Flipping grass

[GoneFishingLTN]

Randall says in the video that he targets edges what does that exactly mean he’s in the middle of the slop. I know this is hard to explain online but just don’t get what he exactly means by that

[Catt]

The line (edge) formed by where the grass stops growing.

 

Outside grasslines is usually the one farthest from the bank.

 

Inside grasslines is from the bank out to where the grass starts growing.

[fissure_man]

54 minutes ago, Catt said:

The line (edge) formed by where the grass stops growing.

 

Outside grasslines is usually the one farthest from the bank.

 

Inside grasslines is from the bank out to where the grass starts growing.

Not disagreeing that these are edges, but that's not the same "inside edge" R.T. describes in the video (around 9:45 onward).

 

There he's describing the "inside edge" as a boundary inside the grass bed where it transitions from thick grass through the full water column, to a "hollowed-out" zone which still has a canopy on top, but is open underneath.  He mentions that you can't really see it from above the water, and when the camera pans out you can see there's grass all around (as @GoneFishingLTN points out).

 

 

[Catt]

When we look at huge grass "field" like the one in this video there numerous "edges".

 

The overhead view shows more than just looking at the surface.

 

There's an "edge" formed when the Hydrilla mats all the way to the surface & where the depth changes forming a wall. From that wall out to where the Hydrilla stops growing is another "edge" that can only be seen with electronics.

 

Referring back to the over head view you will notice matted areas & what appears to be open water. These "open" water areas are formed by depth changes and/or bottom composition changes. Again we are forming "edges".

 

So what "edge" is Randall really targeting?

[Troy85]

22 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

I just wish we had grass!

Funny.  Sometimes I think "I wish we had less grass!"  Sometimes I wish we had more rock, or gravel haha.  Sometimes I get tired of of the grass.

[fissure_man]

51 minutes ago, Catt said:

So what "edge" is Randall really targeting?

Well, he explains his view of it pretty thoroughly in the video

 

The answer to @GoneFishingLTN's question is that there are more edges to target than only the absolute inner and outer boundaries of the grass bed.  The ‘inside edge,’ as described by R.T. in the video is one of them.  Just clarifying your previous post.  

[Catt]

53 minutes ago, fissure_man said:

The answer to @GoneFishingLTN's question is that there are more edges to target than only the absolute inner and outer boundaries of the grass bed. 

 

Sounds a lot like what I just said ?

[fissure_man]

1 minute ago, Catt said:

 

Sounds a lot like what I just said ?

 

Lol yeah it does. But not in your original response to the question (below), hence the clarification.

 

3 hours ago, Catt said:

The line (edge) formed by where the grass stops growing.

 

Outside grasslines is usually the one farthest from the bank.

 

Inside grasslines is from the bank out to where the grass starts growing.

 

 

[TnRiver46]

1 hour ago, Troy1985s said:

Funny.  Sometimes I think "I wish we had less grass!"  Sometimes I wish we had more rock, or gravel haha.  Sometimes I get tired of of the grass.

I'll trade ya! Haha

[WRB]

Reading the title of this post reminded me how confushing bass terminology can be.

Flipping or Pitching, what is the difference? Flipping you don't use or need a reel, pitching line comes off the reel, both use a underhand swing motion.

Grass, what does this mean? It means every type of aquatic plant growing in the water except reeds. I tend to call grass weeds because that is what they were called where I learned to fish.

In-Fisherman did a few early study reports on bass in the grass and fishing the slop that has detailed photos and sketches of various types of aquatic plants bass use as cover, how they form edges, mats, tunnels etc. knowing the types of grass, how they grow and what bass prefer is very helpful to know and what to focus on.

The video posted is helpful. 

Looking at grass is like a forest; from a distance the trees all look the same a green carpet covering the terrian. The forest is made of a verity of trees and under those trees is the terrain, open areas, valleys, meadows, creeks etc, etc. Looking at a large grass mat looks like a carpet, but it's made up of a verity of plants, under that carpet is the terrian, open areas, channels, rocks, etc, etc. Bass like to be close to prey and they prey doesn't like to be trapped in areas they can't escape, edges provide a path to enter the grass and escape quickly, that is where you find the bass in grass.

