Fleas

[overthelimit]

Last week off Wilson the fleas were nonexistent. This week they were awful. I was running 20 lb. big game on my rigger rods and 30 lb. power pro on dipsy rods. The power pro was really bad. 3 ft of fleas to pick off. The fleas weren't as bad in tight as they were out deeper.

 

From what I have heard I should up the rigger rods to 30 lb. How about dipsy's? How would they run with the 30 lb. big game as well? I run braid since I mostly fish for walleye but was thinking spooling up another reel with 30 lb big game for a dipsy setup. I'm just concerned about the stretch. 

 

Also, will the fleas be around the rest of summer?

 

Thanks.

[buckboardjr]

I just fished 7 days in a row out of the Oak. 6 days nothing, last day horrible. They were sticking to 30lb mono, 30lb diver wire and even the dwn rigger cable. Glad all of my trip wasn't effected. Our last day also had the lowest fish count

[Sk8man]

Right now the fleas are very thick in many bodies of water and when they get that bad they stick to just about anything including wire or special flea lines (especially at connection points). They even coat downrigger cables ....so much for the "large diameter line" theory   Copper seems to be a little better than the other lines in this regard but any connection points (e.g. leader attachments) are still going to get hammered by the fleas when they are real thick. The fleas vary in density  throughout bodies of water and within the water column itself and often are found in "patches" when not in exrtreme density. It also seems that the more VERTICAL your line is (regardless of type) the more fleas seem to attach to it. It seems that the only way to minimize the impact when they are thick is to check your lines VERY frequently to prevent massive buildups and many folks are just not willing to do this....I view it as an opportunity to change lures and presentations. Once the water temps go back down in the Fall the flea problem should greatly reduce.

Edited August 3, 2014 by Sk8man

[Adk1]

How are the fleas attaching to lead core?

[Sk8man]

As above they can coat anything really if the density of them is great enough....leadcore isn't immune to this either nor are even the anti-flea lines (e.g. Flea Flicker and SeaFlee). They help but especially at any connection points (e.g. running fluoro leaders,at swivels and snaps etc.) they will gather fleas if the density is very heavy.  The flea density is not a CONSTANT...they vary from place to place in the lake and from depth to depth in the water column and seemingly from day to day sometimes. This is why it is about impossible to evaluate whether one line or method is better than another because the density is always unknown and variable.

 

Here are the main culprits:
 

http://www.nyis.info/index.php?action=invasive_detail&id=35

 

http://www.caudata.org/daphnia/


 

Edited August 3, 2014 by Sk8man

[Adk1]

How do fleas affect salmon or other fish. I can see where if the fleas are really bad in one are the salmon would stay away? Just thinking alittle, do thick masses of fleas irritate gills of fish?..

[Sk8man]

I have no idea regarding the actual physical impact of the fleas on fish in the ecosystem....maybe someone else may have data on that (if it exists)?

[sabonation]

While flea flicker is not immune to them, it helps tremendously. Ever since I made the switch from trilene big game to flea flicker, I have never had major foul ups. There were days where we had to cut and retie multiple times per trip. We would have strands of fleas longer than our rods. 30 lb flea flicker at least makes those conditions fishable.l

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[Firechief48]

I would agree. Fished Mexico today and only the copper seemed to not "attract" them. I did put 30lb Sea Flea on my rigger rods and while there were flea they were not nearly as bad on those.

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Edited August 4, 2014 by Firechief48

[Bosun Cowboy]

30 lb big game is all u need on your riggers. Just throw a 150ft shot of it over your braid. I have spent last 4 days on the big O and my rigger rods never fouled once.. Been using it for many years with no issues!

[Big Water]

A lot of people claim 30# Big Game is the ticket, but I'll tell you that it can, and will, collect plenty of fleas to the point that you can't retrieve your line.  Last weekend, I had to switch from my 30# Big Game rods to my 30# Flea Flicker rods mid-morning.  The 30# Flea Flicker was totally clear of fleas except for the terminations.  If you don't get a wire set up, at least go with heavy mono on your dipsey rods.  I'm hoping this new Blood Run flea line is as good as FF line since FF will no longer be available.

[Sk8man]

I've used Sea Flee for the past two seasons and it works pretty well but has a lot of stretch to it but again if you run through using ANYTHING with real dense fleas they will get on it to some degree. It is tough to evaluate because the density varies tremendously throughout the lake and the water column. There is no "foolproof" line that will be completely flealess at those densities. The fact that some folks report little or no fleas reflects this fact rather than any one line being "flea proof".

Edited August 5, 2014 by Sk8man

[BAITNH]

how long to do the fleas last  is it just a couple  week thing or all summer ?  i must have pulled  30 lbs of them  off my lines the last couple weks

[Bosun Cowboy]

Apparently the fleas must avoid my boat then. Cus I have had 0 issues with the 30lb big game and I fish the big O on a weekly basis. Also 65 lb power pro on my dipseys has worked extremely well. It does collect a few fleas but I check every 30 mins or so..

[Big Water]

Apparently the fleas must avoid my boat then. Cus I have had 0 issues with the 30lb big game and I fish the big O on a weekly basis. Also 65 lb power pro on my dipseys has worked extremely well. It does collect a few fleas but I check every 30 mins or so..

Boson,

 

I didn't mean to offend anyone, but there hasn't been a year yet that, at some point, I had to give up on the 30# BG line.  I even thought the 30# BG might of been slightly abraded, so I put fresh line on with the same results.

[chucknmel]

Apparently the fleas must avoid my boat then. Cus I have had 0 issues with the 30lb big game and I fish the big O on a weekly basis. Also 65 lb power pro on my dipseys has worked extremely well. It does collect a few fleas but I check every 30 mins or so..

x2

[Bosun Cowboy]

No offense taken. I'm just surprised to hear guys having problems with it.

[Sea-IV]

Not to stir the pot but I was out Saturday off Irondequoit and didn't last an hour. I run 30# on the riggers plus wire plus leadcore and all was covered in 15 minutes including the rigger wire and probe. Its just that time of year as if we haven't had enough to deal with already. It happens every season, some worse than others and this is one of the bad seasons for them. Usually a couple of weeks and it disappears. Good luck cause my mate said we aren't fishing due to it. Pulling boat and heading to Erie for eyes and a stop by Cabelas on the way.

[Jammin]

Had 20# on three weeks ago started getting fleas so I thought I'd try 40# big game went out next week wow no fleas thought I had the cure went out for Friday and nope everything covered right down to the hooks sat wasn't half as bad seemed like it was OK early then when the sun got up and warmed things up some it got bad

[pieman9155]

when do they die off if they do

[JakeyBaby]

Fished last night and fleas on the wires and that was it. Not bad at all

[jigstick]

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[lost a lure]

Yeah, flea flea flea

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[Adk1]

Fleas were not bad this past weekend out of mexico

[pieman9155]

hows the fleas  going mexico bay  next week