Fishing grass

[HawkeyeSmallie]

Really brief history of my fishing.

 

Grew up fishing rivers here in Iowa, mostly small. Either from the shore or wading. Smallmouth was my favorite by far (hence my username).

 

Later on in life I had a crazy idea to buy a heavy baitcaster to frog fish and I fell in love with green bass.

 

I've since bought a kayak and do the majority of fishing in it.

 

Long story short, I don't have a ton of experience fishing largemouths in lakes, in a "boat".

 

Anyways, I was fishing a small local lake (25 acres) last week, when I noticed a fairly large submerged weed bed. Looking at a map, the water is between 6-8 feet deep and the weeds have grown almost all of the way to the top. I figured this would be a great place for bass to hide during the day.

 

So yesterday, late afternoon, I went off with a goal of fishing these weeds to catch some "big" bass( big meaning like 3 pounds).  

 

I thought a swim jig would be the perfect lure for this so I tied on a bluegill looking one matched up with a trailer. If I were a bass, it looked yummy.

 

Great news, I had good success. I probably caught about 6 bass. The only problem was they were all like 12 inches long. The lake is definitely small but I know it holds much bigger.

 

So I know this is a LONG story, but my question is:

 

Where were the bigger ones?

 

The edges? In the middle? More dense or less dense areas? Deeper? Maybe not even in the weeds?

 

I know it's the million dollar question but I feel like with more knowledge I would be able to make an adjustment to find the bigger fish.

 

I know this sounds newbish, but I was really proud of myself as I caught fish in this area for the first time ever, in a way I've hardly ever fished (swim jig).

 

Any suggestions/advice is welcomed. Thanks!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[HawkeyeSmallie]

I should add, I was mostly hopping the swimjig close to the bottom. At least that's what I THINK I was doing.

 

I basically casted out, let it sink to the bottom and then hop it back. I tried a few times to just swim it back but I don't believe I had any hits that way.

 

Better lure to use?

[Swamp Girl]

5 hours ago, HawkeyeSmallie said:

The edges? In the middle? More dense or less dense areas? Deeper? Maybe not even in the weeds?

 

I know it's the million dollar question but I feel like with more knowledge I would be able to make an adjustment to find the bigger fish.

 

When I go out, I probe the column, fishing shallow, mid-depth, and deep. I also fish laydowns, shorelines, and weeds. I do this each time because I don't know where they'll be. They move from hour to hour and day to day. When I hook a fish, I note the look of the place and look for similar places. Stay nimble and launch with multiple rods having lures to fish different depths. 

[HawkeyeSmallie]

22 hours ago, ol'crickety said:

 

When I go out, I probe the column, fishing shallow, mid-depth, and deep. I also fish laydowns, shorelines, and weeds. I do this each time because I don't know where they'll be. They move from hour to hour and day to day. When I hook a fish, I note the look of the place and look for similar places. Stay nimble and launch with multiple rods having lures to fish different depths. 

Thanks for the reply.

 

I think next time I go out I will throw a Texas rig slower on the bottom.

 

If that doesn’t work start working up the water column.

[Swamp Girl]

Sounds like a plan!

[JayMac89]

I'll chime in. But let my preface this by saying iv only been doing this for 3 years. Learned a ton, have a ton more to learn. But i do fish alot of grass. I have 2 thoughts....

 

First, where are the big ones? Well, short answer is I don't know. The long answer is, iv heard and experienced that bigger bass get the best hiding spots. For instance, my PB I caught earlier this year. Was fishing a laydown. He was deeeeep in there. So deep that it seemed like a 100% chance of getting snagged. So maybe (obviously don't know your lake) the big guys were deeper? Maybe the grass was the easy hiding spot and the big guys were else where. 

 

As far as fishing grass. Target the differences. So the edges. The holes. Especially if it's a big grass patch. Need to narrow it down somehow. My other tactic is to start high, then work my way down. First I'll throw a swim jig or chatterbait depending on conditions. I'll keep it high, above the grass. Then depending on success, I'll start letting the lure drop deeper before starting the retrieve and pull it throw the grass. Then I'll let it sink to the bottom and pull it through the bottom. Then I'll slow down and throw a jig or t-rig. Obviously trying to figure out a pattern. If your having success at a certain depth/speed, stick with it. 

 

Again, I'm still learning myself. But this is what I do. And have had good success. And even if I don't, at least I know I worked that area hard and did my best. 

[Pat Brown]

Cover/structure within the grass.

 

Deep edges/shallow edges/flats/steep drop offs/in-flowing water/ brush/stumps/rocks/logs etc that are hidden in the grass.  Denser patches/sparser patches.

 

Sometimes on lakes where it's all grass the key is finding the not grass.

 

Sometimes on lakes with some dense patches of grass they can be in there but will only be biting when the wind is blowing into the grass ever so gently activating the shiners - and even then they'll still be holding tight to their favorite piece of cover within the grass on most days.

 

Stuff like this seems to be important.

 

 

[Catt]

Like @Pat Brown says fish the structure under the grass. Think of it this way, structure is the cake, grass is the icing. 

[OmegaDPW]

On 8/20/2024 at 7:45 PM, Pat Brown said:

Sometimes on lakes where it's all grass the key is finding the not grass.

 

 You got that right. My favorite pond is full of weeds on a good day and almost unfishable on days like now. 

 

 My PB 10lber was caught about 4 feet from the bank where there is no noticeable grass, cover, etc. I only threw there because I was tired of pulling green slime off my lures after each cast.

 

 For me, all of my fishing is a crapshoot. My skill set is limited, even after 40 years of fishing. I attribute 99% of all of my catches to just dumb luck. 😄