Tom

[Catt]

2 hours ago, fissure_man said:

 

Lol yeah it does. But not in your original response to the question (below), hence the clarification.

 

 

 

 

Basic overall view of a grass bed has an inside & outside grasslines as described in my text.

 

Like basic structure it starts at the bank & ends at the bottom of the deepest water.

 

Is that all structure is?

 

No there's a lot more to structure that those two, the same goes with grass beds.

 

There's a lot more to that grass bed than what Randall mentioned. A 20 minute video aint near long enough to cover everything Randall needed to say.

[fissure_man]

Not looking to cover everything, just answering a simple (and good) question:

 

“Randall says in the video that he targets edges what does that exactly mean he’s in the middle of the slop. I know this is hard to explain online but just don’t get what he exactly means by that”

 

In other words, why does he say he’s fishing an edge, when he’s in the middle of the slop?  What is he keying on? 

 

Your overview of inside and outside grasslines isn't wrong, it just doesn't answer the question. Fortunately Randall explained his breakdown in the video and a few have chimed in here (yourself included).

 

Not sure why we're still 'debating' this?

[Catt]

To explain fishing grass one must start with the basics which I stated to do.

 

If Randall's explanation was so self explanatory @GoneFishingLTN shouldn't have had a question.

[FishDewd]

I think I get what he was saying... for lack of a better term there can be cavities that are either areas in the middle of the slop where there is nothing, or areas inside the slop that are more like a cave. I just learned this the other day on my last outing. The water was clear enough that I saw a good sized bass dart beneath what looked like a sold wall of tree roots from my vantage point. But obviously it wasn't. It was an overhang with an open area beneath it. So I tried for a while to get my bait beneath that ledge to entice it to bite, but it just didn't happen. Am I close in my assessment?

[WRB]

What Catt clearly defined as inside break is a weed line that starts a foot or so deep that has no weeds or grass growing away from the shoreline. Outside break is the outside weed line where it's too deep for the weeds or grass to grow. These are very easy to see and fish. The weed or grass bed inbetween the inside and outside break or line is where the bass are located. The grass mat isn't solid from top to bottom depending on the type of weeds or grass growing. Some areas of the bottom is too hard or clay or gravel or sand where plants or grass can't root and you see open pockets of water surrounded by the mat. Underneath the floating mat of grass is a forest of stems plants and tunnels or paths through the forest. 

Have you ever crawled under brush, it looks like a solid hedge until you get low under it, then it opens up where the sun light doesn't penetrate, branches overhead open areas near the ground, weed or grass mats look the same with little growth near the bottom and canopy or growth near the surface.

Breaks are all the elements that allow the bass to swim without forcing it's way through the grass. Edges, breaks, tunnels, open areas, inside edges, outside edges, pockets, different types of plants coming together, etc.

Where do you want you pitch jig/punch rig? In front of the bass! Not into a solid wall of vegetation but through the canopy into open spaces underneath it or along an edge where bass are waiting for prey.

Tom

[Catt]

This has been a great discussion!

 

@fissure_man I have watched the video 2-3 more times ?

 

I will add if y'all aint thrown 1-1 1/2 weights ya need to practice!

 

It aint like 3/8-3/4 ?

[Sam]

On 6/18/2018 at 11:17 AM, GoneFishingLTN said:

How exactly do you do this. I know the baits/techs but do you just randomly cast along the banks grass line? How do you prevent your bait sliding down/off your hook even if your hook has a bait keeper?

 

Suggestions:

1.  Use Provider jig heads.

2.  Use weedless hooks.

3.  Cast randomly along the bank and at anything that is out of the normal, like a grass point, a patch of pads sitting by themselves, a stick-up, opening between pads and grass, wood in water, rocks, changes in the grass, skip under trees and bushes, throw next to bushes along the bank. Just put your bait in the water and be ready for a strike.

