Reel Weeds...how to

[kudu63]

I'm also interested in these - is there a HSOforum to go to that I check them out. I searched for them on Cabelas and Scheels websites but can not locate them. Also, just curious as far a leaving them in for days. Has anyone tried putting a float on the string and let it float about 2 feet below the ice. This way when you want to retreive them you just drill a hole and drop a jig down to hook the float/line and pull them back up.

[Scott M]

kudu63,

Here ya go:

Ladredge Outdoors Reel Weeds

First crappie I ever iced at Red lake was next to my buddy's Reel Weeds. You can search all winter for green weeds to fish by or you can bring your own with!

[harvey lee]

Quote:

---

I'm also interested in these - is there a

HSOforum

to go to that I check them out. I searched for them on Cabelas and Scheels websites but can not locate them. Also, just curious as far a leaving them in for days. Has anyone tried putting a float on the string and let it float about 2 feet below the ice. This way when you want to retreive them you just drill a hole and drop a jig down to hook the float/line and pull them back up.

---

You may never get them back as the ice could freeze in solid in the hole and then they would be gone. If I were to leave them overnight I would be in the house and every 4-6 hours I would check them. Thats about the only safe way to insure you will be able to retrieve your weeds.

[Deitz Dittrich]

Bill-- thanks for your post! Please stop back often!

[Shack]

Quote:

---

I'm also interested in these - is there a website to go to that I check them out. I searched for them on Cabelas and Scheels websites but can not locate them. Also, just curious as far a leaving them in for days. Has anyone tried putting a float on the string and let it float about 2 feet below the ice. This way when you want to retreive them you just drill a hole and drop a jig down to hook the float/line and pull them back up.

---

I would be careful of doing any thing like this. It could be construed as littering. Also like Harvey Lee said, your chances are high of not getting them back.

I am going to look into getting a set of these. They do not cost much and I think the benefits are great. I would not be using them on every fishing trip, but most.

I could see these being a deadly weapon on the gravel flats of Mille Lacs for perch. I look for the smallest piece of structure and fish over that (little rock pile or log). But to throw these down, I would think in no time perch would flock over to the area.

[fishinJohn]

Thanks for some background info on these. I never have seen them before this year and I have a five pack on order. I think they are not overpriced as long as they hold up even if they get tangled. I hope nobody uses them so the fish don't catch on.

[kudu63]

Thanks for the HSOforum and all the advice - definitely going to look into them. One last question - I see there is a 3' and 6' version available. Has anyone used them both - any recommendations ? To me a 3' would seem adequate.

[shooter_mcgavin]

Quote:

---

Also, just curious as far a leaving them in for days. Has anyone tried putting a float on the string and let it float about 2 feet below the ice. This way when you want to retreive them you just drill a hole and drop a jig down to hook the float/line and pull them back up.

---

I'm on the fence on this product. Ideas like the one above make me wonder how many of these will get left down the hole. They were made to stand up to the elements, so it ends up being garbage that sits there forever. I can see how it would be an effective tool, but there's already been a few replies in this thread alone where people have been planning to leave theirs down the hole for days at a time. Just my 2 cents.

[ice-man/vexilar-king]

Great info bill! I will be ordering more soon! This S.O.S invention is a keeper!

[Gillagain]

Quote:

---

Hmm im not trying to sway any opinions here i just think they are ripping us off by selling them for such a steep price. seems like a lot of money to me when an aquarium plant a rock some fishing line and a float only cost a few bucks. Just my opinion

Ryan

---

Just became a member of FM today. Great site! The main reason I decided to register was because I noticed this thread on Reel Weeds. I had an experience a last year that I thought might be useful to some of the viewers. Last year I bought a 5 Pack of Reel Weeds and had great success with them - particularly for crappies with the weeds suspended about half way down the water column. My fishing buddy decided to do just what some of the others have been discussing, and made his own. He went to the pet store and bought 5 bundles of aquarium plants. Like I said, these come in bundles and only stand about a foot and a half high. The cost? About $9 a piece for the cheap ones. He then made his own holder and got cord to attach to his weeds. He seemed satisfied with them the first time out, but then we went to SD and it was -30F. At the end of the day we pulled in our weeds and set them by the truck while we loaded up. When my buddy went to grab his bucket of aquarium weeds, the bucket fell out of his hand and landed on the ice. His aquarium weeds shattered like glass. It was really, really funny! He claimed my Reel Weeds were going to do the same thing so I took one and unwrapped it from it's holder, swung it around, and then through it up in the air and let it fall on the ice. It was as flexible as ever and didn't even loose a little branch on it. Needless to say my friend was pretty upset. Sorry this got so long, but thought it was an appropriate story. If you're going to make your own, be very careful with them and clean up after yourself before you leave the lake.

