How To Effectively Fish Grass? 2024
haikterz reply :
I fish a lake that has grass on the bottom which comes up maybe 2 feet from bottom. I think fish are dug in there during the cold months. Water is usually 8-10 feet deep and 45 degrees.
What are some productive ways to fish this stuff
roadwarrior reply :
Well, there are NEVER any fish there this time of year. Dead, decomposing vegetation depletes
the oxygen in the water. The bottom of the food chain is effectively closed right now in those areas.
haikterz reply :
Where should I look, I can't find them anywhere else, I drove all over the lake and can't mark Any fish?
Also a guy pulled 4 fish in the same area last week.
Thank you
mnbassman23 reply :
Slow rolled spinnerbait or swim jig, lipless crank, hard jerkbait, and a senko. I would also throw a carolina rig with a floating plastic and longer leader. You could work this really slow and let the plastic sit in place for awhile if the fish are lethargic.
Just a couple ideas.. what is the water clarity like in this lake?
haikterz reply :
It's clear (5 +) with grass floating around
I used most of the items you describe but haven't used a c-rig, I am going to give that a try, do you know which plastic will float?
roadwarrior reply :
On 2/1/2013 at 1:13 AM, haikterz said:Where should I look, I can't find them anywhere else, I drove all over the lake and can't mark Any fish?Also a guy pulled 4 fish in the same area last week.
Thank you
Focus on structure: Points, rip-rap, humps. ledges, rocks & boulders, verticle cliff walls and more
generally, anything that seems to "stick out".
BassCats reply :
Oldham's Grass Jig with Rage Tail trailer. You can google Oldham lures and call in your order. You might get lucky and talk with him directly and learn some new tricks.
mnbassman23 reply :
On 2/1/2013 at 1:43 AM, haikterz said:It's clear (5 +) with grass floating aroundI used most of the items you describe but haven't used a c-rig, I am going to give that a try, do you know which plastic will float?
Look for plastics that do not have salt added to them.. z-man and strike king come to mind, they both make an Elaztech line of baits that float well.
haikterz reply :
I have some at home I will give that a shot this weekend. As far as the jig goes I tried several different kind and it brings up all the nasty dead stuff with it. Based on the look of the grass I can't believe there are fish in there but was proven by the old man last week
ClackerBuzz reply :
i'm confused. is the grass green/vibrant=fish it; or brown/decomposing=forget it. maybe there are patches of green grass amongst the dead?
find the green stuff and float a t-rig weightless senko (or light weight 1/16-1/8oz) down into it. dead stick w/ very light shake/twitch when ice starts to form on ur nose. or drop shot 1/8oz weight, 2-3" grub/small plastic. experiment with 8"-2ft leader. no action! let the current do the work especially in cold water.
roadwarrior reply :
Well, that fish could have been just passing by, suspended, on the edge or just lost!
Dead vegetation has a VERY low probability of holding fish.
Nitrofreak reply :
Where are you located at first of all?
If the grass is alive or just starting to thrive, a couple of things I like to use is, one, a drop shot with a 3 or 4 inch robo worm or tube, set to dangle just above the grass line, pick the rod tip up and move it less than a foot and dangle it again, or just dead stick it, I will usually wait 30 seconds at the very least before I pick it up and move it if the water is cold or still chilly, the other is if the fish are active then the call goes to the lipless crank, run it across the top of the grass making sure the bait stays in contact with the top of the grass and ripping it as soon as the hooks grab at the grass then slowing it back down to come in contact with the grass again and keep repeting until you are out of the strike zone.
If the grass is dead then I would be looking to the structure somewhere close to that grass bed, chances are the grass was once on the bank of an old creek bed the way it sound in your post.
haikterz reply :
I am fishing Oregon costal lakes.
The grass is there year round.i am fishing a channel bend that passes next to a point. The bank has reeds 5 feet into the water then drops off from 2ft to 20 feet.grass starts from the reeds all the way to about 10 ft and defined grass edge.
I tried the edge for hours and nothing. Seems like the fish are coming from the grass area.
