Know Your Grass...

[Megastink]

Understanding bass behavior is paramount to being a good bass angler. But how much attention do we REALLY pay to habitat? The Devil's in the details, as they say.

Let's talk grass/weeds/vegetation: I have heard, but have not researched, that specific grasses grow on specific bottoms, in certain depths, in certain parts of the country. Largies prefer grass, so why wouldn't we as anglers put the time into learning about how/when/if certain grass grows or doesn't.

Example: bass like to spawn on gravel or sandy bottoms. An article I read a few months ago was talking about how this one particular pro will visually locate a a particular type of grass vs another because said grass likes to grow on harder bottoms (good spawning habitat) whereas another type prefers mud (aka poor spawning habitat). I never would've thought!

Maybe this is something well known and in just late to the dance, but if anyone has any info on types of grass and where they grow, is like to see it!

[Catt]

I can not only tell bottom composition by grass type but brush or tree type.

As for info on this I suggest you use Google!

[Master Bait'r]

Very important!  Sativa only for fishing, otherwise you'll just be staring at your soft plastics wondering how they get the sparkles so...  Spaaaarkly, maaaaaaaaan.  

[papajoe222]

If you consider yourself to be a good angler and you don't include some knowledge of a bass' habitat, you're fooling yourself.  I think the reason you don't see a lot of print about different types of weeds is that many impoundments rarely have an abundance of weed grouth let alone  a variety.

In lakes that do, I agree that understanding what type of bottom it grows in and what type of forage relates to it can make the difference between catching and an exersize in casting.   In my area, weeds are the main form of cover and knowing, for example, that pike and musky roam the cabbage, helps me eliminte those areas when I'm after Mrs. Bass.     Great topic

[geo g]

Yes certain grasses only grow in areas with certain bottom make up.  Two things I have read and learned over the years:

 

1). An area with two or more types of vegetation is better then an area with just one type of vegetation.

 

2). Isolated clumps of vegetation surrounded by open water, are better then a big expanse of one type of cover.  Fish will concentrate around the isolated clumps, rather then sit out in open areas.

[Master Bait'r]

For me it's more about the transition points between weed species than just any one type of weeds.  If it's all uniform, that doesn't give the fish much to key on and "own".  As soon as you throw in another species of weeds though, it will create natural spaces, narrow pathways to travel in, differentiation, cover and ambush points.  All huge for bass.  These points are the money zone for me, not so much any one kind of weed, regardless of what substrate lies below it although certain types of weeds are far more conducive to holding large predators than others of course.  

 

 

Just my own fallible observations though, others may have experienced different results.     

[ClackerBuzz]

I was just reading Catt's post about weeds on his Toledo bend thread:

 

Since we are talking Toledo Bend I'll address deep water as it pertains to this lake, for your body of water you'll need to find its key depth. When on the lake I keep my boat in 15' of water plus or minus 3'. Even if I should move into a cove I'll still keep my boat in 15' with the exception of course during pre-spawn/spawn; you will never find me casting to the shore unless 15' is within casting distance of the bank. Situated in 12-18' I can cast and reach shallower or deeper water; I'll stay at this depth year round with the exception of during pre-spawn/spawn. Bass at this depth are not as adversely affected by boat traffic & weather changes. 

Why? Because I don't think my depth finder is capable of reading any thing shallower  

Seriously because this is the depth at which Hydrilla, Milfoil, and Coontail Moss stop growing on this lake thus keeping me on a break line. 

 

Each body of water has a key depth at which bass spend a majority of their time; on Toledo Bend it's happens to correspond with where the Hydrilla stops growing. This is why I mentioned 15' plus or minus 3'; last month the lake level on the bend was up 2.5' feet from where it is now so the outside grass line is at 12.5'. If the lake level had risen 2.5' instead of fallen the outside grass line would be 17.5'. I position my boat just far enough away so I can reach 10 or 15' past the grass line with a decent cast and I can turn around and still reach deep water with a long cast. 

[WRB]

In-Fisherman magazine had an in depth study report on aquatic vegetation (grass) types, suggest getting a copy.

Tom

[Catch and Grease]

Okay there is a bass, on his left there is thick Lilly pads and on his right there is matted grass. Which does he go hide in?

Basically which do bass prefer, I have been asking myself this for awhile...

[Catt]

Okay there is a bass, on his left there is thick Lilly pads and on his right there is matted grass. Which does he go hide in?

Basically which do bass prefer, I have been asking myself this for awhile...

What ever one he wants

[RoLo]

Very important!  Sativa only for fishing, otherwise you'll just be staring at your soft plastics wondering how they get the sparkles so...  Spaaaarkly, maaaaaaaaan.  

 

Judging from your avatar, your preference is 'Indica'  (body high)      

 

Roger

[Catch and Grease]

What ever one he wants

There are Lilly pads and matted grass right next to each other on my local lake and I can catch fish in both. So I really do think each bass might have a opinion on which is better lol!

[Loop_Dad]

In-Fisherman magazine had an in depth study report on aquatic vegetation (grass) types, suggest getting a copy.

Tom

 

Which issue was that?

[RoLo]

Understanding bass behavior is paramount to being a good bass angler. But how much attention do we REALLY pay to habitat?

The Devil's in the details, as they say. Let's talk grass/weeds/vegetation: I have heard, but have not researched,

that specific grasses grow on specific bottoms, in certain depths, in certain parts of the country. Largies prefer grass,

so why wouldn't we as anglers put the time into learning about how/when/if certain grass grows or doesn't.