[TMF89]

Quote:

---

A little background on Reel Weeds...it took nearly 5 years to find a plastic or even a product that would withstand the elements a Midwest winter can offer. Reel Weeds are not made in the same fashion that your heated aquarium weeds are made. In fact when we first started developing reel weeds we tested aquarium weeds which are meant for heated aquariums and discovered they became brittle and fell apart in extreme conditions. We tested all sorts of products including fabrics, while some worked the first time down the hole-moving them to another hole created all sorts of problems. LaDredge Outdoors uses only the highest quality material in manufacturing all of our products. Sure, we could have saved everyone money by cutting corners and using less expensive parts, but we believe in providing quality products, as we are avid ice-fisherman ourselves. As newcomers in this industry, our reputation must be earned from each of you and that only comes by offering you the best products at the most affordable price we can. Which is what we have tried to do.

In regards to trying to make your own, I can't blame anyone for trying, I can only lend you our experiences and the testimonials of those that have tried before you.

Please stop down at the St. Paul Ice Show (booth 511) and see for yourself. If you have any questions I will be glad to answer them for you.

Bill Lorimer - LaDredge Outdoors

---

Bill, thanks for your informative post. As I may not make it to the ice show this year (depending on the deals/specials I find out about beforehand), do you know what the price'll be of the weeds at the show? Thanks!

[jigging-matt]

Great Info. I am really considering making the investment in them this year. I will hopefully be spending much more time on the ice.

[slipperybob]

Went to the pet store and did some price comparison at $12-$20 for a pack...bottom line, buy the product...I'm saving some caching for the St. Paul ice show and will be buying a pack of the 6 footer's...then when I get my aquarium some of it will be going in there.

now if they made some glow weeds!

[Dave]

Got a peek at some new stuff from LaDredge while setting up at the ice show, slipperybob.... Hint: Bring a few more bucks.

[Blainebob]

I'm just wondering how long it takes the fish to relate to these. As soon as you put them down,do they react and swim right up? I was gonna get a bunch and set them all around my portable.

[polarsusd81]

Blainebob,

It really depends on different conditions you fish, if you are fishing panfish and plot some holes in a large school, you will generally notice they will relate to the weeds pretty quick and it can draw them in. In another scenario, say on Mille Lacs, you pop some holes and set up on a big flat, with little to no structure on it and drop the weeds, when the perch and eyes are roaming around the flat, when they get close enough to notice the weeds, they will come over and stick around your lines a bit longer than just having baits down there. It might not hold them in the area all day, but it just may. My buddy and I were up there last year, first time using the weeds, school of roaming perch came in and didn't leave the rest of the day, had the aqua vu down and watched them all day long. My dad and uncle were set up 50 yards away and didn't catch even 5% of the quantity or quality of fish we caught.

[slipperybob]

Quote:

---

Got a peek at some new stuff from LaDredge while setting up at the ice show, slipperybob....

Hint: Bring a few more bucks.

---

will do...planning on maybr two thorne ice rods

[polarsusd81]

Bill Lorimer,

Just would like to say thanks again for developing such an awesome product. It was nice to get to talk to you at the ice show and even better when you handed me one of the weed-lines. I will be using it very soon on a tip-up outside the trap and will surely post back with results. I am a firm believer in the product you have produced and like I said at the show, I know a good number of people that have attempted to make their own time and time again. If they would have just spent the money the first time around on the "reel" deal, they would have spent less than the failed trial attempts on their own. I will probably be picking up some more soon so when I bring my dad and uncle out with me, they can use some too.

Tom

[heiman507]

I picked up a 5 pack of the SOS at the show and got the weedline for free. I've been eyeing them down for a while, and decided to get them because it was only $60.

Earlier in this thread, there was talk of ensuring the holes don't freeze over otherwise it will be fun to get these out. Just wondering if anyone has taken one of those round insulated tipups(or something similiar) and attached the reel weeds to them. This would ensure that the line stays in the center and it insulates the hole from freezing over to quickly.

Any thoughts or experience?

[polarsusd81]

That isn't a bad idea heiman, never thought of it, but it seems like it would work in theory. Be the first to test it out and let us know. I usually just use them when we are out in portables and we pull them up every time out or move obviously so there isn't much time for them to freeze in.

[the buck]

I saw these at the early show but was not ready to make the purchase yet until I did more research. Has anyone tried these on Lake of the Woods? With the dark colored water would they be as effective? I know most people say to leave the camera's home when you go up there so what about the weeds????

[polarsusd81]

We used them on LOTW as well. Up there they didn't do quite as well as on clear lakes. I don't think they could hurt, but it seemed the eyes up there were a bit different as in not relating to the weeds as much. We didn't take the time to set them up on the second day of our adventure up there because it was about -25* and the wind was howling. The first day when we set them up, we didn't give them enough time in the water in my opinion though, just a bit in the afternoon/evening bite.