How To Use A Weed Rake

We show you how to effectively fish the unfishable; a spot crawling with weed! This weed often grows in huge volumes during the warmer months, staying present right through until the temperatures drop off at the start of winter. Towering from the lakebed to the surface, the dense green stuff is an angler’s worse nightmare, often hindering rigs useless and creating a barrier when trying to play fish into the waiting net.

Certain lakes and waterways, such as canals, become chocked with weed in the summer, sometimes making the swims unfishable, despite the fact that many fish are present. This short how- to explains the basics of effectively harvesting a spot in thick weed, allowing you to fish effectively once the fish have cleared the unwanted weed and debris around the baited area. The resulting spot will be clean, allowing you to effectively present a rig and bait in order to fish safely and efficiently among the weed.

Particularly on venues such as canals and small lakes, a weed rake is a must to clear off the majority of weed present on a spot. By throwing the rake to the desired area, drawing it back and collecting as much weed on each chuck as you can, you will begin to clear the majority of the thicker stuff from the spot. After a few throws, the amount of weed coming back on the rake will become less and less. Not only does the rake clears the weed, but also disturbs the lakebed, clouding the water and releasing all the naturals into the water column. This is important when attracting fish into the area.

The next step is to apply the first quantity of bait and for this, a healthy mixture of small items is key to getting the fish grubbing about and feeding hard among the weed. The small particle items condition the fish to feed for longer, routing around for each tasty morsel among the weed and debris, which in turn helps clear the spot further. At this point, it is important to use a good quantity of varying food items, relatively small in size to get as many different species feeding on the spot at any given time. To further enhance the attractive properties and effectiveness of this technique, a healthy glug of a thick dense liquid such as Tuna L030 will pump attraction around the free offerings, drawing more fish into feed.

Leave the spot to settle for a few days to a week, allowing the fish to get on the bait and clear the area. This time, take a marker rod with just a bare, grappling style lead on the end in order to survey the lakebed. By casting to the spot, dragging the lead back over the area, you will be able to distinguish if the fish have actively fed and cleared the area. If the drop is firm and you bring back very little weed, the chances are the fish have fed with success and cleaned the spot. Once again, apply another quantity of particles, this time with a few other larger items among them such as tiger nuts, maize and chickpeas. The larger items will deter the smaller fish, allowing food items to remain in the swim for the carp to get their share.

Once again, leave the spot for another few days before returning with no more than a few kilos of boilie. By solely baiting with boilie, you are enticing the carp to use the spot as a food source for high quality food and nutrition, which in the long run will mean they will return to the spot for more. A few good handfuls of boilie over the spot will get the carp fired up and feeding heavily, which is what you want to achieve over what is now a clean, glowing area among the thick weed.

With another few days to leave the fish to go about their feeding business, the spot should be primed and ready for fishing, having rested the area for the carp to become confident feeding over the freshly cleared spot. When the time is right to get a rig in position, think carefully about the lakebed and how it has developed over time. If the bottom is firm, fish a slightly stiffer rig with a balanced bait; matching what you have been baiting with. If the spot is still on the choddy side, with the odd strand of weed knocking about, simply opt for a pop- up presentation and a soft, supple hooklink. Introduce A few handfuls of bait to the area, the boilie you have chosen to use, sit back until the buzzer goes!

Good luck getting that unfishable spot rocking, with a few simple steps, even the heaviest of weed can be fishable!