How to fish successfully in weedy areas

Springtime is already upon us and soon, the warmth of the summer will invite every angler back ashore for the new season. The warmer times of the year provide a unique challenge for anglers, since technique and patience become very important as fish become more active. 

However, other waterlife such as weeds grow in prominence as well. Those who’ve fished in weedy areas before know that they can be quite an attractive place to do so, even if it doesn’t seem so at first.

Weeds are typically hosts to insects and larvae, which many fish flocks, like carp for example, are keen on feeding on. 

With that said, it can be quite a tricky challenge to fish there successfully. In this article, we will share a few tips which will hopefully help you master this challenge.

Raking the area

For this you’ll obviously need a rake to clear the area that you’re planning to aim for. This will free all of the life that’s living in the weeds, as well as expose the silt from the area that you’ve raked the weeds from.

This may be an ideal opportunity to catch tench if that’s your goal. However, clearing the area itself and giving yourself a clear view is very important in order to make your trip successfully. If you’re aiming for an area further away, you might entertain the idea of getting a castable rake to do the job.

Weed cutter for clearing the peg of weed and reed stems → https://duohook.ie/collections/peg-cleaners/products/leeda-weed-cutter

Either way, having a good view is the most important thing.

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Size matters

In preparation for fishing in weedy areas, many professionals agree that a good tactic is to use a longer hook in length as well as bait that is slow sinking, like pop up bait for example. As fish flock the weeds to feed, placing your bait right on them is a recipe for success.

Make sure however, that your hook has indeed enough length to get buried, but not get dragged down with the weeds when fish are flocking the area. A useful tip would be to bring some of those weeds ashore and measure them, as to get an indication how much hook length you really need.