Weed problem in Suburban Lakes, getting bad now!

[Watp]

Just wondering if anyone else is noticing how severe the weed is getting in nearly every suburban lake in Melbourne? Over the holidays I have fished at a few of the family fishing lakes and it seems like it is getting so bad it's making fishing (or anything else) almost impossible. To me it looks like literally nothing is done to control it or eradicate it. Albert Park is a classic example, they could fix that quickly by putting a non toxic dye in like Aquatic Blue in which cuts the UV penetration thus killing the weed. This stuff works well and is used in other places in the world as it does not harm fish, birds, etc. I would love to hear if anyone has spoken to Melbourne Water or know if they will ever actually bother to do anything!

[smokin_reels]

The weed is what provides refuge to a lot of the fish and aquatic fauna there.
If you kill the weed, you'd kill the ecosystem.
I cant speak to some of the other gunk ponds , but albert park is extremely healthy.

There are fish to be caught in weedy lakes, sure your methods may need to vary but that poses its own challenge.
They also do control the weed at Albert park, theyve got some sort of machine that give it a trim.

If your having trouble fishing at Albert park, here are 4 tips for you that will help you heaps :-

1) wear a pair of polaroids and go have a look on a sunny day, get familiar with weed margins, clearings, walk a couple of laps of the whole lake
2) focus running lures on weed edges, they absolutely love using the weed margins for cover and will come out and nail lures
3) consider using topwater options in really weedy sections, the EP in there will smack a bent in next to nothing water, so will the yellas if they are in the mood. Cicada's work a treat
4) If you are after the carp, observe fish movement patterns. Because they cant travel as easily through the weed, the fish have to travel in the tunnels or gutters between weed margins. Now this provides THE PERFECT scenario for bait presentation. Find the highway and put up a roadhouse with a hook in it.

Weed is friend, not Foe.

[Mattblack]

'Weed is friend, not Foe'. Smokin_Reels 2022
[/quote]

That's the quote of the day

[smokin_reels]

'Weed is friend, not Foe'. Smokin_Reels 2022

That's the quote of the day
[/quote]

[Watp]

I agree with some of the points but not the blanket statement that weed is good. Most of the weed is non native stuff, especially the parrot feather which is seriously nasty stuff. Albert Park will be completely unfishable in a couple of years because of it, as it forms tight rafts and will touch the surface.

[ben475]

The weed is what provides refuge to a lot of the fish and aquatic fauna there.
If you kill the weed, you'd kill the ecosystem.
I cant speak to some of the other gunk ponds , but albert park is extremely healthy.

There are fish to be caught in weedy lakes, sure your methods may need to vary but that poses its own challenge.
They also do control the weed at Albert park, theyve got some sort of machine that give it a trim.

If your having trouble fishing at Albert park, here are 4 tips for you that will help you heaps :-

1) wear a pair of polaroids and go have a look on a sunny day, get familiar with weed margins, clearings, walk a couple of laps of the whole lake
2) focus running lures on weed edges, they absolutely love using the weed margins for cover and will come out and nail lures
3) consider using topwater options in really weedy sections, the EP in there will smack a bent in next to nothing water, so will the yellas if they are in the mood. Cicada's work a treat
4) If you are after the carp, observe fish movement patterns. Because they cant travel as easily through the weed, the fish have to travel in the tunnels or gutters between weed margins. Now this provides THE PERFECT scenario for bait presentation. Find the highway and put up a roadhouse with a hook in it.

Weed is friend, not Foe.

couple of nice tips.
it can be frustrating fishing weedy waters.

[Charles7]

My favourite redfin spot is choked at the moment. I'm not across the species of weed, all I know is it's the type that seems to grow through every inch of the water column and cover a whole body of water.

[Sebb]

Definitely not easy to fish when there's too much weed. But yeah, it also means the habitat is healthy.
Wendouree has a lot of weed and the trout and reddies there grow big and fast!

[Watp]

My favourite redfin spot is choked at the moment. I'm not across the species of weed, all I know is it's the type that seems to grow through every inch of the water column and cover a whole body of water.

That would be the pest weed doing that, Egeria Densa http://vro.agriculture.vic.gov.au/dpi/v ... _waterweed

Have a read, could cause drownings due to entanglement. I tried to retrieve a lure out of it and boy it was bad to move through

[Charles7]

My favourite redfin spot is choked at the moment. I'm not across the species of weed, all I know is it's the type that seems to grow through every inch of the water column and cover a whole body of water.

That would be the pest weed doing that, Egeria Densa http://vro.agriculture.vic.gov.au/dpi/v ... _waterweed

Have a read, could cause drownings due to entanglement. I tried to retrieve a lure out of it and boy it was bad to move through

That looks like the one mate. Seen it at the Arbo at FTG, Deep Creek in Bulla, Jacksons Creek in Sunbury and Highlands Lake in Craigieburn.