How to fish Milfoil

[airborne_angler]

When the water I fish gets a good beating from the sun over the summer,the milfoil really starts to get thick. I know theres fish down in there but guess im just not sure how to approach it. This stuff get crazy thick and I can get the concept of how fish could be in all that stuff. Im sure im missing good fish due to not fishing in the midst of it. Can anyone give me pointers on how I should approach this stuff? What baits,presentations ect?

[fisherboy]

how close to the top is it? you can roll a spinner bait just on top of it. ive also been doing god with very shallow diving cranks

[Catt]

OK! This is just a little insight on Deep Grass Jigging!

During the early 70s on Toledo Bend the Hydrilla/Milfoil started really getting thick and numerous anglers (me included) were basically fishing the matted grass with weightless Texas Rigs & Johnson Weed less spoons, there wasn't many other baits that would work in this thick stuff. At the time I belonged to the Hemphill Bass Club out of the Harbor Light Marina and one of our members started wining back to back tournaments, not just ours but every ones. He was killing us with 15 fish stringers averaging 3 1/2 to 4 lbs. a fish. No one could figure out how he was doing it, we had all seen him on the main lake flats fishing the grass flats like us or so we thought. Finally at a club meeting he revealed what he was doing. Being a diver he had went out to the grass flats & dove under to see what was there, what he found was tunnels, caverns, & caves under the surface matted grass. In of these areas he could see crawfish clinging to the grass stems, they were also filled with schools of bass, mostly large bass. The next question was what bait could get to the bass, the answer was provided by Lonnie Stanley with a ¾ oz. Jig! Who is this angler that jigged his was too many a tournament win as well to the top of B.A.S.S. Texas Bass Fishing Legend Tommy Martin!

Tommy's approach to this technique is different from what you've seen, read, or heard. With most techniques you are actually fishing the densest areas of the matted Hydrilla. The focus of Tommy's technique is the outer 15 to 25 yards of the mat; in this area the grass is a little sparser, his simply pitches or flips the jigs to a near vertical presentation. His main objective is to keep the jig in contact with the bottom at all times, something most anglers fishing grass fail to do. When the jig stops falling many anglers believe they have reached bottom, but from an underwater view with scuba gear the jig has only settled on the thick base stems of the Hydrilla. After making a pitch Tommy will strip about 3 or 4 arms lengths of line letting the jig fall near straight down. Then he will shake the jig to make sure it has not stop on the grass stems. With the jig now resting on the bottom, pause several seconds, the shake the jig once or twice with pauses between each. If no strike is detected simply reel up & pitch again moving locations about 20 ft from the previous. Once you get bite quickly kick or toss a buoy marker over board, fish in grass flats tend to school up so when you catch one there is usually more. Circle the buoy in increasing diameters & depths working the jig slowly (I once caught nine 6 lb + bass in an area the size of your living room). You may work 70 yards or 700 yards to locate the fish but when you do hang on!

Thirty years later Tommy is still living in Hemphill Texas, still guiding on Toledo Bend, & still fishing the B.A.S.S. tour. The deep grass technique is still catching huge stringers of quality bass with most Toledo tournament wins averaging 5 lbs. So if you've got the patience to work a jig for sometimes hours with out a bump or if you aint afraid of hanging several hawgs back to back give deep grass jigging a try.

[Cory20]

Food for thought:

http://bassresource.com/fishing/fishing_weeds.html

http://bassresource.com/fishing/vegetation_fishing.html

http://bassresource.com/fishing/weeds_bass.html

mega neat

[insaneangler]

Weedless plastics such as texas rigged powerbait.  The ponds I fish are horribly weeded in with much more than that and I have great success. ;D

[gc]

thanks for that info Catt. Very interesting  :-?

[cart7t]

Back in the days when Lake of the Ozarks was loaded with the stuff, by the end of summer there were coves literally choked with it.  Just matted up on the surface.  We'd look for holes in the matting which often indicated depth change or some sort of submerged cover below.

One of the most successful methods I found was buzz baits.  Not just any buzz bait, most will get tangled up pretty quick and become worthless.  The best I found was a BPS Uncle Bucks Buzzer.  I'd toss those past any holes I saw in the mats and buzzed them over the top.  By keeping the rod tip high, the BPS UBB will ride over the top of the milfoil. The buzzer will turn in virtually no water and the weedguard at the back keeps you from tangling.  Hand on tight!

[.dsaavedra.]

i got the same stuff at a pond where i fish. only mine is so thick, that it grows upwards out of the water about 6inches. i just throw texposed soft stick baits in there.

[dumb_dog11]

i have the same problem at my local lake, the milfoil has started to mat over on the top in some areas

My top producers

Plastic frogs

texas rigged grubs

Booyah Counterstrike Buzz

And above all

the ETI Orion Crankbait by BPS Model 5

[RWHusker.]

I continue to appreciate Catt and Cart and the a few others that are not only willing to share info but also educate.

Thanks,

GO BIG RED

[bass109]

T-rig

bass jigs

deep diving crankbaits

[Needemp]

You have received some great advice. The best thing you can do is commit to just fishing the grass. Get out there and fish it over and over and over. Even if you think the fish would be easier to catch somewhere else. Stay on the grass the whole time. That stuff holds fish all the time.

