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One of the benefits of global warming no doubt, but the phenomena of weed beds not dying off as we have come to expect has been a growing feature of winter fishing on a growing number of fisheries throughout East Anglia and probably the UK as a whole.

The effects of this are that where as in the past the remnants of Summer plant and weed growth has been a minor nuisance, with this growth now not completely stopping and even new shoots that are starting, keep the weed up of bottom and this provides the ideal camouflage for hiding any heavy bait from the prying eyes of the pike. The result is that unless the pike can smell it, there is little chance of getting a take!

So what is the answer? Well there are a couple of things to do to overcome the effects, as we can't dispose of the weed we have to make it work for us a little. Firstly you can reduce the weight of the terminal tackle, e.g. weights and type of bait. The problem from this comes back when you need to cast any reasonable distance, light leads don't get the bait out, put on a bigger lead and the light bait gets pulled down again.

Enter the buoyant leger link: this can, in combination with adjustments in terminal tackle, provide assistance in getting the bait back into view. Other points to consider are increasing the length of hook trace (and uptraces. The principle here is get the bait to settle on top of the weed with the buoyant leger link staying upright in or through the weed. If the weed is deeper use a buoyant bait and allow the bait the opportunity to settle before tightening up will allow the buoyant bait to rise up attractively and be visible to the pike. Don't pull the reel line over tight when setting the indicator or float to avoid pulling the bait back down into the weed.

The large eyed run ring will allow free passage of line when the bait is taken reducing line drag from weed clogged in the swivel, hopefully preventing a dropped run!

Finally to further enhance the attractiveness you should consider adding some additional attractors in the form of flavourings and oils to the bait, either by injecting with a syringe ( remembering to take extreme care not to inject this or any air into yourself!) into the body of the bait, making some cuts in the flesh of the bait to release natural juices, particularly baits like mackerel, smelt, herring or lamprey, or add flavours and oil to a foam pellet and insert this into the baits body cavity via its mouth, water pressure should then force this to release after casting.

Finally, there is also the option to leger a live bait instead of a dead bait which will both struggle to stay free of the weed, creating both visual and vibrations to attract the pike to investigate!

NB: it is illegal under Environment Agency By-laws to move fish from one water to another with out consent and Pike Online supports this restriction on the translocation of fish wholeheartedly and recommends each angler observes this ruling and any that may apply on the individual fisheries you may visit.