Jake Moutter, by email
QThe weed on my lake is ridiculous this year, and I can’t find any clear areas within casting range. The best I can find is light blanket weed, so what’s the best type of set-up for fishing in this, and should I fish pop-ups so that they’re visible?
AMost anglers prefer to fish a chod rig over blanket weed, or other types of low-lying weed, but I would shy away from this if the area around the blanket weed is covered with taller weed, as it sounds like it could be in your case. The trouble with fishing chod rigs with high weed around your spot is that the line will be held up, which in turn can make your pop-up sit several inches or even feet above the deck, making for an unnatural presentation. I prefer to use a standard lead clip set-up and a long hooklink over low weed.
To determine how deep the blanket weed is, have a few casts onto the spot and drag the rig back. If the weed is around 6ins long, then I would fish a 12ins rig with a pop-up on the end. I wouldn’t use a stiff hooklink because this could cause the whole rig to sit up vertically as the lead punches through the weed, and supple braids can tangle easily on big casts, so I’d use a soft coated braid as a hooklink.