Brad Laabs: Fish are picky eaters – so keep that lake slime off your bait

I meant to, and should have, written about this sometime over the last number of weeks, but other things also seem to come up and get my attention.

What I am talking about is dealing with the slimy green weed cover on the bottom of most area lakes. For those that like to live bait rig (Lindy Rig, Roach Rig, slip sinker rig – all the same) you have noticed it is hard to drag a bait in water from 13-20 plus feet so far early in this summer season. It seems worse this year, but it has been this annoying in previous years as well.

In years when we have a late ice over, an early ice-out, minimal snow pack, or thinner-than-usual ice thicknesses, we will have this winter growth algae that covers the bottom and especially slimes over rock and gravel areas.

It is especially noticeable now, because we had all these factors play a part in the weed growth this year.

Another factor that can exacerbate this condition is the clear, hard water our lakes have. Sunlight penetration can run deeper and be more impactful on the clear water lakes. Our lakes have gotten noticeably clearer over the last few years due to the impact of the zebra mussels.

This “slime” problem will go away. As water temps rise, we notice it start to dissipate. We have water temps now that should start to improve the condition in the next week or two.

In the meantime there are a few things you can do that will help relieve the frustration of contending with this condition:

If you like to “rig,” going with an egg shape or worm weight (bullet shaped) sinker can reduce the hang up.

Stay more vertical, don’t longline drag the weight, and keep your sinker slightly off the bottom, only touching once in a while to check your relation to the bottom.

Long stick bouncer weights are another option, and you should keep them from dragging as well. If you slime over, clean it off.

If rigging crawlers, shoot air into the crawler to float it off the bottom. When rigging leeches, a floating jig head or in-line float will help keep the bait clean.

Jig fishing will also require you to keep the jig slightly off bottom to keep fishing with a clean bait. Fish won’t grab your bait or presentation if it is covered with weeds or slime -- they are not vegan!

Jig raps and Rippin raps will require you to count them down, and then adjust so that you are snapping then back up before they contact the bottom. If they are hitting bottom, you foul them, and then they are not fishing for you.

Slip bobber fishing over fish that are in areas where the bottom is covered with the slime or sand grass can also be a great way to pry fish and keep your bait clean and fishing. The issue will get better soon, and as fish also move deeper, the problem becomes less of an issue.

(Laabs owns Brad Laabs Guide Service in Detroit Lakes)