Ditching the lead?

[blunkett]

Has anyone else fished without using a lead and had any success at all? On the weedy lake I fish I've had all my fish, bar the margin caught ones, using half oz leads in pva bags fished right into the middle of the thickest weed as everyone else hammers the handful of clear spots in the lake. I've been wondering whether the lead is really necessary and been thinking of ditching the lead altogether and using the pva bag just for casting weight as it will settle nicely on top of the weed, which tends to be of the underwater jungle variety. I've had enough off the top and freelining in the edge to know you don't need a lead to hook them so long as you've got a needle sharp hook.. My only concerns are the undertow dragging the rig into the weed as the tow tends to be quite significant due to it being deep with steep margins and also the shift in the weed overnight as it seems to sink down a bit at dusk when the light levels fade and lift again at dawn when the sun rises.

Anyone got any thoughts, experiences or ideas to share?

[ddapscarper]

read an article in advanced carp fishing, where a fella was using 6ft leader of leadcore, he then used 4inch hooklinks in solid pva bags

[garypoacher]

i feel you need a lead to keep your bait sitting in the right place otherwise any amount of things could give you false indication,the method i have used on a few lakes has been to put the whole lot in a PVA bag and rather than use a lead clip i tie my lead to my swivel with a short length of 2lb line this way as soon as the carp pick your bait up they are hooked then off they go lead gets jammed in weed 2lb line snaps you are straight through to the carp job done ;D

[jeffe]

I fished like that at Rainbow Gary. Not that I caught anything mind! ;D

[garypoacher]

I fished like it on Marshes,The Tip lake and a few other weedy ponds and it works every time ;D

[blunkett]

My problem with using a lead is it pulling the rig into the weed rather than snagging up once I've got a fish on. I use inlines and set them up so the line goes around the outside of the lead rather than through the internal bore so it pops off as soon as you get a take. I use half oz leads in solid pva bags and incorporate a bit of dry vitalin into the bag so that it sinks slowly and rests lightly on top of the thick weed. I'm just wondering whether I need the lead at all and if just using a mesh bag purely for casting weight would present the bait better on top of the weed without any weight at all that might pull the rig into the weed.

[spencer]

Fishing heavy weed myself now with clued up fish. Simply been extending the hooklink, dumping the lead on the take and balancing my pop ups so they land just on top of the weed. A tip though, Matt you mention the weed sinking after Dark which is very true, if you can have a recast an hour or so into Dark do so
This is the lead set up Im using

Theres a bit of stoney stuff around hence the tube protection for the line

[blunkett]

That's precisely how I set mine up in a solid pva bag with a bit of dry mix in the bag so it sinks slowly and settles on top of the weed. I tend to use a 3-4" pop up so , in theory, it doesn't get pulled into the weed when it sinks down on dusk. I'm just wondering whether the lead is necessary at all, if I ditch the lead then maybe I maximise its ability to sit on the top of the weed, or at least remain unobstructed in the uppermost layers, therefore remain presented in the most visible/accessible levels of the weed to the fish no matter what change the weed undergoes through the changing light levels through dusk/overnight/first light