Need Some Help From My American Sme (Subject Matter Experts)

[JeziHogg]

So I fish SMB like 90% of the time and the other 10% of the LMB are caught when I'm fishing for SMB. I fish rip rap, boulders, shevles, cliff faces and anything to do with structure for SMB.

My friend and I caught wind of a lake close by that has some really nice LMB but we couldn't catch a thing. I tried pitching T-Rigs, Swim Jigs you name it we tried it. The lake was full of I think

Hydrilla (will post a picture of it). How do you fish this stuff? Everytime our lures would just get lost in the cover and the LMB's wouldn't even get a chance to see it. Any tips for us next time we're on

this lake?

 

[A-Jay]

 Welcome to LMB fishing . . .  and btw that's some Very Healthy looking vegetation right there ~

 

I'd expect some there are some very stout green bass living in that eco system.

 

You may get quite a few different responses that revolve around baits & techniques, and I would never claim to be an expect in any facet of bass fishing, however I'll tell you that the way I learned to have success on lakes that have an abundance of that stuff was to ignore it; especially if it's every where, and focus on location.

 

  What I mean is, fish the structure not the cover.  Clearly you'll need to rig & fish a technique that accounts for the grass, but after that it's all about depth, contour lines and bottom composition.   Just like you're doing to find & catch those SMB.

 

I will also tell you not to be afraid to use an ounce (tungsten) or more for your weight to get through that stuff.  The LMB could care less about the weight and seem very content to suck up you offering despite the extra tonnage.

 

Finally, Braided Line is your friend.  Tangling with even 2-3 pound LMB is that stuff is an All Out - No Drag - Tug Of War.  And I suspect there may be several specimen in that lake that are much larger.

 

Good Luck.

 

A-Jay

[jbsoonerfan]

That looks perfect. A Texas rigged 10" power worm on a 1/2 oz - 1 oz weight. And be patient. When you think you are fishing slow, slow down. Then when you think you are fishing too slow, slow down.

[JeziHogg]

So pretty much just slither it through the hydrilla? There is ALOT of this stuff.

[Jrob78]

Concentrate on the edges.  If the grass is matted you can punch it.  If it's sparse you can fish a variety of techniques.  Ripping traps is one of my favorites but spinnerbaits, t-rigs, wake baits, swimjigs, etc. all can be productive.  If you have grass all over the lake, do as A-Jay suggested and fish the grass around the structure, fish the edges.

[HoosierHawgs]

Is this emergent matted hydrilla, or submerged coontail/ milfoil? Looks like the latter to me.

[JeziHogg]

Is this emergent matted hydrilla, or submerged coontail/ milfoil? Looks like the latter to me.

It looks like its long strands of grass growing out of the bottom of the lake, and there is tons of it. Nothing on the surface of the water, but there is only an inch or so of water before the tops of the hydrilla start.

[Dwight Hottle]

There is only three ways to fish that stuff. Over the top with shallow topwater. Fish thru it with a punch rig or heavy weight presentation. Fish the outside or inside edge staying out of it.

[Catt]

Welcome to LMB fishing . . . and btw that's some Very Healthy looking vegetation right there ~

I'd expect some there are some very stout green bass living in that eco system.

You may get quite a few different responses that revolve around baits & techniques, and I would never claim to be an expect in any facet of bass fishing, however I'll tell you that the way I learned to have success on lakes that have an abundance of that stuff was to ignore it; especially if it's every where, and focus on location.

What I mean is, fish the structure not the cover. Clearly you'll need to rig & fish a technique that accounts for the grass, but after that it's all about depth, contour lines and bottom composition. Just like you're doing to find & catch those SMB.

I will also tell you not to be afraid to use an ounce (tungsten) or more for your weight to get through that stuff. The LMB could care less about the weight and seem very content to suck up you offering despite the extra tonnage.

Finally, Braided Line is your friend. Tangling with even 2-3 pound LMB is that stuff is an All Out - No Drag - Tug Of War. And I suspect there may be several specimen in that lake that are much larger.

Good Luck.

A-Jay

You can spend countless hours fishing Hydrilla or you can save your self some time & learn the above!

[HoosierHawgs]

It looks like its long strands of grass growing out of the bottom of the lake, and there is tons of it. Nothing on the surface of the water, but there is only an inch or so of water before the tops of the hydrilla start.

My guess is that stuff is milfoil. If it were me, I'd tick a lipless crank off the tops of it. Good way to get reaction bites. "Where there's grass, there's Bass"

[Catt]

It does not matter if it is Hydrilla, Milfoil, or Coontail...fish what is under it!

[Shanes7614]

My guess is that stuff is milfoil. If it were me, I'd tick a lipless crank off the tops of it. Good way to get reaction bites. "Where there's grass, there's Bass"[/quote

How are you gonna "tick" a lipless when there's less then an inch of water until the "grass" starts as the OP stated? That may work early in the season before the vegetation reaches that height. Best bet as Catt stated is to punch through it.

[smalljaw67]

Here is what we do on the lakes that have that, and ours is mostly coon tail. Before you fish just move around and find the edges and where it is thick, look for holes, the holes are where fish will hold and are ambush spots. Now that you found the weed edges and holes you can attack it in a strategic way, the first thing I'd try is the edges, these are the easiest to fish and it is where the most active fish are going to be. You can fish the edges with a crankbait but a spinnerbait, chatterbait, and a swim jigs as well as swim baits are prime for fishing the weed edges. If you haven't found active fish along the edge then I'd opt for door number 2, lipless crankbait over the tops of the weeds, just reel fast and when you feel the bait hit the grass rip it free, a lot of your strikes will come after ripping it off the grass. If it is too thick to run the lipless try a popper worked on top over the grass, this bait can be worked slower and it will produce strikes from fish in weeds even at high noon, so don't be afraid to do it if the sun is out. The final deal is to go through the grass, and for that I'm going to fish spots most of the time, any place I see a hole or a sparse section and it will be T-rigs with 1/2oz weights or more depending on how thick and dense it is, you can also use a finesse option in places where the grass is thinned out a bit, the finesse deal I'm talking about is the mojo rig on 8lb to 10lb line, a finesse Carolina rig if you will, this is a great option but use it where the grass is a little less sparse as a big fish will be tough to get out of the salad on light line.

[HoosierHawgs]

My guess is that stuff is milfoil. If it were me, I'd tick a lipless crank off the tops of it. Good way to get reaction bites. "Where there's grass, there's Bass"[/quote

How are you gonna "tick" a lipless when there's less then an inch of water until the "grass" starts as the OP stated? That may work early in the season before the vegetation reaches that height. Best bet as Catt stated is to punch through it.

Missed that. At that point I'd try to punch I, or throw a walikg bait around it.

[Fishes in trees]

I've had very little experience "punching" and little success when I've tried it.  My thought is that somewhere on that lake, there is a deep edge to the weed line.  This time of year, that is where I'd spend most of my time fishing.  I'd  probably throw a jika rig, pretty heavy, 5/8 or 3/4 oz weight, heavier line, like 15 or 17 lb fluorocarbon.

[hatrix]

I fish places like that all the time. Basically just practice and time fishin makes you better at getting baits through and licking it apart. There probably has to be some places where it doesn't come up as far or it will get spotty and you can also find lanes in it. The easiest method to catch fish is put on your glasses and pitch some plastics in any holes you see.

[Bankbeater]

I'll say what was said earlier. Try and fish open structure.  You won't have to keep cleaning off your hooks, and the fish can see what is on the end of your line.

[Arobb2012]

Try a swimbait with a keel weighted hook and pull it through the top of the grass.