Improve Your Coarse Fishing (UK)
How to fish in weed
Many anglers steer clear of weed, but the right approach means the green stuff is no threat to Dynamite Baits’ Ben Cooper...
BOTANOPHOBIA is an affliction that many carp anglers suffer from. It is the almost crippling and irrational fear of plants, or in carp fishing terms, weed. As part of the Lea Valley task force, as well as looking after the lakes themselves, I come across a whole range of anglers, with varying abilities. And you can often see the horror in their faces if they don’t feel the reassuring donk, donk, donk of clean gravel, after casting a lead or marker float set-up. They make one cast – occasionally two – and if they bring back even a few fronds of weed around the lead, their whole demeanour changes, the shoulders visibly drop, the bottom lip comes out and the eyes well up with tears! You can almost hear their inner monologue screaming at the still rational side of their brain: “Oh my god, weed. What do I do now?” Panic! But, if you want to target big fish on crystalclear gravel pits, weed is something that you are going to have to learn to deal with. It’s just part of big-carp fishing. For me, weed fishing is nothing more than confidence. The confidence to fish, the confidence that your rig is fishing correctly and the confidence to get the fish out, once hooked. Over the years I’ve had massive fish from situations where a lawnmower would have been more appropriate than a lead clip and pop-up!
Approaching weedy waters
Wherever there is weed, there is natural food. And where there is natural food the carp won’t be far away. If you find the clear spots you’ll get bites. Whether this takes one cast or 100, time spent searching for a fishable spot is never wasted. Weed fishing is all about watercraft. If fish are topping when you arrive, location is easy. But, if the lake is busy with limited peg options, just because most of the swims seems solid with green stuff, don’t become disheartened. Remove the marker float and cast around with a bare lead on braided mainline, feeling for a thump as the lead hits the bottom. Once you find a spot where you can feel the lead hit the lakebed, clip-up and concentrate on casting around that area to work out how big the weedbed is. In the past, I have even used a castable weed rake on an old beach caster rod with 60lb braid to clean the bottom, just like a tench angler. Don’t worry about spooking the fish. Carp are curious creatures and I’ve caught them to 30lb within hours of casting over a raked spot. Plus, the raking action stirs up the bottom. As long as you can feel the lead hit the bottom, the spot is generally fishable.
“I’ve caught them to 30lb within hours of casting over a raked spot ”
Lead set-ups for weed
Many anglers use helicopter rigs, but I prefer lead clips. The reason is that I find them less prone to tangles, the bolt effect is better and, most importantly, you can eject the lead much easier. If you get a run and the lead comes off, the carp will naturally come to the top and away from any weed on the lakebed. As for the rig, think about what you’re doing; what’s the weed like; what kind of weed is it and then make the rig accordingly. Don’t be tempted to use one rig for all occasions. In thick, tall Canadian pondweed, I fish very light leads and a chod rig with the beads wellspaced so that the rig lies on top of the weed. With silk weed, if it’s not too tall, I use a stiffhinge rig. The hinge section will be between two and three inches and baited with a bright hi-vis pop-up. Solid PVA bags are also good in this situation but, because I fish many overnight sessions, I stick to the stiff hinge rig fished over a bed of whole and crumbed boilies and a little Dynamite Baits’ Krill Pulses & Particles.
Use baits that carp can find
I use a lot of small items because they cling to the fronds of weed or lie on top of it, making them visible to any cruising fish. Prebaiting works well on weedy waters. If you can bait a spot once or twice a week with particles or small pellets, the silver fish and bream will also help clean the spot for you. The boilies I use are either a mix of 15mm and 18mm Dynamite CompleX-T or CompleX-T and The Crave, mixed 50:50. The majority of the spod mix will be crushed to powder so it gets the carp grubbing around actively looking for items to eat. Just loosefeeding whole boilies can see the baits falling through the weed and out of sight. On well-stocked lakes I use white or pink 10mm to 12mm hi-viz pop-ups on the hook. If I’m on a ‘hard’ water or there for a couple of days, fishing over a bigger bed of bait, I use a more subtle food bait pop-up. I use a braid mainline – 0.35mm Sufix 832 – or 0.35 Sufix Advanced mono if braid is banned. The clutch is set tight and I hit any runs as soon as possible. If the lead ejects, the fish will come to the surface. If not and it weeds itself it’s important to not just keep pulling as you’ll either pull the hook or snap the mainline. Instead, keep a steady pressure on the fish until it comes out of the weed of its own accord. In heavily weeded situations, I have even placed the rod back on the rest for a few minutes until the fish starts to move again. Once the fish is moving, keep the pressure on and you’ll usually win the day. This session, I’ve had carp of 31lb and a 27lb, both from very weedy spots. Weed is just a plant that’s mastered all the lessons, except how to grow in rows! It loves gravel pits, so it’s best to master the skills to beat it and get the most out of your angling.