Identify the grass

[fishblitzer]

Does anyone know what type of grass this is? It comes back every year and it grows until it tops out and then has a thick layer of moss on the surface. It seems to be growing even in the deepest areas, and is topped out from the bank to about 8 feet deep at the moment. It isn't green grass but more yellow. Last year we attempted to kill the grass but it had little effect and was back within a month.

[frosty]

Hydrilla, at least that's what it looks like to me, but I'm no aquatic vegetation expert

[the reel ess]

http://aquaplant.tamu.edu/plant-identification/alphabetical-index/southern-naiad/

 

Bushy Pondweed?

[Gundog]

1 hour ago, the reel ess said:

http://aquaplant.tamu.edu/plant-identification/alphabetical-index/southern-naiad/

 

Bushy Pondweed?

That was my nickname is college. Not sure how I got it but it seemed to fit so I didn't argue. 

[blckshirt98]

Might want to pull a little out of the water and take a close up picture, esp of the leaves.

[Team9nine]

I think the reel ess is on the right track with it being either a pondweed or a naiad - they actually aren't the same for the most part despite the link info shown. Lots of submerged plants are referred to as "pondweed" even though they aren't part of the actual pondweed family.

-T9

[Oklahoma Mike]

4 hours ago, the reel ess said:

http://aquaplant.tamu.edu/plant-identification/alphabetical-index/southern-naiad/

 

Bushy Pondweed?

That's what it looks like from the picture @fishblitzer posted. Naiad con grow to over 10' and only takes about a month to do so.

You can try some Aquathol Super K or put some grass carp in the pond. It'll take the carp a few months to get it under control, so a combination of the Aquathol followed by a stocking of carp to keep it controlled thereafter is probably your best bet. How big is the pond and how much of it is covered by naiad? 

 

[the reel ess]

Hey,  I finally ID'd a weed correctly. There's a lot of this where I fish. It makes trebles difficult to use. There's a lot more of it on the side that gets more sun. We use a lot of trick Worms, shallow jerkbaits, spinnerbaits and topwaters there.

[fishnkamp]

Do not KILL it  FISH it !!!! Frog over it, fish weightless floating worms, punch it with big baits on the outer section. run  texas rigged sencos and worms, topwaters and chatterbaits. Man that is big fish territory.

[Gundog]

6 hours ago, fishnkamp said:

Do not KILL it  FISH it !!!! Frog over it, fish weightless floating worms, punch it with big baits on the outer section. run  texas rigged sencos and worms, topwaters and chatterbaits. Man that is big fish territory.

The man has a point. I don't know why anyone would want to kill those weeds. Some of the best fishing lakes in the country are choked with weeds. That is why they are the best lakes. Flip it, frog it, T-rig it, but don't kill it. 

[Oklahoma Mike]

27 minutes ago, Gundog said:

The man has a point. I don't know why anyone would want to kill those weeds. Some of the best fishing lakes in the country are choked with weeds. That is why they are the best lakes. Flip it, frog it, T-rig it, but don't kill it. 

Well, if we are talking about a large body of water with some patches of this here and there, then sure. However, in a smallish farm pond, this southern naiad can quickly occupy the entire body of water. I assume the OP is talking about a pond here, else he'd just move to another spot in the lake. 

[fishblitzer]

7 hours ago, Oklahoma Mike said:

Well, if we are talking about a large body of water with some patches of this here and there, then sure. However, in a smallish farm pond, this southern naiad can quickly occupy the entire body of water. I assume the OP is talking about a pond here, else he'd just move to another spot in the lake. 

It's a 12 acre lake, from the bank to about 10-12 feet out it is topped out. The pockets around the lake are choked off from it. And it seems to be in the bottom of the lake also, when fishing bottom hoppers I normally pull some up with it.

17 hours ago, Oklahoma Mike said:

That's what it looks like from the picture @fishblitzer posted. Naiad con grow to over 10' and only takes about a month to do so.

You can try some Aquathol Super K or put some grass carp in the pond. It'll take the carp a few months to get it under control, so a combination of the Aquathol followed by a stocking of carp to keep it controlled thereafter is probably your best bet. How big is the pond and how much of it is covered by naiad? 

