In my experience, weeds = bad day of boating.
The lake I like on has a bay connected to it, which we often ride through, especially on days where the lake is really choppy, but it seems like every time I even think about weeds I end up clogged and jumping in to clear the grate. I have in the past couple years installed the fixed grate and it seems to work much better than the original hinged one, but I am still regularly clearing it for optimal performance. At least with the fixed grate, I have the choice to clear the grate instead of unclogging the impeller with the old style one.
Hopefully someone will have better experience and possibly an opinion on the weed rake. I have heard of them previously, but I have not ever found or used one.
Good luck!
-Chris