Weed in the water

Hi lads,

Tried a west Cork mark last night to no avail, pretty disappointed, was targeting pollack and bass and had high hopes of at least success with the former, given what I though were favourable weather and tide conditions, and some positive reports coming in from elsewhere in the country.

Two questions:

!. There was a fair bit of weed suspended in the water, lots of different types - green stringy, brown leathery and some of the dreaded lettuce. Each cast the hook or lead was coming back with at least a tail of weed attached, and sometimes there was a good clump to drag in. Do these kind of conditions make lure fishing pointless? I persevered, but would I have been better changing marks once I realised the situation?

2. Does anyone have any hints for marks around Cork (west of city) where I might have a chance of p-p-p picking up a pollack at this time of year? Or is it generally still early days all over the place? PM if you want.

Thanks
conor

poolbeg in dublin is a blanket of sludge at the moment!
line covered in brown sludge within minutes, completely unfishable!

Hi Conor,

First of all just let me say - I hate weed it's every anglers worst nightmare most of the time. However it can have it's advantages...
Areas where there is alot of weed about can be the perfect place to lure fish and plug for bass as it's in this weed that they are sitting in and under just waiting to pounce on any poor crab, sandeel etc that may be about.
I have found that the best type of lure/plug to use in weedy conditions are the plastic lures such as the slug-go, x-layer or the new fin-s-fish lure all which can be sourced from any good quality tackle dealers through out the country.
These lures won't get caught up in the weed as much as plugs with all their trebles would or as much as rigs for bottom fishing would with leads etc. therefore making them perfect for weedy ground.
Hope this helps..........good luck.

Blackrock to Dun Laoghaire is covered in that brown sludge too. I've been told that this happens when the water treatment plants are overloaded and too much 'nutrient rich' water gets released in the bay. Maybe others might now better

Hi Conor,

First of all just let me say - I hate weed

i quite like it meself!it can make a bad fishing session rather good! ............carageen and dillisk are the best to collect... oh ...wait... ya did not think i MEANT the other stuff did ya??

Hi Conor,

First of all just let me say - I hate weed

i quite like it meself!it can make a bad fishing session rather good! ............carageen and dillisk are the best to collect... oh ...wait... ya did not think i MEANT the other stuff did ya??

I think your on the stuff now Noel! That's why you aren't catching any Bass, your smoking the weed instead of fishing in it

Hi Conor,

First of all just let me say - I hate weed

i quite like it meself!it can make a bad fishing session rather good! ............carageen and dillisk are the best to collect... oh ...wait... ya did not think i MEANT the other stuff did ya??

I think your on the stuff now Noel! That's why you aren't catching any Bass, your smoking the weed instead of fishing in it

so so true!

so so true!

Thought so....guilty as charged!

algae bloom is in the Dublin bay ,caused by a suarage leek in dunlaoire 2 years a go the south wind blows and the weed blooms.when it calms off it sinks to the bottom .then you can fish .the north side no longer gets the bloom because the south side gets the s##t.in south winds i fish north side .

There was a fair bit of weed suspended in the water. Do these kind of conditions make lure fishing pointless? I persevered, but would I have been better changing marks once I realised the situation?

Certainly makes things annoying, I usually switch back to bait or the float until it clears, though that can be just as bad.

The big south winds during the week must've churned things up down your way, give it a day or two to settle and then the fish should make it up to you.

cheers all. In the words of a local expert whom I consulted on the weed: "it can't help"

Kerry I have a few worms and weedless hooks, have been trying them out but nothing yet. I know weedy territory is good for holding fish, it's when the water is turned into lettuce soup with churned-up vegetation I'm wondering if that puts off the fish as well as making fishing more of a hassle.

Kerry I know weedy territory is good for holding fish, it's when the water is turned into lettuce soup with churned-up vegetation I'm wondering if that puts off the fish as well as making fishing more of a hassle.

If conditions are as bad as you have described you'd probably be best not fishing there at all until the water clears abit as this could very well be putting the fish off....and as you said, if your trailing in weed every time you reel your line back in then it just becomes a real nightmare/hassle making it very unpleasant to fish, and no-one needs that.
Weed it just one of them things that we can't do anything about. Sometimes it can assist us, sometimes it's nothing but trouble.

algae bloom is in the Dublin bay ,caused by a suarage leek in dunlaoire 2 years a go the south wind blows and the weed blooms.when it calms off it sinks to the bottom .then you can fish .the north side no longer gets the bloom because the south side gets the s##t.in south winds i fish north side .

Nice tip Dave

it seemed to clear up a bit the last few days but the wind tonight made it messy again!
can't wait for it to clear up!
digging bait at low water tells a lot!