 

We have many carp, some are larger than I have seen in person. I would say in the 4 foot range. When you spook them and they are near the surface they create a wake like a boat would. I had one eat a senko a couple months ago. I was looking for beds and thought I was on a 10+ pound bass and I flipped a senko in it's face and it ate it. All it did was strip drag, I was only able to catch up and set the hook after about 10 seconds of drag being stripped. My 12 pound line broke right after the hook set. I know it was a carp because I went back a few hours later to find a huge carp in the same place, only this time the sun was shining so that I could see the distinct large scales they have.

It's at 12 acre lake, and from the bank to about 10-12 feet out it is topped out. The pockets around the lake are choked off from it and it seems to be in the bottom of the lake also in the deeper sections.

[fishblitzer]

17 hours ago, the reel ess said:

Hey,  I finally ID'd a weed correctly. There's a lot of this where I fish. It makes trebles difficult to use. There's a lot more of it on the side that gets more sun. We use a lot of trick Worms, shallow jerkbaits, spinnerbaits and topwaters there.

It makes fishing difficult in general for me, although it has forced me to learn new techniques and made me a better angler. I'm a jig and crankbait kind of guy and neither work in that stuff. A swim jig does okay on the edges but can't use football heads which are my favorite. What kind of water clarity do you have in the water you fish like this? This lake is really clear for Alabama, water clarity on a perfect day is between 3-4 foot. I would assume the clarity is also a result of the grass.

[fishnkamp]

With that heavy a grass the small fish should have a nice chance to grow. If that lake has a good population of baitfish you should have some giant bass in it. It would have all of the right ingredients. 

[the reel ess]

1 hour ago, fishblitzer said:

It makes fishing difficult in general for me, although it has forced me to learn new techniques and made me a better angler. I'm a jig and crankbait kind of guy and neither work in that stuff. A swim jig does okay on the edges but can't use football heads which are my favorite. What kind of water clarity do you have in the water you fish like this? This lake is really clear for Alabama, water clarity on a perfect day is between 3-4 foot. I would assume the clarity is also a result of the grass.

The clarity might be 4 feet average. It gets a little more clear when it doesn't rain for a long time. But we almost always have a stain to the waters in the piedmont region. Anywhere there are cypress trees, the water is a dark tea color. I know this is probably good for fishing because I use straight braid for most single hook presentations and even the big bass don't seem to be line shy.

[Oklahoma Mike]

13 hours ago, fishblitzer said:

It's a 12 acre lake, from the bank to about 10-12 feet out it is topped out. The pockets around the lake are choked off from it. And it seems to be in the bottom of the lake also, when fishing bottom hoppers I normally pull some up with it.

We have many carp, some are larger than I have seen in person. I would say in the 4 foot range. When you spook them and they are near the surface they create a wake like a boat would. I had one eat a senko a couple months ago. I was looking for beds and thought I was on a 10+ pound bass and I flipped a senko in it's face and it ate it. All it did was strip drag, I was only able to catch up and set the hook after about 10 seconds of drag being stripped. My 12 pound line broke right after the hook set. I know it was a carp because I went back a few hours later to find a huge carp in the same place, only this time the sun was shining so that I could see the distinct large scales they have.

It's at 12 acre lake, and from the bank to about 10-12 feet out it is topped out. The pockets around the lake are choked off from it and it seems to be in the bottom of the lake also in the deeper sections.

 

Is this a private lake?

There are several species of carp. For the a 10-12 acre lake you'd need 100+ to keep the weeds controlled. As I mentioned, it would take a while, so your best bet would be an initial treatment with the Aquathol and then let the carp do maintenance. Here's a relevant article: http://www.noble.org/ag/wildlife/grasscarp/ 

[fishblitzer]

9 hours ago, Oklahoma Mike said:

 

Is this a private lake?

There are several species of carp. For the a 10-12 acre lake you'd need 100+ to keep the weeds controlled. As I mentioned, it would take a while, so your best bet would be an initial treatment with the Aquathol and then let the carp do maintenance. Here's a relevant article: http://www.noble.org/ag/wildlife/grasscarp/ 

Yes it's a private lake and thank you for the link, I'll look into it!