Zebra Mussels

Ok all, I am just going to throw out this topic and get as many opinions
as possible. Lake Winnebago is now covered with Zebra Mussels in all
the Rocky Areas. I am constantly retying, and constantly breaking off,
it just comes with the territory. I have cut 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 17,
and 20lb Mono and Fluorocarbon leaders on Zebra mussels, clean... I
have cut Power-pro, fireline, and Super Braid clean as well. This year
seems worse than last year, and last year worse than the year before.
So we can count on the mussels getting progressively worse, water
getting progressively clearer, and so far fishing getting progressively
better (except for Saugers, they are pretty much gone completley ).

I throw a ton of crankbaits and tubes, those are probably my two primary
baits, but drop shotting has helped me keep my hook out of the Zebra
Mussels and therefore helped me fish longer without having to retie. I
was wondering if anyone has maybe some suggestions for a type line, or
technique for guarding your bait against them, or am I pretty much doing
the things that you have to do in this environment (currently using
abrasion resistant line, retying constantly, etc.)

Sunday I landed 27 smallies, but I broke off about a dozen, I just don't
like those odds, especially when it seemed that I lost a lot of the
nicer fish, if there were any nicks in the line, it was breaking. I
know dragging tubes is going to cause a lot of problems, but I do know
they do it on Erie , I was just wondering how they deal with it. Jack
Dalzell, are you there??

Thanks all,

Chris

Chris Rennert wrote:
I
know dragging tubes is going to cause a lot of problems, but I do know
they do it on Erie , I was just wondering how they deal with it. Jack
Dalzell, are you there??

Thanks all,

Chris

Chris,
I'm here, lurking everyday, but really not posting much. I'll go
into detail why I'm keeping a low profile in another post so I don't
hijack your thread.
Sounds like you're doing the right stuff with the zebra's. They
are really tough to deal with. You might try backing off on your drag a
little (I don't like doing this, but sometimes ya gotta). Also, what
brand of fluorocarbon are you using? On Erie, most of the big sticks
use Seaguar as it seems to have better abrasion resistance. I know that
Berkley's stuff gets a bad rap around here. At one time, I tried steel
leaders.....worked great on the zeb's, but your bite's will go down and
they change the action of the bait.
Jack
~~
Jack Dalzell
www.jdbass.com
www.OutdoorFrontiers.com
~~

Jack,

Thanks for the reply. I am currently using Seaguar GrandMax, Seaguar
Carbon Pro, and Seaguar Invisix. I have also tried Vanish and P-Line
CFX (which was really nice, but still very susceptible). This weekend I
am going to give some time to Gamma's Frog Hair, I have a buddy that
uses it exclusively out on lake michigan for steelhead and kings and
loves it. We have gone back and forth between GrandMax and that, and so
I will give it a trial run. Talking with him this afternoon, he also
mentioned steel leaders, which I am very hesitant to do. I have a
couple of other rigging options I am going to try, and we will see how
that goes.

In regards to lurking, I hope all is well with you and that we get you
back posting.

Take care and thanks again,

Chris
wrote:
Chris Rennert wrote:
I
know dragging tubes is going to cause a lot of problems, but I do know
they do it on Erie , I was just wondering how they deal with it. Jack
Dalzell, are you there??

Thanks all,

Chris

Chris,
I'm here, lurking everyday, but really not posting much. I'll go
into detail why I'm keeping a low profile in another post so I don't
hijack your thread.
Sounds like you're doing the right stuff with the zebra's. They
are really tough to deal with. You might try backing off on your drag a
little (I don't like doing this, but sometimes ya gotta). Also, what
brand of fluorocarbon are you using? On Erie, most of the big sticks
use Seaguar as it seems to have better abrasion resistance. I know that
Berkley's stuff gets a bad rap around here. At one time, I tried steel
leaders.....worked great on the zeb's, but your bite's will go down and
they change the action of the bait.
Jack
~~
Jack Dalzell
www.jdbass.com
www.OutdoorFrontiers.com
~~

"Chris Rennert" wrote in message
.. .
Ok all, I am just going to throw out this topic and get as many opinions
as possible. Lake Winnebago is now covered with Zebra Mussels in all the
Rocky Areas. I am constantly retying, and constantly breaking off, it
just comes with the territory. I have cut 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 17, and
20lb Mono and Fluorocarbon leaders on Zebra mussels, clean... I have cut
Power-pro, fireline, and Super Braid clean as well. This year seems worse
than last year, and last year worse than the year before. So we can count
on the mussels getting progressively worse, water getting progressively
clearer, and so far fishing getting progressively better (except for
Saugers, they are pretty much gone completley ).

I throw a ton of crankbaits and tubes, those are probably my two primary
baits, but drop shotting has helped me keep my hook out of the Zebra
Mussels and therefore helped me fish longer without having to retie. I
was wondering if anyone has maybe some suggestions for a type line, or
technique for guarding your bait against them, or am I pretty much doing
the things that you have to do in this environment (currently using
abrasion resistant line, retying constantly, etc.)

Sunday I landed 27 smallies, but I broke off about a dozen, I just don't
like those odds, especially when it seemed that I lost a lot of the nicer
fish, if there were any nicks in the line, it was breaking. I know
dragging tubes is going to cause a lot of problems, but I do know they do
it on Erie , I was just wondering how they deal with it. Jack Dalzell,
are you there??

Chris,

Something you might want to try is a leader of Tyger Leader. It's a braided
stainless steel leader that is extremely supple, you can tie it using
regular monofilament knots and it's available in a variety of colors. The
10 pound test measures only 0.010 in diameter! It's pretty tough stuff and
might be what you need for abrasion resistance.
--
Steve @ OutdoorFrontiers
http://www.outdoorfrontiers.com
G & S Guide Service and Custom Rods
http://www.herefishyfishy.com