Fishing Hydrilla Lakes?

[bluenitrouscoupe]

I have been trying to get comfortable fishing off the bank(offshore) and I live in northwest Florida and there are a lot of water that has a lot of hydrilla.  I have had little success fishing in 8'-10' of were the grass tops out at around 4' with a lipless crankbait.  Just need some advice on how to break this down and catch some limits.  Are bass in the grass year around?  What should I use?  Is a lipless crank a bad idea with the current water temp in the 60's? 

[FD.]

weightless fluke.  Deadly this time of year, particularly over hydrilla.  Fish it with 50 lb braid and a mh rod.  You will need some backbone to get them out of the salad

[ClackerBuzz]

the weeds don't have to break the surface for you to flip/pitch/punch them.

it's really about the structure/bottom under the grass. forget about the top of it and analyze whats underneath.

if you catch an aggressive fish that came out of the weeds to eat a rattletrap stop what ur doing.  that is a good/fishie area so there will be alot more bass around.  take ur time and flip that area with a 3/4+oz beaver/craw. and return to the scene of that crime often bc there might be something special about the bottom that holds fish year round.

 

 

[Catt]

When confronted with Hydrilla most anglers think fishing over the top but you'll find more & bigger bass on the bottom.

I use 4 techniques; casting, flipping, pitching, & punching with the following.

Texas Rig with a 1/4 oz bullet weight unpegged

Jig-N-craw 3/8 oz

Texas Rig with 1/2 oz bullet weight pegged

Jig-N-Craw 1 oz

Texas Rig with 1 1/2 oz (punch rig)

Plastics for Texas Rig you choice

Once I know where the grass beds are I take out my map and look at the structure under the grass. I look for humps, ridges, cuts, drains, points, anything different.

Next I target the extreme outer grassline, not the one you can visibily see but the one it takes you depth finder to locate. I'll cast to that grassline with the 1/4 oz Texas Rig & the 3/8 oz Jig-N-Craw.

I'll progressively work toward thicker grass casting & pitching with heaver weights until I'm flipping & punching.

My this time you should have developed a pattern!

P.S.: I have threads on grass fishing under "the best of"!

[Choporoz]

weightless fluke.  Deadly this time of year, particularly over hydrilla.  Fish it with 50 lb braid and a mh rod.  You will need some backbone to get them out of the salad

+1

 

I'd never had much confidence in flukes, but I watched videos on them last week.  Coincidently, I was on a lake last Saturday that was weeded over pretty much shore to shore.  In the past, I'd have given up and gone elsewhere, but I tossed the fluke out there and had bass crashing the surface for them all morning. I just twiched them across the surface and they dog-walked like nobody's business.  Lot of fun!!     

[merc1997]

you just need to treat grass as cover on structure.  also, in bowl type lakes, the edges, depression, and tops of your grass is the structure.  with that said, then treat the grass as any other cover.  you may need to fish on or above it, or down through it.  in lakes that have multiple types of vegetation, bass might have a preference of one over another at different times of the year, just as here in my area, there are times you need to be fishing where there are cedar trees, and at other times of the year, hardwoods are preferred.

 

bo

[RoLo]

You've got a lot of good advice above, but I'd like to add one thing that might sound like a curve ball, but really isn't.

The deep weedline (plant life visible only on sonar) marks the depth at which plant growth begins to fail.

As a result, the plant growth along the outer weedline is typically sparse. But as you move shallower and closer to topped-out vegetation,

the plant density and plant shade both become heavier. 

 

In our experience at least, a greater number of bass will be found along the outer weedline, but the biggest bass will often be found

'shallower' within the same weedbed. If you're targeting the biggest bass, you might want to try mat-punching the heaviest hydrilla, 

the stuff that most anglers pass-by or hit only sparingly. For punching you'll need 3/4 to 1-1/2 oz, depending on plant density.  

 

Roger

[Montanaro]

Will submerged hydrilla or milfoil mat and create passages that hold bass? I know it will when it reaches the surface.

[Catt]

When they reach the surface it's call "matted", passages way are formed under the "mat".

[bluenitrouscoupe]

thanks for all the info.  keep it coming!  No one has said anything about lipless cranking, is that a cold water only technique?

[atpns1234]

Once they reach the surface pull out the frogs

[RoLo]

Will submerged hydrilla or milfoil mat and create passages that hold bass? I know it will when it reaches the surface.

 

Yes.

 

Generally speaking, the hottest zone of a submergent weedbed is the open corridor and caverns

immediately beneath the plant canopy. Ironically, the plant crown is its own worst enemy,

which acts like an umbrella that prevents ample sunlight from reaching the lower reaches of the bed.

As a result the foliage gets sparser with depth, and near the lake floor the plant stalks are usually naked.

 

According to Hoyle, active bass hover in the weedbed just beneath the plant canopy, while inactive bass tend to settle to the bottom.

In any case, since bass spend most of their lives in a passive disposition, it's wise to strive for bottom contact during every punch.

 

Roger

[Catt]

thanks for all the info. keep it coming! No one has said anything about lipless cranking, is that a cold water only technique?

There are 3 ways to catch bass in Hydrilla or Milfoil, draw them out on the sides, draw them out on top, or go to the bottom!

I go straight to the bottom

[bluenitrouscoupe]

There are 3 ways to catch bass in Hydrilla or Milfoil, draw them out on the sides, draw them out on top, or go to the bottom!

I go straight to the bottom

awesome!  Will try for sure!