4.  There are was to prevent your bait from sliding down or off your hook. One is from Glenn.  Rig your plastic Texas style and bury the hook's eye into the plastic bait. Take 10 to 20 pound mono and jam it through the plastic, through the hook's eye, and out the plastic's other side. Cut off the excess mono on both sides and your plastic ain't going anywhere. Or, if you want, use some super fast drying glue and glue the head of your plastic onto your hook's eye. Messy and you lose both the hook and plastic but it works.

 

Give the above a shot and see if it helps.

[GoneFishingLTN]

On 6/21/2018 at 3:18 PM, WRB said:

Reading the title of this post reminded me how confushing bass terminology can be.

Flipping or Pitching, what is the difference? Flipping you don't use or need a reel, pitching line comes off the reel, both use a underhand swing motion.

Grass, what does this mean? It means every type of aquatic plant growing in the water except reeds. I tend to call grass weeds because that is what they were called where I learned to fish.

In-Fisherman did a few early study reports on bass in the grass and fishing the slop that has detailed photos and sketches of various types of aquatic plants bass use as cover, how they form edges, mats, tunnels etc. knowing the types of grass, how they grow and what bass prefer is very helpful to know and what to focus on.

The video posted is helpful. 

Looking at grass is like a forest; from a distance the trees all look the same a green carpet covering the terrian. The forest is made of a verity of trees and under those trees is the terrain, open areas, valleys, meadows, creeks etc, etc. Looking at a large grass mat looks like a carpet, but it's made up of a verity of plants, under that carpet is the terrian, open areas, channels, rocks, etc, etc. Bass like to be close to prey and they prey doesn't like to be trapped in areas they can't escape, edges provide a path to enter the grass and escape quickly, that is where you find the bass in grass.

Tom

Can you help me locate this In-Fisherman study reports I would love to see detailed photos of that. I've went to the In-Fisherman site with no luck.

[WRB]

Send me your email and I will send a b & w Xerox copy.

Tom

[thinkingredneck]

A trick I read on BR a while back is to thread your line through one end of a swivel (but not tied on) between your weight and hook.  When you put your plastic on and work it over the eye, put your hook through the other end of the swivel and led it slide up to just below the bait.  Then put the hook in the bait like any t rig.  Keeps the bait from sliding.  It works great and seems to have no negative effect on strikes.

32 minutes ago, WRB said:

Send me your email and I will send a b & w Xerox copy.

Tom

The other day I told a kid at work to xerox something.  They had no clue what that meant. I told them to make a copy.   Some days I feel old.

[sully420]

Great info here from some of the vets on this forum. Grass pitching and punching is hard work and it really takes lots of time and effort to locate bass in these grass fields. There's no ez answer anyone can give you. One day on the lake I met a guy that showed me 2 6lb bass he caught and he told me he got them flipping grass. Since that day i have spent 3 years working on locating bass in grass and working up my skills and confidence. I agreed with everything randall tharp said in the video. But if you aren't out there working at it i can see how it wouldn't make any sense. The way i break down a grass is like this.

1. I fish the whole thing with a top water this allows me to see where they are holding. Inside outside or middle.

2. If i didn't get bit on the topwater i fish the outside edge the edge adjacent to deep water.

3. I fish the inside edge the edge adjacent to the bank.

4. I fish the middle and all the edges between the inside and outside edges. This includes all the holes in the grass and the matted areas as well. Matted areas are also an edge as are diffrent types of vegetation. 

So if i have a grass flat that 50% milfoil 30% cabbage and 20% lilly pads those are all edges and need to be fished. Most of the time in this scenario I'll fish the pads first the cabbage second and the foil last.

To save time i look for areas that have bait then i look for areas that have lanes or pockets, holes or mats. At the end of the day you just have to fish it and gain some confidence that fish are there.