In the Summer my little lake gets weed choked.  Most people would look at it and think "What a shame. That lake us ruined." I am the opposite. When I made the jump from being an average to a very successful fisherman learning to fish the junk was what made the difference. I specialize in fishing the garbage. The heavier the weeds and such the better. Both Bass and Pickerel  love heavy cover as do most predatory fish. They are ambush hunters.
     Most of the lures in your tackle box won't work in the thickest stuff. What works best is just about any plastic bait rigged Texas Style without a weight.  Hold your rod tip up high and slowly pull your lure over the mat. When you come to open pockets let it swim down.
      Some hard lures that are very weedless and can be used in this situation are those big tandem  Bass spinners or weedless spoons like the Johnson Silver Minnow (great lure) and Moss Boss.
     Volumes could be written about this subject. Bottom line, if you want to catch the big boys learn to fish the slop.

I've done some fishing but I've been put off it. The last fish I caught was a pike that was so aggressive that it almost entirely swallowed the lure meaning I had to cut it's head off to get it out. Didn't have the time to prepare it to eat so it died for nothing but my own entertainment. Didn't feel good.

No ability to freeze it at the cottage unfortunately :/

Curious Aardvark wrote on May 22^nd, 2019 at 6:15am:


Excellent advice, c_a. I fish mostly for Northern Chain Pickerel, which are a smaller cousin to the Pike.  They are also very toothy and violent. It's a good idea to carry wire cutters with you... ones that are sturdy enough to cut through your heaviest hooks.  For those who don't want to mash their barbs, often cutting them off is the only way to avoid tearing a fish to ribbons.  I would much rather waste a hook or even a six dollar lure than kill a fish for no reason. 

Jauke, one also needs a fishing license here in the States.  The age varies from state to state.  In my state of New Jersey I believe it's twelve.  A resident license costs $22.50.  If you wish to catch trout, which are stocked in this state, it's $5.00 more for a trout stamp.  I only did this once in my life because a friend wanted to.  The idea of paying to catch fish that they dumped into the creek doesn't appeal to me.  Plus trout fishing here is usually a cluster f**k with people on top of each other. 

Edit:  Also, if the fish is badly hooked it's sometimes it's best chance to survive is if you just to cut the line and leave the hook in the fish. The hook will oxidize in about three weeks.  This is for extreme cases like when the fish is gut hooked.

   I'm all for barbless hooks.  I mentioned the cutters because not everyone is willing to switch to them.  Also I use steel worm weights instead of lead.  Steel doesn't pollute lakes and rivers or poison waterfowl.  There's an added bonus.  On a rig designed to make noise like a Carolina Clacker, (beads and weight bang into a swivel to make noise to attract fish) steel makes a lot more noise than lead.  Tungsten is more dense than lead and is really the ideal replacement for it but unfortunately it's brutally expensive (at least to me). Steel weights are much cheaper. Ultra-Steel is the brand I use.  I suppose there are others.

Curious Aardvark wrote on May 23^rd, 2019 at 6:01am:


I only ever hooked myself once, but I REALLY hooked myself.  I was fishing with my nephew, Mike.  I missed with a cast and my lure got stuck in a wall of stickers and brush on the shore.  I pulled but the lure was very stuck.  I pulled harder and the wall pulled out about two feet.  Did I mention that I was very drunk?   Suddenly the lure snapped out of the brush toward me like it was shot out of a cannon.  A very thick hook got buried in my left arm.  To get to a hospital to have it removed we would have had to ride to shore, put all of the gear and the boat up, drive out of the woods, (many miles) and drive to the nearest hospital.   We were back in the Jersey Pines so this also would have taken some time.  I really didn't feel like spending the next few hours with a big old lure attached to my arm so I took matters into my own hands.  The only way to free myself from the lure was to pop the hook back through  my skin and cut the barb off.  My skin is very tough and the hook was only moderately sharp.   I had to stretch my skin way out. Mike couldn't bear to watch and turned his back to the ordeal.  Being very drunk helped a great deal.  Finally the hook broke through with a loud !POP!  I'll never forget how Mike cringed upon hearing the sound.  But the hook was through, I cut the barb off, then pulled the hook out.  We finished our fishing day.  Luckily there was no infection. 
    Back to the point.  Had that been a barbless hook there would have been no drama. 

    This is my second favorite lure, the Johnson Silver Minnow.  It's a weedless spoon.  It was invented about ninety years ago.    It's a very close second to the Tiki Man. It is extremely versatile and effective.  I like the 3/4 oz  model, gold color the most. It's best when rigged with a 4" twin tail grub as a trailer.  Other trailers also work.  Both the Sliver Minnow and the Tiki Man Wave Worm are designed to be used in the slop.  Fish them in the heaviest, worst cover you can find. 
    There is also much to be said for the good old regular purple plastic worm.  It worked for your grandfather and it works now. 
     There are MANY other lures that I love.  These are my three main ones.  What are some of your favorites? 

Had a long ride through the country side today.. saw many fishers out there on the canals. Young people, girls, boys, couples, old and young. It's something that many from the more rural areas  learn when young, and still do when old.