WEED! Be my Friend…

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Stu Stark

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WEED! Be my Friend…
I’ve just started fishing a Lake in Fairford and it’s a big lake (58ac) now normally I would find a clear spot or a gravel bar to fish off, but their ent-none!! Its just carpet weed all the way across the lake, as for bars they were flattened by the fishery owner many years back, My question is in the title, I don’t know how to fish weed! So some help please lads and lassies…O-by the way there is only 38 known carp in the lake, the smallest is a 40 so I intend to put in many hours on this lake (blanking). Please help… Stu
 
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David Will

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'38 known carp in the lake the smallest is a 40' I would keep it quiet Stu , best lake in the UK :),
 
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Stuart Dennis

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I’m with you there Stu, I joined RMC and fished their Wharf Pool over in Essex a couple of weeks ago. They had the exact same scenario. There was blanket weed everywhere. From bottom to surface which pretty much covered everywhere. I had a long chat with the bailiffs (great guys) who were helpful in pointing me in te right direction for clear spots. However, I'd had the marker our previously to feel around and couldn't locate them anywhere. I even passed the marker rod to the balliff who was baffled as these same spots were non-existent on the day. We kinda both gave up and put it down to not only blanket weed, but also blanket weed on the move!

I probably spent the best part of 3 hours searching out potential clear spots in which to drop a bait, but whenever I cast out and got close to finding home, in pulling back in, the weed clogged everything making it near impossible to determine the length of the clear spot too. (And yes Rik, I used your marker system that sits above the weed)

No issues in bagging everything into PVA, but that kinda moves towards 'Hit and Hope' and I'm trying to move on from that.

An excellent question Stu and I'm looking forward to the responses. But I'd like to add another Q and ask, how do you approach a fishery with moving blanket weed?
 
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Stuart Dennis

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Just to explain a little more, as we all know blanket weed grows like mad this time of the year, and where it reaches the surface, it grows sideways. Add to this a little wind movement and this stuff can cover the hot spots and clear gravel patches.
 
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Carp Angler

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There isn't a lake in the UK with 38 x 40's in it let alone one on Cotswold water park.
 
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Stu Stark

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I was given the info on wed (10-7-02) this came straight from the owners mouth... I've yet to fish it although i have wetted my marker rod for 2 days trying to get to know the lake, and i must admit, i havn't seen much in the way of fish. I can't say to much about the lake as it isn't open to all untill next year, I'm a friend of the owner so he's letting me get on. ok. however i also thought its sound a bit to good to be true, but you never know?
 
GrahamM

GrahamM

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The blanket weed you refer to is probably filmentous algae, something which the Cheshire meres have always suffered from. In earlier days we called it 'cotton wool algae'. As a point of interest, to some maybe, the very first article I wrote, which was for a magazine called 'Fishing', was called 'The Cotton Wool Manace Of The Meres'. That was back in the 60's.

Anyhow, I'll put a more recent article on line later today which explains how we cope with algae on the meres. It's about tench fishing as well, but it won't be
especially relevant to fishing at distance in gravel pits.

I'll put a link on this thread when the article goes up.
 
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Mike Lee

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Stu - Are you allowed to put a boat on the water?
38 x 40's Hmm...
Probably the most productive areas will be the margins, probably (if there are any high banks) there will be some depth in these margins.
I would probably fish the margins.
 
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Stephen Bundy

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I have the same problem at the water were i fish. Think it maybe the same water that stuart dennis fishies. What i have found out is that both carp and tench seem to like to feed in this weed and lots of time watch at the water has resulted in some good fish by fish to the spots tht they regulary feed in. The spots may be quite small and you need to step tackle up but it seems to be working for me.
 
GrahamM

GrahamM

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Here's the link to the article I mention above:

<a href=http://www.fishingmagic.com/news/article.asp?SP=&v=1&UAN=1952>'Tench From Weed'</A>.
 
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Stuart Dennis

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An interesting read Graham and more importantly it highlights that some of us need to work harder at our fishing. I, like many can become too complacent in m fishing, its all right looking good, but we must remind ourselves that to catch the whopper, we need to work at it.

Unless of course the bait boat manufacturers are gonna bring out a raking attachment for the boat! Mmmmm, I think I’ll patent that quickly! haha
 
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Warren 'Hatrick' (Wol) Gaunt

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Like Graham, and with the use of a boat, i have spent up to a whole day clearing area's just to get a bait in. Its bloody back braking work but the results can often be quite amazing.

Maybe you can hire an illegal immigrant for ?5 hour to do the HARD work for you Stu!
 
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Stuart Dennis

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Thats not a bad idea Warren, but unfortunately I've had real bad experiences with hired help, you should of seen the pratt I got to do a BBQ a little while ago!
Wahaaa!
 
GrahamM

GrahamM

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Once you've done the initial hard graft the secret is to keep giving it a rake on a regular basis to stop the roots taking a hold again. We found that a few quick scrapes through the raked channel on every visit was well worth it.

What we do is give it a quick rake then a good sprinkling of bait, then another quick rake to bury some of the feed. Then we would bait the swim again as the silt settled. Just the opposite of what most anglers strive for, which is to use dead maggots and similar and keep all the bait exposed.

My theory (good, bad or indifferent it has never done me any harm) is that it is better to have some of the feed buried in the silt because the feed on top would attract the tench (and bream when they were the target) and the feed in the silt would keep them occupied and therefore in the swim for much longer periods as they rooted to get at it.

After all, bottom feeding fish are quite used to finding their food IN the silt as well as on top of it. But it is important to have that top layer of feed on the surface of the silt to attract them in the first place.

I never worry about using live maggots as feed. All the maggots are never buried at the same time, they continually crawl into and out of the silt leaving a percentage exposed at all times until they either get eaten or drown. Live feed crawling in and out of the silt is a very natural attraction for fish and much better than a pile of dead maggots.
 
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Stuart Dennis

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After disturbing the bottom with the continuous raking and of course creating a completely new (and perhaps temporarily abnormal to the fish) feeding environment, then at what stage would you feel confident in catching?

I understand your point above regarding sprinkling down baits which makes perfect sense, but how long after you've raked, would you expect to see the return of fish and of course encounter bites? I ask because I’m now excited about using these tactics.
 
GrahamM

GrahamM

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Stu, immediately! Many, many times we've had tench rolling over the raked area while we've still been pulling the boat up the bank for the last time. And we've caught fish as soon as we've cast in. And I'm talking big fish of 8lbs and over.

Although tench can be easily spooked by heavy footfalls and some idiot walking behind you in a white tee-shirt they seem very attracted to disturbance in the actual swim, especially when such disturbance causes the water to cloud.
 
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Danny Brown

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The lake i fish in surry has got every kind of weed known to man including blanket weed including floating blanket wich is a real pian in the A** at night when the wind blows up and down the lake beut never mind these things are sent to try us wot i do is bait up a couple of margin spots to fish arfter dark & during the day fish as near to the weed as poss cos carp love blanket weed just watch them tnting under it wot a sight (good fun trying to get them to come out and take a bait)
GOOD LUCK
DANNY
 
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