weed problems

long time course angler but thought id give pike fishing a go this year im fishing a reservoir in manchester and its full of weed in spots id say the water is around 8/9ft and the weed come up to about 5/6ft i went to to try bag my first pike a couple of days ago using a simple float ledger rig and sardine dead bait i had a nightmare losing bait etc in the weeds, i was wondering if i could suspend a bait above the weeds? i cant find much on google about it just pop up rigs but then i have the problems of my lead and everything being stuck in the weeds, any advice at all on weedy water tactics appreciated thanks alot, also will pike route in the weeds for the bait?

you should be able to suspend a smallish deadbait above the weed without too much trouble i.e smelt, lamprey etc. just make sure your float is big enough to take the weight.... i'd personally recommend using a 25g drennan zeppler float on a sliding rig with a 3/4oz lead. if you need any extra advice feel free to pm me

ok cheers, a stupid qiestion probably but whats the lead for? cant i just float a bait as if i was maggot fishing 2 ft deep lol and let the bait blow around with the flow etc

carlness wrote:ok cheers, a stupid qiestion probably but whats the lead for? cant i just float a bait as if i was maggot fishing 2 ft deep lol and let the bait blow around with the flow etc

that is exactly what i would do, and ive done it before with success. Just let the dead bait drift about.

carlness wrote:long time course angler but thought id give pike fishing a go this year im fishing a reservoir in manchester and its full of weed in spots id say the water is around 8/9ft and the weed come up to about 5/6ft i went to to try bag my first pike a couple of days ago using a simple float ledger rig and sardine dead bait i had a nightmare losing bait etc in the weeds, i was wondering if i could suspend a bait above the weeds? i cant find much on google about it just pop up rigs but then i have the problems of my lead and everything being stuck in the weeds, any advice at all on weedy water tactics appreciated thanks alot, also will pike route in the weeds for the bait?

why not try plugs and spinners etc till the weed dies back a bit or pop your bait up 4 or five foot your lead will pull out if you get a fish on.

carlness wrote:ok cheers, a stupid qiestion probably but whats the lead for? cant i just float a bait as if i was maggot fishing 2 ft deep lol and let the bait blow around with the flow etc

you fix the lead to the top of the trace with a very short (less than 3") weaker mono link (i use 8lb), this has 3 purposes,
1: it holds the bait at required depth and cocks the float.... if you're set too deep then the lead and bait will lie on the bottom and the float will not cock.
2: should you get a pike pick the bait up and head upward then the float will lie flat. this may be surprisingly important because you need to know the instant you get a take, even fishing shallow.
3: the weak link is so that if you get a pike on and it does manage to get into the weed or the lead gets snagged then it can break free without you losing the fish.