Walleye in the weeds....

[TallPaull]

I've been fishing for years and I tend to fish the outside edge of weeds. As I have read the forums and other articles many reference fishing "in" the weeds. What is the best method of fishing in the weeds (crankbaits over the top, slip bobber, ?)? Looking for suggestions on methods to try the next time I am on the water.

[durham1296]

I have had luck fishing just above the weeds with a slip bobber and leech. I have been fishing in 8 to 12 feet of water where the weeds start to thin out. I set the depth so the leech ticks the tops of the weeds as it is drifting along. Last night was kind of a tough bite but I managed to get a couple of 15 and 16 inchers out of the weeds. Good luck and I hope this helps.

[ANYFISH2]

Most often I fish with slip bobbers, over the top in thicker weeds, in pockets I will usually set 18-24" off bottom. I also will jig minnows or leeches through them with a timber jig to keep it relitively weedless, I only use minnowa when the panfish will not leave the leeches alone.

[tunrevir]

In the weeds is relative to the weeds you are fishing. Chara or sandgrass is commonly found over sandy bottoms throughout most metro area lakes. When you get into fishing the weeds, generally you are talking coontail, cabbage milfoil or reeds. Reeds tend to grow on semi sany/gravel bottoms and are relatively easy to fish using standard or weedless jigs and plastics or live bait. Just cast into the reeds and around the edges and slowly work your jig back to you. Cabbage is probably the second easiest to fish in that it is a bit more sparse and you can work a variety of baits in and through it. Jigs and live bait or plastics again being a good start, cranks both through and above or around can work as well as livebait rigs over the tops like spinners and crawlers. Once you get into the coontail and milfoil your choices are a bit more limited. Early you can run all kinds of baits over the top and along the edges but once they thicken up and grow taller your presentation methods begin to thin. Coontail and milfoil tend to grow over a more mucky based bottom content but can signal you to transitions between mud and sand. One productive method to fish these weed beds is to cast cranks parallel to the weedlines and fancast the adjacent flats for roaming fish and fish tucked right into the edges that can dart out and smack an easy meal. Another method that takes some patience and work is casting into the edges with a jig and plastic letting the bait settle to the bottom keeping a tight line and wiggling it out with hops and short drags and plenty of pauses once it settles to the bottom. Think bassfishing here. Slip bobbering along the edge can be productive but I prefer to chase more active fish by casting cranks and working jigs and plastics. Alot of metro fish are weed edge hugging fish and you can extract them by running cranks and live bait rigs or jigs along the edges of the defined weedlines rather then working right in them. Work the shallow edges early in the day and deeper edges at midday as a rule. The deep side isn't always the most productive so you may want to work shallow first depending on the water clarity. Weed fishing can be alot of work but can offer you rewards in that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow as well! Hope that helps.

Tunrevir~

[harvey lee]

I love to run shallow running cranks like SSR or a floating Rapala over the top of the weeds. Yes, at times you will foul with weeds but its a great way to cover area and boat some fish.

[Northlander]

Spinners on boards with little or no weight over the weeds is a deadly way to fish the weeds. I like to use boards so I dont run through the weeds spooking the fish.

[Willy]

Spinners on boards with little or no weight over the weeds is a deadly way to fish the weeds. I like to use boards so I dont run through the weeds spooking the fish.

Boards and weeds? How do you make that work, any tricks? If I am trolling weeds, boards make it a hassle for me. Hard to tell if you bait is fouled and usually it will get that way fairly quickly when fishing them. Of course maybe you are talking about deeper weedbeds where you have 4-6 ft over the top of them, but where I fish, it is a tough chore running boards anywhere around weeds.

[PerchJerker]

I love to run shallow running cranks like SSR or a floating Rapala over the top of the weeds. Yes, at times you will foul with weeds but its a great way to cover area and boat some fish.

Yep -- crankbaits in and over the weeds - be prepared to foul the hooks a lot, but with a no-stretch line like powerpro you can shake many of the weeds off. Another good technique is working with weedline with a jig or a bottom bouncer.

[fishuhalik]

I use to use a slipbobber & leech alot, but some of the bass fishermen put me onto dropshotting. Look it up, it's the perfect presentation for fishing in the weeds, just replace said bass bait with a leech and you're set!! Find a nice cut or hole in the cabbage or whatever weeds you're fishing, set the dropshot for about 15' off bottom, cruise in fairly close with your trolling motor (it's surprising how comfortable those weedfish are, they don't spook as easy) and flip it in.

[terrible_fisherman]

I will sometimes rip rattle traps through the weeds to see what is biting. I catch eyes from time to time doing that. Just make sure you use no stretch line and yank it through.