To "weedguard" or not to ....

[JRC 0]

A question for more experienced anglers. Do you find your weed-guard causing missed hook-ups or it makes no difference in your opinion? Also, do you guys think a stinger/trailing hook will increase my bite/hook-up ratio? I think it will but I just hate the fly body materials getting all tangled around two hooks now.

 

 

Thanks for your opinions.

 

Roman

[Stippled Popper 0]

Personally I've never tried using a trailing hook.

 

Whether or not I use a weed guard depends on whether or not I am fishing in

the salad or not. I've not detected a difference in my hookups, but there is

probably some difference. Even so, the commotion and loss of fishing time

caused by having to remove a hook which has become embedded in a lily

pad or stalk is something which makes the possible loss of a hookup because

of a weed guard seem to to be an acceptable trade off.

 

I use double weed guards when I add a guard. They seem easier to work

among and over lily pads.

[Curtis Fry 0]

...what he said...

 

I just get tired of not being able to throw into the nasties. Weedguards are dispensible for that. I'm sure there's some missed hookups, but having a bass explode onto a surface bug is, in and of itself, a nice rush -- regardless if you hook up or not.

[JRC 0]

Wow, that was fast, thanks guys. That makes sense.

[Kirk Dietrich 0]

I usually tie weedguards on almost all of my surface flies. In general I have not found there to be much if any difference in hook-ups with the exception of schooling bass. I found out last fall that bass chasing shad are thrashers and hit a fly and spit it out, short strike and things in between. I was only getting maybe one hookup in ten strikes, which actually would happen on two or three casts! Anyway, I cut the weedguard off and began hooking two or three fish per ten (of course, it goes without saying, those numbers are only approximate, I did not conduct a recorded scientific experiment). So, what I thought was a big weedguard problem was, I think, just the nature of the strike in open water and fast moving fish. So, if you think you're missing fish cause of the weedguard, you can always cut it off.

 

Kirk

[onceahoosier 0]

I've never had a problem with hook-ups with my weegaurds. The problem I've had is that I still snag too much vegitation even with a weeguard. My deer hair flies sit low in the water and its tough not to pick stuff when pulling them through cover. A slow retrieve minimizes the problem but its still tough for me to get a fly through algae and other growth with a natural, weed-free fly.

 

Tom

[Jeremy Parker 0]

I've never had a problem with hook-ups with my weegaurds. The problem I've had is that I still snag too much vegitation even with a weeguard. My deer hair flies sit low in the water and its tough not to pick stuff when pulling them through cover. A slow retrieve minimizes the problem but its still tough for me to get a fly through algae and other growth with a natural, weed-free fly.

 

Tom

 

If everyone told the truth even with weed guards you still pick up junk once and a while!

 

You all forgot his second question?? yes stinger hooks work All my most popular streamer flies I have doubles of they have one regular one and one with a stinger tied in as part of the fly I use steel leader material on the stinger hook and flip the hook up always drop the size of the stinger hook! (ie. front hook #2 back hook #4). I've caught a lot of Great lake spring browns and steelhead on these flies . Minnows get up into the warm rocks and guess who is waiting

The Lakers up in Great Bear Lake also like it!!!

 

Blessings,

Jeremy