Nitrofreak reply :
On 2/1/2013 at 5:18 AM, haikterz said:I am fishing Oregon costal lakes.The grass is there year round.i am fishing a channel bend that passes next to a point. The bank has reeds 5 feet into the water then drops off from 2ft to 20 feet.grass starts from the reeds all the way to about 10 ft and defined grass edge.
I tried the edge for hours and nothing. Seems like the fish are coming from the grass area.
Thats more like what we are looking for right there !!!!
Thats some great info, nice job !!
Now tell us what you are doing to fish this area, bait's and everything you have already tried.
haikterz reply :
I have tried jerk bait fish over the grass( dives 5ft) with up to 30 sec pause. I catch a trout sometimes this way lol. Drop shot a senko 4 inch thin in lots of colors, shaky head with zoom trik worms, wacky rigged senko (3,4,and 5inch).
Tried flick shake with jackal worms. Ripped a lipless crank in the grass.
I have tried lots of stuff but I am getting some awesome pointers from you guys to improve
dumfish reply :
Mojo a floating worm or bush hog.
Nitrofreak reply :
I like to suggest a jig, 3/8oz pitch it right up against the very edge of that grass and bring it out SLOWLY, toward the deeper water, let it fall off that shelf and follow the bait down with your rod tip, work every inch of that area before you give in with the jig.
Watch your line close !!!
papajoe222 reply :
There are a number of ways you can fish the grass, but if the fish aren't active and are burried in the grass, your options are narrowed to either penetrating the weeds, or fishing the edges (that includes the top of the grass). You can't beat a jig for getting into the grass and either a Senko, or a drop-shot will get your bait on top or on the edge. With the grass only growing two feet off the bottom, you might try a drop shot setup using a jig as your weight with your Senko or whatever two or two and a half feet above it. You have the option of changing speeds and still staying in the productive zone with these setups that you don't with a spinnerbait or crank.
If you're working it slow and not getting any love, try either dead sticking it or working it fast. BTW, just because you're not marking fish on your electronics does not mean an area or some form of cover is not holding fish. If you have confidence in a particular piece of structure or cover, it's never a waste of time to fish it.
aharris reply :
yeah, if the grass is green, rip a lipless crankbait thru it or something. If it's dead, dont waste your time. Look for a creek channel or maybe some points near by. Not sure where you're at so it's kinda hard to help you out.
haikterz reply :
Lots of good pointers, thank you guys for the suggestions. I am going out tomorrow and plan to slow down and use everything suggested here.
mnbassman23 reply :
Let us know how it goes. Hopefully someones wisdom here prevails and you get into some fish!
Megastink reply :
SCREW fishing slow!!! If you can see five feet or more, you need to fish fast. Slow roll a trap until it catches in some grass, then RIP it out and repeat. Shad start to dye off when the water he's into the low 40's. bass may be used to seeing fluttering baitfish.
Also try a Jerkbait worked five to ten pumps at a time with a two second pause in between. If they can see well in the water, you can't give them time to think about it.
Reaction bites are reaction bites no matter what the water temp is! Cover water!
Good luck.
haikterz reply :
I think part of the problem is there is no shad in Oregon, main food is trout I think
BassCats reply :
another idea is the *** jig. Don Iovino likes them and now sells them with his skirts. I have fished it in trees and rocks and never lost one. though I have not tried it in grass yet, others say it works just as well there.
Fishing Rhino reply :
Here's how I fish grass. This is a Jackall Wacky Jig Head. I prefer it to the jig heads with the barb on the shank. A drop of crazy or super glue hold the bait in place. I fish several baits this way such as a wacky rigged worm, the Rage Tail Grub in the photo, the Rage Tail Menace which outfished the grub. You can also rig a floating worm and it becomes a shaky head on this hook. You can use just about any plastic bait that you prefer.
