More Illinois Weed Identification...

[AJ Hauser]

Hey fellas. 

Not that long ago I asked for some help and y'all graciously obliged, helping me identify chara algae, and this has been good because now when I see it, I know what I'm working with. Bass seem to like it at times. 

 

I recently hit a small pond that drops to 25 foot in spots. The water clarity is pea soup / tannic. There are walnut trees overhanging the bank and I think as these decompose in the water they are just making quite the green-brown broth. So visibility is LOW. The shoreline drop is STEEP. However, I have found some quality bass here, and these weeds.

 

These things look like pine trees almost. They are growing up right near the surface in areas of about 6 - 12 foot depth. You can only see about the last foot or so of them. The very tippy tops are dark and thick, while they have sparse growth further down the stalk (as you can see in the pics). 

 

Any idea what this is?

 

(These fish came off a black & blue chatterbait with a rage swimmer trailer, and a no-name or discontinued Viscous hawg style bait on a TX rig.) 

 

Thanks! 

 

[galyonj]

Looks like coontail (Ceratophyllum demersum) to me.

[Team9nine]

That’s a better pic than what most post, but still hard to make out the little important details. That said, I’m going with what @galyonj posted - coontail/ceratophyllum.

 

Edit: milfoil is like a cooked noodle out of water and doesn’t retain its shape/stature. Coontail does (as does the plant pictured).

[Bankbeater]

Take a look at the end of the plant.  If it looks like a raccoon's tail then you have coontail.  Bass love that stuff.

[T-Billy]

Coontail or milfoil. Not sure from those pics.

[MIbassyaker]

It's hard to rule out a milfoil, but that looks like coontail to me too. It very often has a bushy "Christmas tree" appearance underwater.  In clear lakes here, deep coontail is often the last green vegetation at the end of the year once the other stuff has died back.

[you]

Anybody know of a good handbook or online resource for aquatic plant identification?

[AJ Hauser]

Got it - coontail it is. Thanks boys! Really appreciate the help. 

 

Now... I must go back and fish it more...

[MIbassyaker]

7 hours ago, you said:

Anybody know of a good handbook or online resource for aquatic plant identification?

 

You will probably want something specific to your area -- I found this ID document for southern Florida;

https://www.sarasota.wateratlas.usf.edu/upload/documents/33_AquaticPlantIdentifier.pdf

 

A few that I have found useful:

-Texas A&M University: https://aquaplant.tamu.edu/plant-identification/

-Iowa DNR sideshow: https://www.iowadnr.gov/Portals/idnr/uploads/fish/research/AquaticPlantID2.pdf

-Michigan DNR ID sheet: https://www.michigan.gov/-/media/Project/Websites/egle/Documents/Programs/WRD/ANC/common-aquatic-plants-michigan.pdf?rev=516b7eea06ee4cf7abc58745b146fd9a

 

For bass specifically, the In-FIsherman largemouth bass handbook has good information about vegetation types, and you can get used copies cheaply online -- it's been in-print for about 30 years

[1984isNOW]

Best book for anything identification

 

The Big Picture Book of Identification and Answers to Questions like 'What the heck is this thing'

[Scott804]

On 10/14/2023 at 7:46 AM, you said:

Anybody know of a good handbook or online resource for aquatic plant identification?

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