Fleas suck, any suggestions

[fjs5252]

My friend and I had are first experience with fleas recently on Lake Ontario. I had read about what a nuisance they are but untill your picking them off your line you really dont appreciate just how annoying they are.

Does anyone have any tips for preventing them from building up on your line or removing them once they're on?

 

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[bottom-feeder]

40 or 50 lb line usually does the trick

[Sk8man]

First of all there are some different types of fleas and some are more difficult than others to get off your lines. It also depends on what particular lines you are using (e.g. leadcore, wire, or mono/fluoro etc.) and in some cases the line diameter as well as the texture of the line makes a difference. With mono for downriggers I use the Bloodrun 30 lb Sea Flee and a fluoro leader off of it and in general it works quite well for that application and confines pretty much any build up to the leader and/or connections. The Sea Flee line especially when new has a lot of stretch and that is something to get used to. It is very slick and that is probably why the fleas have a hard time attaching to it but I also now make about 7 twists of the loop in my Black releases to keep ity from slipping there.  Leadcore and braid load up fast and are probably the most prone to quick build ups. My 250 and 300 coppers don't seem to have much problem other than at the leader connection to the swivels. Seven strand wire collects it pretty good if the fleas are real thick...I'm not sure about 19 strand wire as I haven't used it. Keep in mind that the concentrations of fleas vary greatly throughout the water column both vertically and horizontally. It is why some folks report heavy infestations while other say they were light or didn't encounter them at all the same day on that particular body of water. Some people also check their lines more frequently than others giving them less time to bulld up. Recently on Lake O the fleas that attached to our lines looked a greenish color rather than grey and they came off the lines quite easily in comparison with some other types we've encountered and especially those on most of the Finger Lakes which are like cottonwood stuff to get off. When very thick they will also build up on 150 lb downrigger cable so the larger line line diameter thing is not bullet proof either. Folks have mentioned many ways in previous posts here that they get them off and some of it depends on which type of flea and what type of line interms of success.  For me usually they seem to come off the line by scrunching them up and pinching them off. The other day we were able to just shake our lines  with that particular type and they came off. Some folks slap the water with their line. If the fleas are thick I know of no way to prevent them totally and checking your lines very frequently is always advisable.

[lyteline14]

Bloodrun 30# and If you can find Cortland Flea Flicker line that is also good...

[fjs5252]

We were using 17lbs mono with 20lbs fluro leaders and it was bad, I can imagine lead core becoming unusable. We were being kinda lazy and not checking lines as often as we should have, lesson learned!
Thanks !

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[TileMan Dan]

If you have a washdown hose on boat cleans them off easily.


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[MikeNY]

Ande 30lb Pink line is also good.

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[Legacy]

Blood Run Sea Flee will help ease the pain- https://bloodruntackle.com/sea-flee/

[garrymny]

slapping the line on the water surface removes some of them.  My lead core does not have a problem with them, which is interesting to me. I think it is the smaller leadcore, 17 lb. I do use the sea flea and some rods have 30 lb trilene which I heard helps too.

[UNREEL]

37 minutes ago, Legacy said:

Blood Run Sea Flee will help ease the pain- https://bloodruntackle.com/sea-flee/

Just splice in around 150 ft of this and then flouro leader of your choice (20 lb) and good to go. If fleas load up on your wire and gets jammed at the twilli tip, just grab the wire in front of the reel and pull wire thru the twilli and fleas fall right off. I gotta try the wash down hose idea. 

[guffins fisherman]

We run 30lb mono exclusively for the riggers. We get some build up but not real bad all the time. A method I have been using to remove fleas quickly goes like this: when is see a bunch coming up the line I am retrieving, I lay the line in the water(boat still moving at trolling speed) so just the first few inches of the rod tip is in the water. I then pull the rod tip up out of the water as if I were setting the hook. This action seems to"cut" the fleas off that section of line. Repeat as needed. If the bait is too close, you may yank it out of the water, so be prepared. You may not be able to use this technique at this point in the line. No bunching in at the first eyelet, no nasty fleas on board, and no nasty smell on your hands. Good luck.

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[MikeNY]

Just splice in around 150 ft of this and then flouro leader of your choice (20 lb) and good to go. If fleas load up on your wire and gets jammed at the twilli tip, just grab the wire in front of the reel and pull wire thru the twilli and fleas fall right off. I gotta try the wash down hose idea. 

Thanks for the wire idea I get more fleas on them than mono.

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[fjs5252]

Thanks for all the ideas, I'll be trying them next time out. Hopefully next weekend.

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[J.D.]

3 hours ago, MikeNY said:

Ande 30lb Pink line is also good.

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X2 !!

[MrMike]

I've posted this before. Someone suggested using a aluminum rod...so I tried a #2 Phillips screwdriver. It took the fleas off like a hot knife thru butter. I started using 40# & 50# test, but they still hook on. Checking the line often and flicking the line up & down works good for a light load.

 

[cabezon99]

Just to add my 2 cents have not had any issue using 27lb lead core or 40lb Big Game mono clear with 17 to 20 lb flouro leader.  To remove what does build up on mono grab and release a taught line like strumming a guitar sort of and they will go flying.  Try not to let them mass at the eye of your rod like a cotton ball it will trash ur mono, good to have a buddy on the boat to avoid that.