[bassnleo]

Flippin stick, braided line, texas rig your favorite soft plastic craw or creature bait using a 3/8 or heavier weight.

Flip or pitch to ANY hole you see and allow the bait to fall on a slack line. I like the areas of deeper grass, say 8-10 feet.

[Guest avid]

The photo you showed says "super fluke" to me.

rig it weedless and weight less.  Don't overwork it.  let if flutter naturally, then an occasional twitch is all that is needed.  Some days this bait will and presentation will outfish anything.

[Bankbeater]

I would try a t rigged weightless worm.

[Catt]

I read where when faced with weeds many anglers opt for the lightest weight possible; I go the exact opposite using at least a 1/4 oz shaking my rod tip forcing the weight & plastic through the grass. When bass are located in grass they are not on top of the grass but buried up inside the grass; they will move to the outer edges or make a quick run to the surface to feed. Yes it's extremely aggravating trying to get bait through the grass but the payoff is larger than average bass.

[RWHusker.]

The photo you showed says "super fluke" to me.

rig it weedless and weight less. Don't overwork it. let if flutter naturally, then an occasional twitch is all that is needed. Some days this bait will and presentation will outfish anything.

One of the things I learned at Fork and has also worked in the upper midwest was to add a split shot about 18" up the line and throw it in the midst of the grass. It amazes me how they find it.

GO BIG RED

[RoLo]

Sorry, but when I looked at that striking image of milfoil, my very first thought was MUSKELLUNGE!!

There are plenty of lures that can get inside a milfoil weed-bed, but that's not exactly where you want to be.

Unlike hydrilla, which provides a labyrith of caverns, milfoil is a feathery, unbranched plant growing in single strands.

Milfoil is reminiscent of the Christmas garland we hung on the tree, except that milfoil "collapses" when it's removed from water.

In my opinion, the key to fishing milfoil is working the "periphery" of the weed bed, here are four approaches:

1. First Choice: Work the "deep weed-line" (in clear water the milfoil weed-line may be 15 ft+ deep) Work just outside the W/L  

2. Work defined "pockets" in the milfoil even w/o the deep weed-line (points & fingers are okay, but funneling pockets are best)

3. Work the "open corridor" between the top of the weed-bed and the water surface (Zoom fluke, Rat-L-Trap, Swimbait, Spinnerjig)

4. Milfoil loves to form surface canopies. In this situation the Gambler cane toad will do business.  (Lots of fun, but a last resort).

Roger

[BassHunter69]

Back in the days when Lake of the Ozarks was loaded with the stuff, by the end of summer there were coves literally choked with it. Just matted up on the surface. We'd look for holes in the matting which often indicated depth change or some sort of submerged cover below.

One of the most successful methods I found was buzz baits. Not just any buzz bait, most will get tangled up pretty quick and become worthless. The best I found was a BPS Uncle Bucks Buzzer. I'd toss those past any holes I saw in the mats and buzzed them over the top. By keeping the rod tip high, the BPS UBB will ride over the top of the milfoil. The buzzer will turn in virtually no water and the weedguard at the back keeps you from tangling. Hand on tight!

i love buzzbaits myself but i beg to differ the cavitron buzz bait does it for me

[Boett43]

A Spro Jr. Frog might work if you get out durring the right time of the day Id go with the all black one if you decide to give it a shot. Just thought id share an idea

[bubbler]

a spinnerbait over the top or even a buzzbait for that matter.

sometimes a jig is good. if you lt it sink than rip it out and repeat that can produse fish

[StandOut]

When the water I fish gets a good beating from the sun over the summer,the milfoil really starts to get thick. I know theres fish down in there but guess im just not sure how to approach it. This stuff get crazy thick and I can get the concept of how fish could be in all that stuff. Im sure im missing good fish due to not fishing in the midst of it. Can anyone give me pointers on how I should approach this stuff? What baits,presentations ect?

I have two techniques that,, so far "nothing" by anyone, has been able to compete with in these weeds.

The first is "slapping" a soft plastic minnow lure over pockets,, toss your "Wiggle" rig's weight to hang in the top of the weeds behind the pocket with the lure over the middle of hole. Hold tension on your line and vigorously slap the lure on the surface, throw as much water as possible and make as much noise as you can with the lure. I work a lure for at least two min over a hole like this,, the noise and action can  bring fish from many yards a way when they are active, so you have to wait on them to get to it.

The next, if that does not produce, only because they are not actively feeding, drag the weight until it drops in the hole ,, now work your lure while it's in that hole, you can make that minnow do anything you want it to down there for as long as you like.

So far in all our testing against other lure and rigs in these conditions, these techniques have out produced all others at least 5 to 1

For more information on the Wiggle rig, just click the banner in my signature

[Tpayneful]

Until this year I was a disaster fishing waters filled with vegetation.  I am having MUCH better sucess this year with the following:

Zoom Horny Toad on Top

Bandit Footloose....Rip it w;hen it catches the Milfoil

Zoom Super Fluke

Chatterbait

All of these lures have helped me catch a lot more fish on the Potomac this year!