reel weeds/structure on a string

[MnMike]

Had my first experience with the new craze this winter, reel weeds/structure on a string. Seems every outdoor chain has it in the ice fishng section and i have read a lot about it. I ran across a buddy on the ice who seems to always have the latest "gimmick". he asked to fish by us and setup about 25 ft from us. He had 4 of them setup in a V. and had one line at the top of the V and one at the bottom. First thing that stuck out to me was the black rope that was used. Personally i would cut the cord and use something less visable. Well i let him fish and headed back to our portbale. After a while i had to go check and see how he was doing. He had 2 small crappies on the ice,  we had 8 on the ice and ours were larger. He said he was catching a ton of little perch. Then his bobber slammed down and before he knew it his line was tangled in 3 of the fake weeds with a 20 inch snot rocket. 30 minutes later he was back fishing but w/o the fake weeds down. Not long after he had his 10 crappies and was heading home. I asked if i could experiemnt with his fake weeds and he was happy to let me try. without going play by again :), this is what i took away from my fishing with them and the results i seen. This is just my opinion based on my experience, i am no expert. 1) I think the black cord is not nessecary. 2) I think the smaller fish are atracted to it, but the larger ones seem to stay clear. Perhaps a bit wiser then the youngins.  3) Perch seem to like it, esp. the smaller ones 4) Almost everytime i took the weeds out my crappie actvity increased 5) Every hole i used them def increased the perch bite. Would i use it,hmm, maybe in the right situation. I have a couple trips planned for jumbo perch and if fishing is bad, heck, i'd try anything. I also think it could help with spearing pike, as an attractant for small perch and provides some  ambush cover for the pike to come in. Would i buy it, no. If someone wants to send me some, i'd gladly try them again and report back :) But if i were to try it again, i'd likely go to the pet store and buy some fresh water fake plants for a couple bucks anchor it with an egg sinker from my box and use an old ice pick fishing pole with 12 lb mono. This is just my honest experience and i don't want to discourage folks from trying it, esp. if you already have bought them. In fact please let me know how you did. Thanks and happy hookin

[Spinach]

Thanks for the review Mike.

[rchaze60]

i had a friend use these on prior lake on friday and not only did they work but they kept the fish there.... little and big ones we pulled out 6 10" crappies one 8" bucketmouth and a 14" eye using these so if you ask me.... yes they work when there is no cover

[Spinach]

i had a friend use these on prior lake on friday and not only did they work but they kept the fish there.... little and big ones we pulled out 6 10" crappies one 8" bucketmouth and a 14" eye using these so if you ask me.... yes they work when there is no cover

So, one person had the fake weeds and the others didn't?

Who caught what and did the weeds outfish the others in the group? I guess it would be hard to give a review if only a few fish were caught by the group, unless the person with the fake weeds caught everything.

From my experience, if only 6 Crappies were caught in the group, and everyone caught at least 1, there are so many scenarios to success other than the fake weeds.

1. Line color
2. Line weight
3. Bait type
4. Jig color or size
5. Jigging motion or deadsticking
6. Distance of all people in the same group

With only a few fish being caught, it would be difficult to give an accurate review.

I have never used these yet. But, my personal opinion is that they would probably work in certain situations and not so good in others.

[Model12]

Hopefully this post will keep going w/people posting up real "data" as an ongoing measure. Not that this is a scientific study but if people post thier honest observations w/o any bias it can help others in making their decision if/how/when to use the product.
I have been kicking the tires on this product for two years. I may have mentioned this in another post that when fishing in Mexico, we always looked for ANY kelp paddies when fishing. The fishing was always outstanding whenever you could find them. In fact, it became practice for people to use another version of the SOS and nearly always produced results. What i mean by results was it attracted bait fish and as a result, the dorado and other fish would soon follow. Now, there were conditions such as water temp as the saltwater fish moved accordingly.
Applying that to our local situations, I have every reason to beleive they work. My question now, is just what Pat metioned above...how, when, where, when not to etc. I think a part of me wants to believe they're a big help but I think the reality is going to be that they have a time and place and are not something you use as often as a flasher. Keep posting up and let us know your experiences good/or bad. Obviously if you have a "not so positive" experience, be considerate and honest.

