The Deep Weedline:
Interstate of the Underwater World

When it comes to locating fish, there are lots of different strategies that anglers use. Some of them work well on certain bodies of water and others do not. Many times anglers like to play the wind or search for ideal structure. Others may prefer to fish the major points or follow the breaklines. Although these strategies have all produced fish for me, my all time favorite system is fishing the deep weedline.

The deep weedline does not occur on all lakes. Big, windswept bodies of water usually have a poorly defined deep weedline, if any at all. Other lakes with poor water clarity and little weed growth will also not have the deep weedline I am referring to. However, most mesotrophic, or middle aged lakes, will have a weedline that grows down to
twelve feet or deeper. These are the lakes that are my favorite targets
during the summer months.

The deep weedline I am referring to is the point in a lake where the weed growth ceases to grow. It is the point at which the sun no longer penetrates at a strong
enough level to support plant life. It is the edge where plant growth gives
way to weedless lake bottom.

This edge is one of the most distinct edges found in the underwater world of fish. I like to think of it as the "Interstate System" of our lakes. It is a natural highway that fish of many different species use for travel. In fact, I believe you will find every major species of fish in any given body of water using the deep weedline. They may not be on this structure every day, but they will be there.

Those of you that have snorkeled or have used an underwater camera to study the deep weedline, know what it is like. This edge is often quite abrupt. The weeds don't necessarily gently taper off, they often just stop growing.

The deep weedline edge is also jagged. Differences in bottom content and weed varieties will create slight variations in the depth of the weedline. These little differences are often fish holding locations.

Because light penetration is poor at this level of the lake, it is an ideal place for fish to lay in wait for an ambush as well as to rest during the bright midday periods. In fact, when I am fishing bass on the deep weedline, I have often found the midday period to be very productive.

My philosophy for this is simple. During low light conditions, fish that are hungry
will cruise shallow areas looking for food. Forage fish have poor eyesight during
low light while most predators do not. This gives predators a distinct sight
advantage over forage fish.

During the midday period when fish are often less active, I have discovered that they will school up in the twilight region of the deep weedline. It is easy on their eyes and also a place where they can pick up an occasional meal if it should happen by.

Many times when I have been fishing weedline bass I will find a school of fish that will provide action for a couple of hours. These large schools will dissipate once the light levels start to drop in the evening.

Bass aren't the only fish that congregate on this favorite travel route during the midday. On several occasions I have been asked to take people fishing for sunfish. I have discovered that on some lakes, it is easy to locate large sunfish by trolling a crawler along the deep weedline.

Although the weedline pattern is a good one, you still need to pay attention to other structure. Just because it is a deep weedline doesn't mean there are fish all along it. I still use points and inside turns as a basis for starting my search for schools of fish that are using the deep weedline.

Weeds themselves can offer structure, too. If I can find cabbage growing on a
point next to a good drop-off, I start to get excited. I know there will be fish
using a spot like that.

There are numerous presentation options that will work on the deep weedline. One of my favorite is the PowerBait plastic worm fished on a jighead or Texas rigged.

There are certainly many different strategies that will help anglers locate and catch fish, but one of the easiest is to fish the deep weedline. As I have mentioned, this important edge will attract and hold many different species of fish. It is not uncommon to catch bass, northerns, walleyes, crappies, and sunnies all on the same weedline.

The deep weedline is certainly not the only system I use for locating fish, but it is one of my favorite. I believe this very important edge sees tremendous fish traffic over the course of a summer.

If I want to count cars, I will go to the interstate. If I want to locate a highway used by fish, I will go to the deep weedline.

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