Scott Steil… “The REEL Deal”

With all the talk this winter about artificial structure and how to effectively use this new product to increase catch rates out on the ice we asked In-Depth Outdoors Pro Staffer Scott Steil to put this product to the test. This article covers his finds and provides some very useful insight on how to put this product to good use for yourself.

http://www.in-depthangling.com/articles/steil_reel_weeds.html

Nicely written Scott. I’m sure those of us who have purchased the reel weed product will nod with support (I sure did). I found these weeds on a string to be like magnets , at least for sunfish and perch. Walleyes and crappies were not present when I was filming underwater so I have no experience with them. The largemouth bass, however, sure seemed to stick around when the weeds were down. I bought a 5 pack of weeds and have yet to determine the best pattern for dropping them down. Last time I had them strung out in a straight line…but that may not be optimal. If you have some thoughts on how to place them I’m sure we’d all like to hear your thoughts. Thanks..

Great article!

I used my reel weds last weekend and they seemed to help hold the fish around longer even with only 2 lines. I hope to expand the # of lines I have for next year.

Great article, I bought a two pack & was wondering what would be the best setup using my fishtrap guide. What I’ve tried so far is to drill 2 holes outside of the trap & fish 2 holes in the trap. Any other input on the use would be helpfull.

You want a set up that gives you some type of depth and stil has a lot of fishable surface. Some that have worked for me:

.’.’. or H or )

If there is no cover around I use the H or the .’.’. because it has a lot of depth to it.

If I am setting up near cover I use the ) to create a fishable pocked between the cover and the Reel Weeds. Just a couple suggestions that worked for me.

I usually put theim in a V pattern, locating yourself in or at the entrance to the V. It seems to work well on Milacs for perch. I was able to ice perch at night with these weeds down.

Keep the options coming.

I just have a 2 pack and I have tried it one on each side of the shack and 2 in the same hole. I have not used them enough to know what I like But I tried 2 in the same hole after drilling 8 holes in the ice by hand. I should really get my auger fixed.

Nice article Scott How far away do you fish from the weeds ? If close, do you ever get a fish tangled in them ? I got a 2 pack and can’t wait to try on a good area panfish lake this weekend…

big g

Fish as close as you can. In shallow water you can fish within a few inches of the weeds. As you get deeper you need to move farther away from them or you can get tangled on the way up. Nice nice thing is if you do get tangled it is like hooking your camera cable, easy to untangle.

I got a pack of 4 Extreme weeds a week ago and have only used them once so the word is still out but I was on a tough bite that day and did hook a crappy within a few minutes of putting them down . One thing I did see as an immediate plus is how easy they were to put down and also to retrieve at the end of the day . I’ll definately be taking them along on more trips and give them an honest shot .

TD