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Q Any advice on how to prevent weed getting stuck on my leader knot and then clogging up the tip ring when I’m reeling in? I’ve tried different knots but it doesn’t seem to make any difference and has caused me to lose fish.
DARREN ANDREWS, ESSEX
Weed can be a real problem at times, particularly if you’re fishing the estuaries in summer or from the shore during a gale, even sometimes the day or two after, not forgetting the dreaded mayweed which at times makes conditions unfishable. Whilst you can fish straight through (without a leader) if it’s safe to do so, most situations involve casting, so safety must come first and a leader is a must. Depending on your venue, conditions and the type or size of fish you’re targeting you can vary your leaders, or leader knots; the Bimini twist is favourite over rough terrain but bulky, an option may be heavy braid, thus removing the need for a knot. On clean ground fishing the needle knot or a tapered leader may be an option, the needle being able to be kept quite small and the tapering allowing you to get to the knot before immediately landing the fish, as a normal tapered leader is about 15m in length. Consider keeping you rod as high as possible, stopping weed getting on in the first place. Like you, I recently lost a fish in a match due to weed, which cost me dearly. Sometimes you just have to accept the situation, take your time, try and keep a tight line and stop to
