Fishing in weed

The local water i'm currently fishing has a large area covered in very thick heavy weed. It is so thick in places, that it's a job itself just retrieving your hook bait. I'm coming to the conclusion, that it is impossible to fish.

I just wondered if any of you had any ideas or opinions on fishing in heavy weed. Any advice on rigs, gear, or tactics would be appreciated. Or should I concentrate on the open water. The annoying fact is, all of the carp are feeding amongst the weed!

hmmmm... chod is the way to go here! but b4 it was invented a lake i fished was similar to yours, all i did was spod the hell outta it, foam up the hookbait and cast into the spod! cought loads doiing this, however it then dawned on me that not all the spod hit the bottom,it must've just lay in the weed at all different depths? so on one rod i used a lightweight lead and long hooklength,to hopefully just sit in the weed with the spod! it worked a treat! but without an underwater camera i could'nt be 100% as to what was going on amongst the weed, but i cought on this method till the weed dissapeard a few years later, i also bagged up on a freeline, again i cought some good carp doing this, although dont use it in the wind as this can be a real problem.

I used to fish an old gravel pit near Ringwood and it was full of lilies and they ere so thick that you had to drag a swim before you could fish,are you allowed to drag weed in the lake you fish.When we did it it did not seem to put the fish off for long as within an hour or so the big tench would move in then followed by the carp,and if you ground bait the area straight after the dragging it pulls the fish in.
If you are allowed its worth a try,
John

Done well in the past with short hooklinks fished with big leads and double bagged PVA
They key seems to be to "crash" the bag thru the weed,no breaking the cast or feathering it, just bomb it in

Depends really on the rules on the pit your fishing did a really weedy lake about 10 years ago where the weed would grow over depth lay flat the top and flower,by august it looked like a football pitch but there were no rules stopping me so i used a boat and by tipping groundbait & fine particle the fish would clear spots for you, a few buckets a week would clear an area the size of a bivvy i suppose you could spod it but would probably end up with most of it hung up in the weed, also try reading an article in the book Savay think it was by John Harry, made me re think how i was fishing weedy waters also a very good read good luck with whatever you decide ; )

hi m8 i fish a weedy water and have done very well fishing margins plus i sleep in a wet suit if i get snagged up in we go luckly onl about 4 to 5 foot deep not so good at 2am lol but stick to it m8 it will get easer the more you fish the weed good luck