Florida Aquatic Vegetation

[Hez]

I am hoping to get better at identifying the different types of vegetation  - specifically in my region (Florida).  

 

Not only would I like to be able to identify the different types, but I would also like to decipher between which vegetation produces best in that particular season. 

 

For Instance - Buggy Whips (Bulrush) seemed to produce fairly consistent through the summer.  Now that fall is here and the buggy whips all seem to be dying off and starting to look dead - I didn't get any bites on the same shore I caught fish on a month ago.   

 

I know this could be many factors, but it has me thinking that the change in vegetation has a lot to do with changes I am seeing. 

 

Lily pads produce well in winter/spring due to the hard bottom and the correlation to the spawn.  

 

Does anyone have any resources that identify different types of vegetation and how the bass relate year around, and why?  

[Catt]

19 minutes ago, Hez said:

Does anyone have any resources that identify different types of vegetation and how the bass relate year around, and why?  

That's a huge subject right there  ?

 

I don't know of a single source that identifies the various types of vegetation & the correlation to bass specifically.

 

In-Fisherman has a lot of information but I can't offer you chapter & verse.

 

[Hez]

11 minutes ago, Catt said:

That's a huge subject right there  ?

 

I don't know of a single source that identifies the various types of vegetation & the correlation to bass specifically.

 

In-Fisherman has a lot of information but I can't offer you chapter & verse.

 

 

Yes sir - I know I'm almost asking for a miracle here haha - especially tailored to a specific region.  

 

I will check out In-Fisherman, I appreciate that resource.  

 

Hopefully some of the local guys can filter in pieces of information and maybe I can put some pieces together and make something out of it.  

 

 

[Catt]

@Hez your local fisheries biologist maybe be help point you in the right direction, so will local colleges.

 

Although it's a huge subject it connected some dots for me at least between vegetation, baitfish, crawfish, & bass.

[Hez]

Just now, Catt said:

@Hez your local fisheries biologist maybe be help point you in the right direction, so will local colleges.

 

Although it's a huge subject it connected some dots for me at least between vegetation, baitfish, crawfish, & bass.

Thank Catt.

 

I feel that if I can acquire some of this knowledge and understanding - it will help take me to the next level.  

 

That's just one more level closer to you 

 

 

 

[Catt]

8 minutes ago, Hez said:

That's just one more level closer to you 

 

 

 

What ya moving to southwest Louisiana?  ?

 

@RoLo would probably be a great source of information on this subject but aint heard from him lately.

 

[Troy85]

I found this slideshow a few months back when I was trying to do more research on vegetation.  It gives some basic info about each vegetation type. The slideshow starts with shoreline vegetation and moves out from there.  Hope it helps a little

 

https://www.bassmaster.com/slideshow/how-id-grass-and-fish-it-effectively

 

 

[Hez]

7 minutes ago, Troy1985s said:

I found this slideshow a few months back when I was trying to do more research on vegetation.  It gives some basic info about each vegetation type. The slideshow starts with shoreline vegetation and moves out from there.  Hope it helps a little

 

https://www.bassmaster.com/slideshow/how-id-grass-and-fish-it-effectively

 

 

 

Thanks Troy!  

[DINK WHISPERER]

That's such a tough one right there. I fish South Central FL and have found all vegetation will hold fish all year just not as many as others. In the summer, shallow pads and hyacinths produce for me. Offshore it's mainly brush or grass in the summer. During winter (if you can call it that here) it's cattails for me. In the spawn I always have better luck in bullrush and Kissimmee grass. 

[davecon]

Don't know if I am allowed to mention it here, and if not my apologies to the admin. But, go to ***, Florida Bass Club. 3rd item down the list is learn your vegetation (or something like that). Second page toward the bottom is an article.

 

Again, apologies if this is not acceptable. I consider this site and that one as complementing each other, not competitors.

[davecon]

Hez, sent you an e-mail. Not sure it went thru. Let me know.

[FLcentral]

I fish the Harris chain and came to the conclusion this summer that the greatly expanded growth of hydrilla has caused a big change in fish habits and location. Locations that produced last year when the hydrilla was sparse are not producing any fish this year. It seems that the fish prefer the hydrilla over other cover so I have been fishing the heavy grass more. Eel grass and pepper grass (cabbage) still hold some fish but not like the hydrilla.

[N Florida Mike]

Look on the U.F site. They'll have some good stuff.

[frogflogger]

My approach was to look for an area of mixed aquatics -

[hawgenvy]

While we're on the subject of aquatic plants, has anyone heard of the 1910 American Hippo bill (H.R. 23621)?

 

Many aquatic plants (hyacinth, hyrilla, milfoil, etc., etc.) are invasive species.  One of them, water hyacinth, so choked Louisiana waterways in the early 1900s that there was an effort to introduce African hippopotamuses to the bayous of Louisiana to eat the hyacinth.  In turn, Americans would eat hippos. Some Louisianians were anxious to become hippo ranchers. The bill was proposed not only to solve the hyacinth problem but also to help solve the meat shortage of the time. 

 

Unfortunately, the hippo bill failed by only one vote.  Too bad. And by the way, hippo meat is supposedly quite delicious.

 

http://www.cooks.com/recipe/6i91m04e/hippopotamus-stew.html