Best weed guard

[jkilroy]

What's everyone's favorite type of weed guard that actually work in heavily weed infested areas? What material are they? I want to use them for LMB mostly.

[flyandtie]

single or double strand of 15 lb monofilament!

[raw69]

I use a single 30 lb. strand of Fluoro. Works Great!

[rrhyne56]

Not exactly a weed guard; but bendback flies help keep the weeds out of the hook.

_________________
RRhyne56
http://www.robinscustomleadersandflies.com
http://robinsrumination.blogspot.com

[Tracy]

Art Scheck, in his book ?Tying Better Flies?, describes a method of tying a mono weed guard that I really like. He writes that Ed Jaworowski also wrote about this method.

The monofilament is tied to the side of the hook shank from behind the eye to, but not down, the bend of the hook. After tying the body of the fly, bring the mono through the eye of the hook and lightly secure it with a few wraps of thread. Tuck the loop inside the hook gap. Adjust the length of the loop so that it protects the point of the hook, fold the mono back over the top of the fly head and finish tying it in.

This mono weed guard stays in place better than others I have tried. It moves to the side when a fish strikes, yet is sufficient to bounce off most obstructions. For the conditions you describe, I use 15 to 20 pound leader material or something similarly stiff. To use a worn out phrase, I don?t want the weed guard to become a fish guard.

To get a better description, see if you can get Scheck?s book through your library.

I also like the bendbacks that Robin mentioned. They're good over weed beds.

Regards,
Tracy

[rrhyne56]

Tracy

thank you! That is elegant and simple! The way I like to tie. Ought to work quite well.

_________________
RRhyne56
http://www.robinscustomleadersandflies.com
http://robinsrumination.blogspot.com

[Bear742]

from Bass Pro

Though I can't beat the mono loop for tying weedless flies, here's a way to make a fly weedless after the fact. For many years Stickguards were the standard guard that came on the Superfrog - a casting frog that shed weeds like Jim Brown shed tacklers. If you are going to do some serious slop fishing this would be the one. For the full Bubba treatment dip it in some chartreuse or red garlic scented worm dye before you put it on.

Good Luck,

[hoboflyfisher]

Bear742: So could you maybe tell me where do you get a stickguard?
Also RRhyne would you possibly have some info on the correct way to do a bend back?
Thank You
The Hobo

[TxEngr]

A double weekguard of heavy mono. Tying instructions are at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlb_qnBq46Y.

[rodgerole]

TxEngr, Cool video. I'm really regretting missing the Red River FF doin's last Saturday. Have you/do you know if anyone has tried that double weed guard on gill sized(#8's,10's,12's) poppers and foam bugs?
May have to try it for fishing a lilypad & weed infested nearby lake/pond. Wonder if I can go down to 4 lb test weed guard mono or need something bigger? Any ideas?