Example: bass like to spawn on gravel or sandy bottoms. An article I read a few months ago was talking about how this one particular pro

will visually locate a a particular type of grass vs another because said grass likes to grow on harder bottoms (good spawning habitat)

whereas another type prefers mud (aka poor spawning habitat). I never would've thought!

Maybe this is something well known and in just late to the dance, but if anyone has any info on types of grass and where they grow, is like to see it!

 

PHEW!

What your requesting is very broad-based and would create a book.

As my grandmother used to say: "Bite off more than you can chew, and it will grow in your mouth" 

You'll need to be more specific, for instance, let's address one aquatic plant species at a time.

 

Roger

[Megastink]

What I'm asking is for a list of common aquatic plants and their preferred bottom composition. Long winded, but that's what I'm looking for. If anyone has a book or article that they want to suggest, please list it.

[Lund Explorer]

What I'm asking is for a list of common aquatic plants and their preferred bottom composition. Long winded, but that's what I'm looking for. If anyone has a book or article that they want to suggest, please list it.

 

http://extension.psu.edu/courses/pond-management/lesson-3/a-field-guide-to-aquatic-plants-in-Pennsylvania

 

Might not be the exact thing you're looking for, but its a start.

 

From my experience, I would key in on the fact that many types of weeds or grass will hold fish at some time or another.  It's just another part of trying to establish a pattern on any given day.  If you can catch fish in a specific weed type, you may want to look for that weed in other places to see if that weed type is the key to where fish are holding.  More importantly, I've used weed type to find another thing that bass key in on much more often.  Edges.

[Master Bait'r]

Okay there is a bass, on his left there is thick Lilly pads and on his right there is matted grass. Which does he go hide in?

Basically which do bass prefer, I have been asking myself this for awhile...

 

 

He situates himself on the most prominent feature and looks out upon the rest of his kingdom like the magnificent dominant beastface that he is.  

[Mike L]

Okay there is a bass, on his left there is thick Lilly pads and on his right there is matted grass. Which does he go hide in?

Basically which do bass prefer, I have been asking myself this for awhile...

There isn't a definative answer to your question that we mere mortals can say with certainty.

I have an idea, well an opinion.....

As he approachs that intersection, if he is hungry he will head for the grass as his instincts tell him that is the most likely area where he will find a meal.

If he has just fed, or seaking more shade than grass will give him on a hot day, or just not in the mood to do much of anything, he will head for the pads to hang out.

If something comes by either above or below him and he gets aggravated enough he'll jump on it just to get rid of it.

Then again maybe not.

Mike

[Catt]

What I'm asking is for a list of common aquatic plants and their preferred bottom composition. Long winded, but that's what I'm looking for. If anyone has a book or article that they want to isuggest, please list it.

Please google it

[WRB]

Which issue was that?

Looked for the magazines and must have loaned them to someone? However I did find a zero copy in black & white that I can email if interested, need a email address.

Unit 3 Weeds: The Key To Bass Location and Unit 5 Largemouth In The Slop.

Tom

[senile1]

Some of that In-Fisherman information is in the book, Critical Concepts 2:  Largemouth Bass Location.  It is an excellent book and covers where largemouth will locate based on season and other environmental factors.  It covers some of the more common freshwater aquatic plant species in the section on the summer season.  However, there is nothing like researching the vegetation you see in your local lakes.  I have researched Missouri aquatic plant species and there are quite a few more than you will find in this book.  I doubt that you will find a book, magazine, app, or other publication that is going to cover every species in every geographical area.   

 

[papajoe222]

Man, I like threads like this that get you to thinking. What's great to is the fact that there is always something to be learned and what better teachers than the group on this forum. 

Lilly pads on the left and matted grass on the right which would that bass choose?  I doubt he would choose either because of the type of weed. Mike has a point and I along with others can mention what we think, but using only one factor in attempting to determine fish location is like having only one known value when attempting to solve an equation.  In the above, I'd choose the one closest to deep water.

[Megastink]

I should have labeled this thread: "Which grasses grow in hard bottoms?"

[RoLo]

There's a monkey wrench here.

Most aquatic plants thrive best in sandy, well-ventilated soil, but very few plants grow 'only' in sand.

In any case, there are a few plants that make pretty good hard-bottom indicators (sand plants).

If you're looking for sandy substrate in a dark bottom bay (topped with humus or detritus)

the 4 plants below are good sand-bottom indicators (No, this isn't something you'd ever find on the Internet):

 

Bulrushes      (Scirpus)

Watershield   (Brasenia schreberi)

Elodea            (Elodea canadensis)

Pennywort     (Hydrocotyle umbellata)

 

Roger

[WRB]

The In-Fisherman magazines are now approaching 40 years old and a lot of aquatic vegetation has changed during the past few decades. Folks buy pet fish, then discard them along with the weeds in the fish bowl when the kids lose interest. Hydrilla is an invasive weed not common 30 years ago, it's a long list of plants that have been established in our bass lakes and continues to change annually.

Most aquatic plants can't root in sand or clay, the need soil of some type however some aquatic plants don't root into any bottom, the float. Each state is different, but some basic knowledge goes a long ways when bass fishing grass.

The suggestion to use a search tool is a good one.

Tom