fishing in the slop

[justbassintime]

hello, i am a new member to this forum and life long bass fisherman.

I have a question. I have fished my local lake for 13 years now and in the past 4 years the eurasian milfoil has took over. i can catch bass on top of and around the edges, but in the summer time i believe that the bass  hunker down bellow or inside of it, and if you guys now the milfoil im talking about theres nothing that will go threw it. i have tried a 1 ounce and larger jig in it with no luck but i might not have the paitents yet for that. any ideas what would be a good presentation for this?   thanks

[Catt]

Your 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 strip about 3 or 4 arms lengths of line letting the jig fall near straight down. Then 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!

[ba7ss3in]

Maybe you have tried this. I watched a show with a pro, can't remember exactly wich one,  but he was pitching the lure in the air and was letting it punch through those types of mats. Also, with the splash he said that it could help attract bass in the area.

[jdw174]

Sounds to me like it might be time for giving some Texas-rigged soft plastics a try.

[Sam]

Easy question, difficult answer.

Emergent vegetation holds bass, be they cattails, grass, reeds or bulrushes.  These are the preferred hiding places for bass and they live in under the "slop" which we will just call grass for this post.

During the prespawn the bass migrate from the deep water to the grass and they hold along the edges of the deepest grasses.

When this happens, try throwing a spinnerbait along the points or sags or any irregular feature of the grass, especially if there is any wood mixed in.  Plastic crawfish is rumored to work, too.

The bass will be on the outside edges of the grass early in the morning and late in the day. Try a spinnerbait or a lipless crankbait parallel to the grass line.  Then throw your wacky rig along the weed line.

If you want to throw a jig and pig, throw one on a 7 and a half foot rod with 25 to 30 pound line or braid of the equilivant test with a 1/2 to one (1) ounce jig.  Use a plastic crawfish pig.  Or a big plastic worm rigged Texas style with a pegged sinker that can cut through the grass.

Bass usually hold near the outer edge of the grass; at least the most aggressive bass do this. So flip and pitch to the outer edge of the grass and then work into the grass the best you can.

If you can get into the grass and use a push-pole or paddle to make a hole or open area in the grass the bass will visit this open area and you can go back and fish it in an hour or two with your jig and pig or wacky worm.

And you can go to a lighter jig and pig if the grass will allow you to do so.

Look for any wood sticking up through the grass. There should be an opening somewhere around the stick or log and throw into that opening.

Make sure your jig can reach the bottom.  The bass will hit your jig on the way down so be ready for a fast hookset.  If you feel a "rubber band" type of resistance on your line after the jig and hit bottom, set the hook.

If the grass has not grown to the top of the surface and it leaves you some room below the water's surface then try a Minus One crankbait or a frog over the grass.  Or a trick worm. I like pink as you can see it swim along which is fun.

You have to find where the bass are in the grass and then fish the rest of the grass in the same manner with the same baits and techniques.

There is a lot to fishing grass, weeds and slop so read any articles you can find on this forum or on the web and just go out and experiment.

Remember, hydrilla can grow an inch a day and it can take over a lake very fast. So get out on the water in the spring before the temperaure reaches the point that the grass will just take off.

Have fun and remember to clean all of your baits of the grass before casting.

[.dsaavedra.]

wow great post sam. thats alot of goooooood info.

what i would do is not throw a jig. i would t-rig a creture bait or 10" worm or something and peg a 1oz tungsten sinker. be sure to lube up the bait and sinker with some scent (gel scent prefereably) the bullet sinker and thinner profileof the bait and lube will all work together to slide thru the slop easier than a bulky 1oz jig. try it!

[Guest avid]

You want to pitch or better yet flip those heavy mats.

Here in Florida we use a heavy  .5 - 1.5 oz. tungsten weight pegged to a senko, beaver, or brush hog etc. and let it punch down.  Flipping the rig high up and letting in crash down is a method that works sometimes.

I like to be as stealthy as possible, so flipping the rig onto a hole in the mat is what works best for me.

I find the florida rig comes through cleaner than a jig.

[sal669]

Maybe you have tried this. I watched a show with a pro, can't remember exactly wich one, but he was pitching the lure in the air and was letting it punch through those types of mats. Also, with the splash he said that it could help attract bass in the area.

I think it was Roland Martin, and he recomanded using something more "streamlined" plastics for heavy veggies. I think he was using tubes.

If there are openings in the mats, fish every one of them; you never know where have they set the "dinner table".

There was annother show( or was it an article?) where the fisherman went allong with a long pipe with a "rake" opening holes in the matted vegetation on a longer strech of water, then after an hour or so started fishing them in the same order as he opened them.It worked.

Hope it helps...

[fishizzle]

Ike has a technique where he casts really hard 10-20 feet away

to penetrate thick mats and to call fish in