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Posts: 1137
Location: Holly, MI | Any advice on trolling when floating weeds are present would be a big help.
I've tried steering around 'em, looking for cleaner water, cussing..etc. Mostly I put out the lures and when they are all in the water I start cleaning weeds off in the order they went down. It can be a non-stop job, and the lures are never in the water (at least clean). I've tried to put the down rods deeper, and downriggers..both helped but not much. I'm talking about Lake St Clair (Michigan) 200,000 acres and only averages about 10 feet deep and is plagued with thousands of pleasure boaters tearing it up. The floating weed problem is serious! I heard of one guy who rigged a 5/0 treble hook before a 6 ft leader to try to catch weeds and keep the bait swimming. It gets nice about the time ice is forming and the cigarette boats and jet skis are put away.
Any one else deal with this stuff? |
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Posts: 20281
Location: oswego, il | I would have said downriggers. I have the same problem, by summer I am constantly cleaning weeds from my planer baords and lures. It's work but when your catching fish, it's worth it. Many of the lakes I fish are more uncastable then they are untrollable when the millfoil gets growing. |
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Posts: 600
Location: West Bend, WI | Lobi,try to point your rods into the water.The rod tips should be under the water.Now that you are set up this way the floating weeds should not catch as much on your line and find it's way to the lure.
Edited by plitzzz 3/27/2003 8:29 PM
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Posts: 1430
Location: Eastern Ontario | The way we do it here is with rods in the water, the eyes of the rod will catch the weeds and not let them slide down to your lures. You do have to clean them now and again but not that aften. I do try and avoid the big floating clumps when I can. |
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Posts: 129
Location: Bemidji, MN- | Another vote for rod tips in the water. The weeds collect on the rod tip rather than run down the line. Also, I troll with weedless spinnerbaits on occasion. |
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Posts: 1137
Location: Holly, MI | My prop wash rods and down rods are all 8 footers. I hold em in the good old Down Easters. Tips are well below the surface. The zebra mussles have cleared up Lake St Clair so good that strong sunlight goes all the way to the bottom and the weeds are just getting worse. All the 20-40 foot boats that tear around the lake chop evrything loose. In the shallower water (6 foot or so)you can see big trenches that they have carved from pouring on the coal. The ski season doesn't start here until the first saturday in June. I can "pike" fish before that tho if you know what I mean. |
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| Lobi,
Put a rubbercore sinker or splitshot about 8-10 feet infront of your lure. This will catch the weeds as they slide down the line and you will be able to troll much longer without the lure fouling from weeds.
Try it it works!
Brett Waldera |
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Trolling (helps clean the lake)