backleading/ slack lines

[staffordjonny]

Hey just wanna see what ppl think about back leads etc, i nearly always use back leads however today i started fishing a new water with a mass of weed but only in a the middle of the lake so u have to cast over it to fish the features on far bank, the margins r totally clear! i put my back lead on as normal, had a run and my strike was hampered! unsure if it was due to back lead clogging in the weed! any how i have to be totally honest and i hear and read ppl going on about slack lines all the time but i don't have a clue how to do this some kind of mental block can anyone help?

[Nige]

Maybe this will be of use:

http://www.askanglers.co.uk/Carp/backleads.html

[kevw]

Reckon you're probably right, poss best not to use a backlead on the nearside when fishing over weed. The lake doesn't sound too wide, would use either leadcore or a blob of putty on the end of rig tubing and point the rod tip high so the line enters the water beyond the weed after casting and tightening up. Would then slacken off a few turns to sink the lead core/tubing.

Another option may be a flying back lead with a stop knot to make sure it lands beyond the weed.

backleads are ****e they cost me a fish yesterday cause the boats came out i had to backlead thus making it harder to connect with dropbacks which i later found out i hate the things and threw them in the bin never to see the light of day again HAHAHA

[Steve Baker]

Where there is heavy weed i wouldn't even consider using any kind backlead. Even if the backlead is positioned in clear water it can still slide down and get clogged up in the weed during the fight rendering it completely useless and dangerous to the fish. I would just go for straight forward slack or slackish lines which will settle on the lake bed for a good few feet behind the rig.

Like Kev said just cast out sink your line and leave it to settle for a few minutes before winding up some of the slack and attaching your bobbins. When you do this make sure that your line is curving into the water which will mean that the last few feet of line depending on the depth of water infront of you is pinned down on the bottom.