I have found a better hook for grass. Unfortunately, the weight is lead, so it cannot be fished in Mass. I don't like the vertical eye because it can snag grass. It works pretty well, but the hook in the second photo is much better. The eye is in the front of the head, so it slips through the grass. There is nothing to snag the grass. It also has two guards, made of titanium and they rarely get bent. It comes in the same weights as the Jackall Wacky Jig heads, 1/16th ounce, 3/32 ounce and 1/8th ounce weights. It can be rigged the same way using super glue.
You can see the positioning of the eye lets it slip through the thickest gunk nicely, and the two guards definitely are an improvement over the single wire in the Jackall Wacky Jig Head.
I have a good supply of the Gamakatsu hook above. They'll be getting a workout at Pickwick when I want to drag a plastic through the aquatic plant life.
Fishing Rhino reply :
Another effective weedless hook is the Owner Sled Head with the bait Texposed. I usually use lizards, but the options are endless. Bottom image illustrates how to rig the bait.
Loop_Dad reply :
I fish a place where the water temp is about 48ish right now with some vegetation (green) on the bottom. What I am doing okay with is drop shot single tail grub. I do not want to do jig head or t-rig, because I want to keep the bait where fish can easily see when I am not moving the bait. Cast out, move a foot, pause and deadstick or twitch. Repeat. Hope this helps.
A-Jay reply :
On 2/3/2013 at 8:49 AM, Fishing Rhino said:Another effective weedless hook is the Owner Sled Head with the bait Texposed. I usually use lizards, but the options are endless. Bottom image illustrates how to rig the bait.
X2 ~
Hollow Belly Swimbaits when rigged side ways (flat) allow for a weedless presentation on this head as well -
Thanks Rolo
A-Jay
A-Jay reply :
This is a good rig for grass (and just about anything else).
If you want to probe down into the grass use enough weight for the job.
If you want to fish over / on top of the grass - lighten the load ~
A-Jay
haikterz reply :
Thank you guys for all the cool info.
As planned I went out this weekend and got to fish for 6 hours or so. It was a nice and pleasant day out with water temps going up to 47.
Lots of fish in the 30 foot zone suspended but could not get them to bite. I was dangling a drop shot in their face and nothing. I got to try almost every item described in this post without any luck but I am starting to get a hang of some finesse techniques. My friend was with me also and he only tried plastics on 4# line, flick shake and drop shot all day without successes.
Now back to reading and planning for next weekend
Loop_Dad reply :
On 2/4/2013 at 3:13 AM, A-Jay said:This is a good rig for grass (and just about anything else).
If you want to probe down into the grass use enough weight for the job.
If you want to fish over / on top of the grass - lighten the load ~
A-Jay
rig B.jpg
A-jay, what is the black rubber looking thing between the weight and skirt, and the metal safety pin looking thing? And where do you get them? Thanks.
Grizzn N Bassin reply :
On 2/4/2013 at 3:13 AM, A-Jay said:This is a good rig for grass (and just about anything else).
If you want to probe down into the grass use enough weight for the job.
If you want to fish over / on top of the grass - lighten the load ~
A-Jay
hey ajay.. i cant find your post your had a few days ago how to rig this and all of the stuff you use to make this rig if you could send me the link of the post or just a list of the stuff you use id appreciate it thanks
A-Jay reply :
On 2/5/2013 at 11:09 AM, Grizzn N Bassin said:hey ajay.. i cant find your post your had a few days ago how to rig this and all of the stuff you use to make this rig if you could send me the link of the post or just a list of the stuff you use id appreciate it thanks
PM sent -
A-Jay
Catt reply :
How To Effectively Fish Grass?
Put a Catt on the front deck of your boat 
K_Mac reply :
On 2/16/2013 at 8:25 AM, Catt said:How To Effectively Fish Grass?
Put a Catt on the front deck of your boat
That is a technique I have not tried, but would really like to! This Catt has caught more fish in grass than many of us will ever see...good to hear from you Catt.
While I am much more inclined to fish a slower moving bait any time of the year, a slow rolled chatterbait can be a very effective bait this time of year. Mix it up until the fish tell you what they want. Good luck.
roadwarrior reply :
http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/11664-warning-you-might-get-your-arm-broke/
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