[thunderpout]

They're just a verticle crappie crib...the small bait fish like the cover...perch/panfish like to eat the bait fish and also use the cover to hide from predators... the predator fish like to eat the panfish.  Simple really...the only thing is, one or two stalks of the fake weeds aren't enough cover for large predator fish, or that many panfish for that matter... now put down a dozen of em, give or take a few...that would hold some fish, eh?  I think it takes a permit from the DNR, but maybe not, but you'd be better off puttin bricks on the bottom of a few old christmas trees and sinkin em in a pond /lake and marking your underwater tree farm on a GPS!  Plus you'd be recycling the dead trees and making real habitat for the fishies year round! Ive heard of people doin stuff like that, you set the trees on the ice in late winter, & they drop thru the ice come spring....       -thunderpout

[rchaze60]

What I was trying to say was ..... there was no structure where we was fishing and no fish and as soon as he put them down it drew the fish in so they do work if there is no structure.

[troutman]

 i just used  6 of them  in a straight line  along one side of my house. prior to sinking them  there were no fish  to speak of. about 3 minutes  later there were crappie sunnies  and perch  everywhere. this has happened  everytime i send them down.
 now dont get me wrong . i dont set the fake weeds up  to   fish around. i set them up  for cover only. i watched the fish come in on the cam . it is  really cool to watch . when the pan fish come in  then the bigger walleyes and northern  follow . i was not sold on these  until i saw  it for myself. 
 

[I CATCH BIG FISH]

i want to buy some but i dont no how good they work so should i or shouldnt i

[Spinach]

i just used  6 of them  in a straight line  along one side of my house. prior to sinking them  there were no fish  to speak of. about 3 minutes  later there were crappie sunnies  and perch  everywhere. this has happened  everytime i send them down.
 now dont get me wrong . i dont set the fake weeds up  to   fish around. i set them up  for cover only. i watched the fish come in on the cam . it is  really cool to watch . when the pan fish come in  then the bigger walleyes and northern  follow . i was not sold on these  until i saw  it for myself. 
 

I can definitely believe that.

[Model12]

So,

if you're fishing where there isn't much/any structure/cover and you have, say, 1/2 dozen strings you're potentially going to draw more fish. I have no issue w/the extra "work" associated in setting them up etc. but it's going to be tough for me to justify spending the money on 1/2 dozen or so strings.
I considered the welfare route but after seeing the website, they highly discourage from using other forms of sythetic foliage. Not trying to cut them out of a profit but I think the $60-$80 is a tough pill to swallow for the materials involved. Again, sounds like they've done their homework on the product, environmently safe, innovative etc but it seems a bit expensive. Anyone else in the same boat or am I cheap?

[thunderpout]

Im sure they work, its common sense, but yeah...its the $$$ that has and will keep me from ever buying them.  -thunderpout

[MnMike]

in regards to cost and the cons to "making" your own, i asked the petshop(chain) guy about them and they have gotten a lot of questions regarding fisherman who want to make them but worried about causing environmental damage. According to him a plastic weed for fresh water aquarium fish is more then likely the same that is used on these Fake Weeds, either way if pulled at the end of fishing he felt there is no worry about causing harm to the habitat. Granted he's no scientist, but just wanted to share his thoughts. I swung by Hobby Lobby and they had a ton of them and many in the 4-8 ft range from 2.99-9.99. The ones i noticed were 8ft and looked exactly like weeds that end up on my hook in the summer. The section was 4.99 and 50% off. So basically 2 4ft length structures. So to me ,  i'd go the cheaper route and if you like the results then possibly make the purchase. I did the math to make 6 4ft Fake Weeds it would cost $7.50 for the weeds, 33 cents a sinker if you dont already have them and some line so $2.00, (Hobby Lobby had kite string for 99 cents) and six 49 cent bobbers $3.00. So a total for 6 is app. $13.50.
Glad to see this topic has gotten a lot of feedback, so much so i am looking forward to running across them again.

[Cousin Kyle]

I work with retail and I can tell you Margins that Retailers request are ridiculous.  You would be surprised what a lot of products cost to make and what they actually cost.  Now when you have a sport like ice fishing which is limited throughout the US to a very small portion of the population and add in that the fact that these retailers such as G-Mtn and Cabelas have small cust base and online sales are killing them you will only be charged more.  If you can make the majority of your own products by doing research like you just did MnMike you will save a ton of money.  A lot of customers are Brand driven but that also carries a very large premium add typically another 15% for a large brand name.  Typically the cheaper version is made by the same company but has a private label slapped on it (Guide Series).