How do you find the weedline??

[BLACKJACK]

Fishing articles always talk about 'finding the weedline' and then fishing in it or near it. Then its always 'find the green and growing weeds'.

How do you find the weedline if you don't have a camera?

[EBass]

You can't tell from your electronics? I like to look down the hole and see what's under there if the water is clear enough.

[Jmeyers]

Topo Maps, GPS, and your Vex/Marcum. It's hard to find green growing weed in the winter due to lack of sunlight. Also depending on the radar you have you can tell what type of bottom you are sitting on. I believe if the bottom shows up green on your Marcum it indicates you are sitting on weeds, yellow I believe is mud/sand, and red is rock.

I'm sure someone will correct me on this..

[B-man715]

You'll be able to see it with a flasher most of the times (unless it is a super thick carpet of weeds that are all the same height). Weeds look like fish that never move.

How deep the weeds are usually depends on water clarity. Once you find the depth they stop growing on a particular lake, that depth will be your starting point for the rest of the lake.

The type of bottom also dictates how deep they will grow in a given area.

Also depending on water clarity, you may be able to just stick your nose down the hole with your jacket over your head and see them yourself.

Hope this helps!

[Gordie]

You can't tell from your electronics? I like to look down the hole and see what's under there if the water is clear enough.

Yep this is how I do it also.

[OnAFly]

Standing weeds on your flasher will look like a bunch of strong (red) signals mixed in with weak (green) signals. It almost looks like fish, but not quite. They will either move very slowly in and out of your flashers view (swaying back and forth) or stand still. They will not move up and down. When see it a few times, you'll know exactly what I'm talking about.

First, look at the water clarity of the lake you're on. It it's murky, weeds might only grow down a couple feet. Most lakes will be in the 10ft range for weedline depth.

Next, find the area you want to fish and look for places where the bottom goes from shallower to deeper than this weedline depth.

Now, drill holes across those places. Usually, between two of the holes you drilled there will be a transition from no weeds to weeds. Drill a hole between those two hole and check it, if it's got no weeds an you're within a couple feet of your hole with weeds, you're just off the weedline. Those two holes are good places to fish.

[BrandonJ]

You can't tell from your electronics? I like to look down the hole and see what's under there if the water is clear enough.

[rbs]

this is how I do it_

sorry...

[BLACKJACK]

You can't tell from your electronics? I like to look down the hole and see what's under there if the water is clear enough.

I can tell in the summer on my Lowrance but with my Vex in the winter its tougher...

[BLACKJACK]

Standing weeds on your flasher will look like a bunch of strong (red) signals mixed in with weak (green) signals. It almost looks like fish, but not quite. They will either move very slowly in and out of your flashers view (swaying back and forth) or stand still. They will not move up and down. When see it a few times, you'll know exactly what I'm talking about.

First, look at the water clarity of the lake you're on. It it's murky, weeds might only grow down a couple feet. Most lakes will be in the 10ft range for weedline depth.

Next, find the area you want to fish and look for places where the bottom goes from shallower to deeper than this weedline depth.

Now, drill holes across those places. Usually, between two of the holes you drilled there will be a transition from no weeds to weeds. Drill a hole between those two hole and check it, if it's got no weeds an you're within a couple feet of your hole with weeds, you're just off the weedline. Those two holes are good places to fish.

Thanks onafly, thats kind of what I was looking for. Looks like I need to drill more holes. A lot of lakes here on the prairie have a lot of water in that 10-20 foot depth. If I'm in 10 feet, how tall, how far off the bottom, will you expect weeds to grow up to?

[Sonicrunch]

this is how I do it_

sorry...

the only way!!

please tell me that is someone you know!

[OnAFly]

It will really vary from lake to lake. If you are talking a prairie lake, it's probably not a very clear lake so a definite weed edge might be a little more tough to nail down, if it exists at all.

If they are still standing, they will probably be around 3-5' tall. If you're water is less clear, they might not be standing at all during the winter.

[PerchJerker]

If you have your sensitivity set correctly, you should be able to see the bottom as a harder return, and will have weaker returns from the weeds above the bottom. OnAFly's description of "almost looks like fish, but not quite" is good.

Couple things you can try to help dial in .......

Watch your bait on your flasher as you're dropping it down. Even if it disappears on your Vex once you get in the weeds, the bait should still be going down and taking line off your reel until it hits the bottom. This will let you know how high the weeds are and how much they're showing on your flasher.

Try turning your sensitivity up and down .... this should help you see where the weeds by having them show up and disappear, etc. You may want to fish at a lower sensitivity setting to see your bait in the weeds. On my LX-5 and LX-7 I can adjust the sensitivity so I can see my bait moving through the weed signals, and can also see fish moving through the weeds.

Use the narrowest beam setting on your transducer, this will help you by showing you a smaller area and not picking up as many weeds.

Also, many Vex users like the suppression cable when fishing in weeds.

Finally, the best way to learn what your flasher is showing you is by having an underwater camera in a hole right next to it. Try to borrow one, or fish with a friend who has one, and you'll quickly learn what your flasher is showing you.

Hope that helps and good luck.