Curly pond weed, your thoughts

[dan2957]

This time of year a lot of my favorite lake are covered in curly pond weed. I am wondering how you guys fish this weed. Do you move away from it, do you fish inside of it? I have never caught a lot of bass in the pond weed so I wonder if the bass stay away from it? I am not a big fan of this weed and can not wait for it to die off later.

[river rat316]

find pockets of different type of weeds, also fish the inside and outside edges, there might also be pockets of no weedgrowth around if you have good water visibility, fish those pockets. Thats my only advice

[buzzin for bass]

Try super shallow running crank baits over the tops with blazing speed. When it works it can pay big, when it doesn't you can cover alot of water in a hurry and move onto something else.

[delmuts]

the stuff can certainly be a pain, but does offer options. work the edges( inside and out),pockets, and if you know the lake well enough to have some type of structure located inside the mess( rocks, or wood), it should be a good location also. usually it gets to the surface so fishing over it can be hard, but always an option. and as stated; if you find where different type of weeds meet, another great location.

[Ray Esboldt]

I kind of like it - when it's still green. One, it usually makes a real good inside weedline out of itself. And, in my opinion, for the first two weeks after spawn, that is the best bite going on most lakes. Second, I like to fish the shallow holes in it in shallow bays that are basically choked by it. If you you can manuever through this stuff with your boat, there are usually some quality fish back there.

That being said, when that stuff starts dying, it makes an awful mess of the lake. And, I also think it complicates locating fish. In general, I would prefer it didn't exist.

[dan2957]

Thanks for all the responces guys. I guess I need to build some confidence in fishing the stuff. I wonder if the pond weed is native to our lakes?

[Deitz Dittrich]

Dan- Love it or hate it, no matter what, you still have to deal with it.

I myself think it can be very hard to fish. Not anything like milfoil. Its tough on the t- moter, its tough to get a lure through. Its one thing it does have. It usually make an AWESOME inside weedline. And that is usually what I concentrate on. Soft plastic jerkbaits and spinnerbaits. Heavy jigs into the holes work well too, as well as scum frogs over the top.

It usually dies in early july if I remember right and then mucks up the lake. Fishing can be tough for a week then usually goes gang busters for a few days.. .

[Ray Esboldt]

Deitz,

I always suspected that we thought the same on most fishing topics, but this is downright disturbing (see my post).

Quick, what am I thinking right now?

[Worst Kid]

Deitz your right on with using a spinnerbait in this stuff. I prefer the spinner bait to draw the fish out of the junk or if your going to use a shallow crank make sure it rattles. Personally seem to have more success with rattle cranks when working these weeds.

[Deitz Dittrich]

That is scary Ray.... LOL... and I cant type what your thinking now.. the word police would get me in trouble.. LOL

I too wish it wasn't in my lake.. but it does, so adapt! I think it makes some lakes better fishing for those willing to work.. it can make fish harder to catch!

[V-12 Merlin]

Dan, the DNR considers Curly Leaf Pondweed an invasive species. It's not native to Minnesota, and is also not native to North America, as far as I can tell. I've heard one theory that it came to the United States as seeds inside carp.

I tend to agree with those that have said it would be better if the stuff didn't exist - it's nasty. You can blame a lot of things on that weed, algea blooms, nasty smell, destruction of native plants. They're all probably true, to a certain degree, although I think there are also other factors that complicate the issue.

One thing about it, I believe I've had better catches by trying to figure out a way to use that stuff to my advantage, rather than try to avoid it. Once it's died off (and the smell has gone away!), it's a big relief, but until then, I think it's something we as anglers can learn to live with.

[carlcmc]

does anyone have a link to post to point to pictures of the weeds so we know what we are talking of?

[Deitz Dittrich]

Here is a link to the MN DNR...

http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/aquatic_plants/submerged_plants/curlyleaf_pondweed.html

not a pict a drawing...I'm still looking for a pict... if I cant find one.. I'll go get some this weekend and take a pict of it.

[Deitz Dittrich]

dang I am good some times.. this is the nasty stuff right here.

[carlcmc]

Quote:

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dang I am good some times.. this is the nasty stuff right here.

---

You know, that is just what I was thinking, dang, that Deitz is good sometimes! :-)

thanks Deitz.

[Deitz Dittrich]

but only sometimes!!!! LOL most of the time I aint worth a.....

[Wayne Ek]

In it's early stages I like to rip jigs thru it, it can also draw in alot of walleyes early on, but bass guys are not interested in waldo's I look at it just like I do rice, hard to fish, but holds alot of fish until it dies off (man the smell when it dies off) for a number of years I had great luck tossing jaw-breaker spoons and then following up with a floating worm if I missed on the spoon. Then someone invented the horny toad, and bass fishing changed forever I had more fun in the pond weed with horny toads than a person should be allowed to have. But the smell... and what's with the little tiny flies it attracts when it's dying off? You can stand on my dock and go deaf from all the sunfish slurping and spacking...

[mplspug]

Phew, for a second I thought we were discussing the Clasping pondweed which I call cabbage. I love fishing that stuff. As for curly leaf pondweed, it's junk.

[Deitz Dittrich]

nope.. a huge difference between cabbage and CPW.... HUGE DIFF!!!!!

[Wayne Ek]

Yes in-deed, two very different salads. On Curly Leaf Cabbage I like a refreshing vinaigrette, while Curly Leaf Pond Weed requires a bolder sauce, such as a Ranch French blend.

Wow... that must have been the urban man still lurking within Sometimes you can take the boy to the country, but you can't always take the city out of the boy. Or it could be a feeble attempt at humor or just to much wine.

[Deitz Dittrich]

I would be willing to bet the culprit was the latter idea.