Fishing the weeds

[RatherBFishin]

Hi everyone,

I hit the Rideau river last night in the Kemptville area. Over the past few weeks I've been reading articles etc. on how to fish the weeds for largemouth. I bought and rigged some of the equipment: texas-rigged power worms with bullet sinkers, texas-rigged tubes, and flipping jigs. I was excited to try this new style of fishing. So I hit some heavy weed cover and no matter what I seemed to do I'd get massive clumps of weeds stuck to my plastics or around my flipping jig. I don't know what I'm doing wrong but I'm definitely missing something.

Any advise? I'd really like to learn how to fish the heavy weed cover.

Thanks.

Pete

[YakAttack]

One of my favourite ways to fish is with texas rigged worms. I sometimes get weeds caught up on the nose of the bullet sinker but not too much.

I imagine that softer weeds need to be ripped through, and sturdier weeds can be noodled around using a gentler touch.

I work it slowly. When I feel the bait come up against a weed I try to ease it past...if it ends up that I'm catching the weeds around the nose of the sinker, then I try stronger tugs to break it through.

But I think that working it slowly is the key.

I'm not that experienced (2nd season fishing) so I'm also interested to hear what others say.

[wolfe]

For a change of pace, try a surface presentation in the weeds to "make a little noise" and get them to come up to you, rather than find them.

Also, when it gets frustrating working the slop, try the edges. That always works for me. I like to go weightless or just use a small weight on a TX-rigged plastic worm. Cast the slop or just to the edge and let it fall sloooowly. Very enticing for the largemouth, or at least it would seem so!

Good luck.

W.

[jig head]

Try hitting open patches in and around the weedbed! If you think that there is a bass in that whole, well there probably is. Also once you flip into the weedbeds be patient. Dont bring your jig/worm back so quickly after you flip, let the jig sink because you will get 80% of the weeds on your retrieve.



-Anthony

[beachburger]

If you are in the heavy weeds you are always going to flicking them off your lure. Nothing is totally "weedless". For texas rigging, I always rig the hook so it's buried slightly under the surface of the plastic. Some lay the hook on top of the plastic. A good solid hookset will get the hook out of the plastic without any problem. When the surface of the plastic is all beaten up and the hook can't be buried anymore, I re-use it for fishing weed edges and let the hook lie on top.

When chucking into heavy stuff, you are probably weed free as the lure is dropping. Once it hits bottom, let the lure sit there for several seconds to let the fish to come and find it. If nothing happens, just give the lure a shake and wait a few more seconds. If nothing, reel in, shake off all the weeds and chuck to a different spot in the weeds. I avoid "long" casts (20' is about as long as I go) into heavy weeds and I don't spend a lot of time working the lure back to the boat. If it's a big weed bed, I'll take the boat right in and keep an eye out for moving fish. I also concentrate on open pockets in heavy weeds. I don't drop a heavy lure through the middle of the weed mat very often.

If you are new to fishing weedless plastics and flippin' jigs, I would suggest starting at the edges of the weeds instead of the middle of them. A bass slurping up worm or tube feels much different than it does when they are smashing a hard-bodied bait and it's important to know the difference in a tap from a fish and a tap from a weed (power hooksets on weeds can be hard on the back). You also don't need as much weight fishing the weed edges and sometimes no weight is the big secret of the day.

Are you using braided line for the heavy stuff?

Keep on chuckin'.....

[RatherBFishin]

Thanks for all the responses!

I think I was definitely working the baits to fast, and not letting them sink down... that was probably a big part of my problem. I'll definitely have to me more patient on the next outing.

I did try the edges after getting really frustrated in the slop but I wasn't having any luck on the edges. Especially in the later evening there were alot of splashes deep in the sludge... those big boys were mocking me!

When I rigged my plastics the hook was embedded in the plastic, it wasn't poking out at all. I'm not using braided line... I just have regular monofilament. Could that be part of my problem?

Thanks again for all the useful tips!

Pete

[beachburger]

I think I was definitely working the baits to fast, and not letting them sink down.

When fishing heavy cover and weed edges, think about fishing individual spots, not covering area. Sometimes the less you do, the better......

I did try the edges after getting really frustrated in the slop but I wasn't having any luck on the edges.

They're there. Make sure that worm/tube/jig hits the bottom. Try lighter weight so the lure just drifts down.

'm not using braided line... I just have regular monofilament. Could that be part of my problem?

Mono is perfectly fine but if you are going heavy slop, you will want a heavy mono (20+ lb) and you might want check the line often. If you catch one in the middle of the slop, you might be hauling in 5+ lbs of weeds. I started using PowerPro (50lb) and a fluorocarbon leader (18 lb) last year for "all things sloppin'" and it's wonderful. I still use mono for most everything else.

[winder]

Great info in this thread.
I have been having similar problems in the weeds.

After last weekend I can attest to the desire to have heavier line in thick weeds.

My 6yr. old caught a little (~1lb.) bass on a hula popper over a submerged weed bed last weekend. The fish went straight down into the weeds and got the lure snagged. We managed to drift over to the fish and get it in the boat but with his little rod and light line it was a bit tricky.

Winder

[RatherBFishin]

Thanks again for all the info everyone. I'll let you know how things go the next time I go out.

Pete

[RatherBFishin]

Hey everyone,

Hit the Rideau again last night with a friend and once again I was determined to fish the weeds. We found a spot that had a lot of pad "patches" but there was also room to maneuver between the patches. With the information I got here last week I knew I had to work my plastics slower and be more patient.

The evening started off slow and I was switching between tossing tubes and texas-rigged worms onto the pads and slowly slithering them off. Although I wasn't catching anything yet I was quite pleased because working the baits slowly and keeping my rod tip way up seemed to be helping me maneuver my "weedless" presentations through the weeds. We slowly maneuvered the boat through the weed patch and as the sun started to go down we got into some action. My first catch slurped the worm as it was coming off a pad and you guys weren't joking when you said it felt different. I felt the weight on my rod and I set the hook hard. I brought him in and couldn't have been more pleased . I got 3 more soon after that, all with a texas-rigged worm. They all hit my bait after it came off a pad or as the worm splashed in the water from my cast.

All in all it was a great night on the water. Thanks again to everyone who provided me with advise!

Unfortunately I don't have any pictures to share... still have to get that all set up... one thing at a time.

Cheers!

Pete

[beachburger]

YESSSSS!!!!!

[SteveO]

Great post - good comments from jiggy and beachburger and way to put it into action.

[Suddsy]

Now that is what it is all about...... Fish-Hawk site at its best

Congrats to all who participated

[Mr. T.]

Great tips.

Thanks.