Weeds

[MuskieBait]

(10-08-2013 03:37 PM)OldTimer Wrote:  In pondering this......... I'd say that (in my outings) - I've never really caught a lot of fish on the so called "weedless" lures or rigs.

Have any of you? - If so why buy the "weed-ful" lures at all...........and go "weedless" all the time...............hmmmmm?

Cheers,

OldTimer

Same here.

Weedless properties (weedguards, buried hook point) ofter interfere with hooking property.

Just the past 2 days, I've been chatting with a friend who's in Florida now fishing for Cobra Snakehead. He's using Stanley Ribbit Frog and had a heck of a time hooking the snakehead...even when the fish are visibly swallowing the frog at his feet. He's 0/12 so far...

Although fish are related to weeds, sometimes really thick weeds are haven for juveniles, but it could be too thick for bigger fish. Really thick canopy obscure your lures from being seen. Personally, I prefer to work the weed edge.

From shore, you always have the issue of thick weed mats closet to shore...and attempting to reach the weed edge could almost be impossible. Sometimes I just cut my loss and find less weedy areas to fish. If you're snagging weeds every cast, it's just as good as not fishing there since you won't catch any of the available fish in that area anyways.

You could argue that a Texas-rigged worm, or a weedless jig would allow you to fish in deep mats. It is true in certain situations...but most applicable when you have a short length of line from the rod tip to the lure, that implies being right close to the areas you are pitching the lure. If you cast it 30-40 feet away, with the line sitting above the weed canopy, you can kiss any sensitivity goodbye...it is not the way to fish those lures at all.

Other lures, such as buzzbaits, spinnerbaits...etc...are pretty weedless, but best fished in areas with gaps between strands of weeds or worked on the edge. And even then, you have to plan your cast such that your lure's path travels between weed clumps instead of through them. Those spinning blades are really bad at gathering weeds.