What's everyone's opinion on whether to fish with rod tips up or down on a lake that has weed everywhere starting at the margins right across the lake but also has more bird life than a nature reserve including swans and geese

In reply to Post #1
Tips up.
Easier to keep, and lift lines over weed to baited spots, move visible to birdlife.

Easier for birdlife and swans/geese to swim around margins, under rod set up without causing chaos.

I have tips high on storm poles when it's weedy. Geese and ducks won't bother you if you don't feed them and swans will dodge lines that they can see (sometimes). Only annoying thing can be bats when the sun sets.

Tbh I like to have mine as low as possible apart from when I'm fishing in weedy swims then I'll have them up higher, like mentioned below though bats can be a nightmare a friend on my syndicate had one fly into his line and got tangled up 🤣

In reply to Post #3
Not on some of the lakes ive fished, the swans have proved to be thick as ****, and make up for it with aggression

In reply to Post #1
Definitely tips up. Less line in the water the better, and you never know, the line angle being different may work to your advantage

Swans, a nightmare.

I've never found a swan that would avoid anglers, or lines up or down. They will swim through any line, even pushing through floating braid still attached to my marker to try to stop them going through the area.

In weed I try to keep the lines up as high as I can unless I have been able to cut a channel to my spot (to avoid the poxy swans).