)....?

And what is your target species?

blagoobs · May 20, 2014

Im not a weed expert. Its seperates quite easily and is thick and green and slimy. I know bevause of lure foshing. Causes a big mess but dont loose aby lures

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cg74 · May 23, 2014

There are several options if fishing over silk weed, my first choice would be a chod rig, but you can also try a method feeder or a PVA bag with your lead placed inside the bag, you can do these with a pop up or neutrally buoyant bait.
Another alternative is to fish a long(ish) supple hooklength; 12-15" of mono like Reflo Power Line or braid. Fish this in conjunction with either/or both a PVA stick and PVA foam to temporarily mask your hook point.

The latter two options would be my choice for fishing over strands of weed, if you know how far off the bed the weed goes, you could also fish a zig rig, so your bait is suspended just above the weed.

Longer term, you could try continually baiting up a spot, say 3-4 times a week but keep it tight then the fish will clean the area for you.

bottom feeding on THICK weed?

blagoobs

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john step

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rubio

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Andy M

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terry m

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Tee-Cee

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cg74

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blagoobs

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cg74

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