Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations trolling motor weed guard

Do they work?
We took the beater jon boat out for a quick cruise with the electric trolling motor last weekend. A couple feet into the weeds and we're dead in the water. I didn't have the prop extended into the water much more than about 15" or so.
Is there a weed guard that makes a difference?

Are you trying to run through heavy muck? I have the "Weedless
Wedge" prop that goes through a lot, but not heavy floating moss bogs. I'd look into a push pole, and get everything on the boat
up out of the water if you really need to go through the gunk.

Live long, and prosper,
the stick

Brettski,

I don't know if this would work with an electric motor, but years ago I fished with a real crazy friend in the Dismal Swamp and Back Bay in far southeastern Virginia.

It was near solid weeds where we fished, but there were monster bass in the brackish waters. Few people fished the area because of the weeds.

He bought stainless steel props, and he honed them razor sharp. He also kept lots of shear pins in the boat. As we fished, we made a path that looked like that of a big ice breaker through a green North Pole.

Ken

It got jammed in Amer pond weed. The blades are pretty sharp, so they cut off the stalks and it wraps around the hub assembly until it nearly stops the rotation. Not wanting to burn up the motor, I stop it, trim it completely up, and reach back and unwind the weed stalk mass.

Brettski,



A "weed guard" will increase the potential for being dead in the water weed-wise by a factor of 10.2. Don't do it man!

I have Kenny Wayne Shepard's version of "Shotgun Blues" playing through my keyboard as I contemplate Brettski running a push pole...

I've used plastic weed guards and found that they work somewhat. But, only somewhat. Your problem is weeds, not weed guards.

I've found no solution for trolling motors and heavy weeds except to get out the oars and have at it.

One benefit of using the oars is that it seems to take care of any muscle knots that may be in your upper back.

Yep. One word: OARS.

A bigger motor with more thrust will work more of the time in heavy weeds. I have a 24V 74 LB. thrust motor on my bass boat, it will go through most types weeds without problems unless there are just too many weeds getting wrapped around the shaft. The weaker the motor, the more likely you are to find yourself dead in the water due to vegetation.

12v + 45 lbs/thrust ain't gonna git it
time to visit oars.com and pushpole.com

Dude, dont kill your fish cover. Some of us would kill for some American pond weed.

hence all the American Pond Weed related deaths in the newspaper each night.

My plastic weed guard works pretty well, actually. Don't go in reverse, however, because once you wind up weeds on that prop, and it's completely embedded behind that guard...that's work!

Otherwise, it does tend to ease plowing thru lily pads and such...JMHO..

Although it is not a graphite, light weight, professional off-shore type push pole, Dwight as a "duck bill" push pole laying on the port side of his barge. It is not for short people or the faint of heart to operate.

Rumor has it that Brettski doesn't have both oars in the water.

...but my pushpole is fully functional

OH MY

Stand back! I'm about to begin bellowing Old Man River!

Awe come on Bski, at least sing something a little more contemporary. How about....

Talking Heads, Take Me To the River

Doobie Brothers, "Black Water"

Wow, great link Theo. Man I forgot how much I like the Doobie Brothers.

I'm spewing my martini here.

burgermeister, How do you prefer your martinis?

Shaken, or stirred with a pushpole?

Man, this martini glass is cold!
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...deep, too.