Fishing in Weeds

[jegerjack]

has anyone fished in the weeds in the winter? is there enough oxeygen for fish to be in there? if so is it usally a hang out for pike or do you find anything else?

tanks, jeger

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"What did the old man trade for these guys, a used puck bag?"

[jegerjack]

I should clarify one thing, I do not mean the weed edges, I do that for pike, what I am talking about is like a small inlet or bay that is pretty full of weeds...

jegerjack

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"What did the old man trade for these guys, a used puck bag?"

[Guest]

i have fished directly in weedbeds on many
occasions during the winter,some holes are in weeds while others hit pockets or openings,have had good luck,its worth a try

[Guest]

I always look for weeds during early ice. This is where a lot of oxygen is and you will find a lot of species of fish that relate to these weeds. Shallow bays with still standing weeds will typiclly hold crappies and gills during early ice. Look for pockets in the weeds, or a transition area, these spots will hold fish.

Bass, perch, pike, and walleyes will also use the weeds. Deeper weeds can be great fishing spots too.

So, in general, weeds are something to look for during early ice. Fish will relate to them for oxygen and forage purposes.

Good Fishin,
Matt

[email protected]
Catch-N Tackle
MarCum

[Bob Cunningham]

I fish the weed all the time. If you want pan fish that's where to go. These fish have to have a place to hide from predators and the weeds or brush piles are what you want. Don't just fish above them you have to get your jig thru and sometime you can't see it at all but the fish are there. If you can get them to come up thru the weeds you will catch them.

[Wables]

My "Hot Spot" last year was in a 8' deep weedbed with still standing weeds. My partner and I rigged up a pole system to clear out a small pocket under each hole. Worked great! Jumbo perch, hogeyes, and pike, you never know what the next flag would hold!

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Wables

[Maze1162]

Wables,
Could you explain your "pole system", please ?
Maze

[wastewaterguru]

Careful guys.....I don't think you want the DNR to see you killing aquatic vegetation.

[wastewaterguru]

Nevermind.....as long as you remove the destroyed weeds and dispose of them properly, and you clear less than 2500 sq. feet, you don't need a permit, and the weed removal is "legal".

It just didn't sound like a good idea to me.

[Wables]

For clearing the weeds outside of the shack, all you need is a 10 foot piece of conduit or pipe bent 90 degrees for the last 8" or so. Drop it down the hole and start twirling it around. You can make about a 6' diameter pocket. You do need to let things settle out a bit before fishing. For under the shack you can use 2 5 foot lengths of pipe with a coupling to join them together. Drop the first piece down the hole, screw on the second piece, and start twirling!

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Wables

[bigminnow]

If fishing for Bass and Pick I always try to find the weed edges. I have fished in 10 ft of water with weeds 2 feet from the ice. I put the shiner appox 8 inches below the ice and slayed the bass and pike. The problem with bass is they always dive into the weeds and try top spit the hook. Definately look for weeds. Thats one of the nice things about fishing in WI you can have 3 tipups out.

[gill man]

Yep, standing weeds are good in the winter too. I've caught bass, northerns, walleyes, perch, crappie, and bluegills from them. Edges and holes do attract fish, but I've caught plenty of fish right in the middle of a weed flat too.

gill man

[Steve Foss]

I'm also a weed man, but a green weed man.

Green weeds are living weeds, and only living weeds produce oxygen. And only oxygen allows those fish to live. So if you can find green weeds in a place dominated by dead weeds, you'll find fish.

In low-snow winters, enough light penetrates, especially in clear lakes, to keep cabbage alive all winter.

Definitely not just a pike bite, either. They're all in there.

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"Worry less, fish more."
Steve Foss
[email protected]

[Guest]

This winter was the first winter with my camera and me fishing in the weeds. And did I see a lot of fish! I saw tons on sunfish and pike and scattered in there was also a few perch, crappies, and walleyes too. I was fishing a part that was 8' deep with weed growth 1' to 1.5' off the bottom. It was great and I caught a lot of sunfish and saw some nice sized pike move through.
On early ice I would always look to weeds first for fish, before the weeds die off and everything leaves.

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Fish ON!