Fishing Large, Grassy Lakes

[Dat_Bass]

So, I’m finally getting out on a pretty big lake near me. There are about 4 boat ramps and you can run gas motors and stuff. There are pads everywhere. For the most part, the only place there aren’t pads is because it is an area where boats constantly go through. However, there are two or three long, wide strips of water at about 8 feet deep that runs into submerged grass. They are lined by pads on both side. I threw spinnerbaits, swimjigs, worms, rattle traps, and swimbaits down the weedline and out in the middle and didn’t get a nibble. It’s been two trips now and it’s pretty frustrating. I know I can try punching but there is just pads everywhere and yea I know you can find small wholes or a tree sticking out or any other difference but it’s honestly just overwhelming. Any thing will help.

            Sincerely, 

                   A very overwhelmed fisherman

[jbmaine]

I'm way, way north of you ( Maine ) but the area you describe sound perfect for early morning hollow body frogs. I would also try rage tail toads just sub surface.

[BuzzHudson19c]

Oh man, my kind of lake. Tie on a frog and never take it off. Just keep your eyes open for anything different. Logs, rocks, where two types of vegetation meet, small openings, anything out of the ordinary. Frog, frog, frog!

[frogflogger]

speed worms and frogs are pretty effective in that type of lake - it's Florida so stay with it and you'll be rewarded

[Brad in Texas]

I'd also recommend a top-water frog. Stop and listen, watch, too . . . and you will likely see bass coming up and feeding at the surface. Here, in Texas, lakes that have bluegills and pads? One will hear a smacking or "kissing" sound when the bluegills come up to feed at the surface. Lakes where bass actively feed on panfish will find bass nearby to that smacking sound. They follow their food sources and/or else wait to ambush them. If you do see a bass swirl up and hit the surface, cast a frog over and beyond it by several feet, if you get lucky it'll land on a pad and lessen the thud a bit, then drag it up and down over the pads, twitch it, and look for a reaction bite from the same fish. It will not have moved much so the bass will still be in that location.

 

One other very effective lily pad technique is to throw a shad or fluke rigged weightless and weedless up in pads, or even swim it along the edge of other sorts of vegetation. They will generally sink, more or less, and you will be able to cover water at different depths in the water column.

 

Finally, and I think a bit more advanced in terms of technique, spinnerbaits come through some sorts of vegetation really well. You can pull them over submerged grass, toss them into bushes and pads, and they actually perform very well. If you want another moving bait, I'd hang in there and keep trying spinnerbaits to cover a lot of water.

 

Brad

Edited March 19, 2018 by Brad in Texas
typo

[Troy85]

Been fishing large grass flats the past couple weeks.  Fish have seem to be gathering in the larger holes in the grass, at least several feet wide, and almost always more than 1 fish per hole.  Haven't had many bites in the smaller little pot holes, only the larger holes in the grass.  Pulling a single blade spinner bait with a minnow, no skirt, its not totally weedless, but the bass don't seem to care.   After the spinner bait played out in a particular hole, we'd switch to a TX rigged worm and sometimes we get 1 or 2 more to bite.  Everywhere is different, but maybe this will help.

[Cgolf]

Can someone tell me what is considered a grassy lake? What type of weed is this or does it just look like super long grass?

[soflabasser]

8 hours ago, cgolf said:

Can someone tell me what is considered a grassy lake? What type of weed is this or does it just look like super long grass?

Come to Florida and you will see lots of grassy lakes,ponds, rivers, etc. Many of these lakes are full with hydrilla, sawgrass, cattails, maidencane, lily pads, spatterdock, and other aquatic vegetation. Weedless lures ( such as Texas rigged soft plastics and hollow belly frogs) work very well in these places.

[Cgolf]

1 hour ago, soflabasser said:

Come to Florida and you will see lots of grassy lakes,ponds, rivers, etc. Many of these lakes are full with hydrilla, sawgrass, cattails, maidencane, lily pads, spatterdock, and other aquatic vegetation. Weedless lures ( such as Texas rigged soft plastics and hollow belly frogs) work very well in these places.

Will have to fish sometime when I visit Florida. Just used to sparse patches of lily pads and reeds here. The big O looks like a lake I would be right at home on from the pictures I have seen.