Fishing Summer Shallow Grass

[CMorg]

What do you all have good luck on ? Mornings , buzzbaits work well for me. Other than that I got nothing. Hard jerkbaits ? RattleTraps ? Spinnerbaits I suppose... Summer patterns here please.

[Bender]

How deep is it? I've been using a swim jig in the only grass I found around here.
I've also been told to try a white weightless trick worm deadsticked works well but I haven't tried that yet.

[Jrob78]

I've had some recent success fishing lipless baits in the morning and then switching to soft jerkbaits over and around grass.

[Jim80]

soft jerkbaits do well but along the same lines as the buzz baits throw a frog as well




Jim

[CMorg]

Thanks for the input. I am talking about the grass between where it comes to the surface , all the way out to how ever deep it is. Hydrilla mostly.

[Bassboss]

Sounds like a great summer time spot man! Here's how I'd attack it:

Definitely toss a buzzbait, and/or some kind of walking bait, over tops of it in the mornings. Also don't be afraid to throw a big (4- 6") wake bait over tops of 'em either. As the day gets later, a Colorado blade spinnerbait dropped in the holes in the grass. Make a cast beyond the holes, and once you get the the hole, drop it right in there and hold on, they'll hit it when it falls!

As the day goes on too high noon, take the worming rod out, and fish a lizard around the thinner baits, and edge of the grass. As you prolly know the bass'll be drawn to cut-ins, and points of the grass, fish it around there. Maybe even pitch it around there!

If there's any places there where the grass is emergent, toss a frog on top there, you'll get busted there for sure!

Oh! And you can't forget about a weightless senko! Probably my favorite bait for fish submergent grass! Fish 'em every where around the grass, especially focusing on the holes, points, and edges.

Hope this helps, kill 'em man!

[joe p]

Take the pitching rod out, and flip your favorite plastic. In my neck of the woods ( Long Island, NY), I like a t-rigged chigger craw or a sweet beaver, 3/8 pegged sinker and 15 lb Invisx, 7/0 Falcon and Shimano E7.

Joe

[rangerryan]

throw a jig on the edges and in the pockets. use heavy line

[keithdog]

Originally Posted by joe p

Take the pitching rod out, and flip your favorite plastic. In my neck of the woods ( Long Island, NY), I like a t-rigged chigger craw or a sweet beaver, 3/8 pegged sinker and 15 lb Invisx, 7/0 Falcon and Shimano E7.

Joe

This is what I'd do too! Although I might go to 1/2 oz. depending on how deep the water is and how thick the blanket of grass is I want to penetrate. Most times though 3/8 oz is perfect.

[Bassboss]

I don't see what you guys like about heavy weights and grass! Personally, I like to use the lighted weight I can get away with!! It keep it ON the grass, rather than IN the grass. IMO it's much more natural.

[MO3N]

I just read an article about shallow square bill cranks and tossing them over top of grass. They said a bait that dives just into the grass and when the bill hits the grass it will deflect off and have the same affect as hitting a log. And when it gets caught in the grass you can rip it just like a lipless bait. Personally I have never tried it. But something to try.

[jasonfish320]

I have had really good luck throwing a carolina rig with a large bullet weight and a large 5-6" lizard..I hook the lizard so the barb is still in the plastic and doesn't protrude so I won't get hung up...this seems to work well..the bullet will split the weeds/grass and tends to leave a pocket so the lizard doesn't get as hooked up.

[CMorg]

There seems to be some misunderstanding. I am not flipping threw a mat. This is a whole cove with grass growing , but not yet emergent ( if ever ). The grass could be up to 12" deep to the bottom. I think fishing the deep side , or below the surface to the tops of the grass is ideal.

[Captmikestarrett]

Any tide on the big mat... If so use a floating pink worm...yea I said pink ..OK bubble gum then..

If no tide then I would stick with the horney toad or a bronzeye frog..

But if you have no clouds you will need to slow that frog way down.

Since you have some water above the grass that leaves you with one great choice..

Baby 1 minus....fished slow in the sun and faster in the clouds.

Capt Mike

[CMorg]

No tide Capt. Thank you for your input. I do have a 1 minus... I actually have tried frogs without any luck , even though there were real frogs in that cove.

[keithdog]

Originally Posted by Bassboss

I don't see what you guys like about heavy weights and grass! Personally, I like to use the lighted weight I can get away with!! It keep it ON the grass, rather than IN the grass. IMO it's much more natural.

Sometimes the surface mat is so heavy a lightly weighted plastic wont properly penetrate. And often a beaver or other plastic rocketing to the bottom gets a BIG reaction bite.

[Bassboss]

Originally Posted by keithdog

Sometimes the surface mat is so heavy a lightly weighted plastic wont properly penetrate. And often a beaver or other plastic rocketing to the bottom gets a BIG reaction bite.

Yeah, I guess so. In fact to day I caught a nice bass on an Okee rig punched through a mat. But in non matted vegetation (the kind the Cmorg is talking about), I like a lighter weight, for the reason stated above.

In mats, most of them time, I find that a 6" lizard on a light bullet weight crawled over tops of the mats and than dropped down at the edge will usually work better for me. But both do seem to be affective.

[TN_Bassin]

So the grass isnt emergent. Try a fluke or a weightless trickworm letting it sink down to where the bait is just a couple of inches above the grass. Also try a jig, trap, worm, shallow cranks (like the Baby 1-). Really, there is a large variety of baits that could work here.

[lilmule]

You can throw anything from a lipless crank to a shallow crank to a buzzbait,multi blade spinnerbait,senko or fluke ,and even though it isnt topped, frogs be they floaters or sinkers like ribbets or horney toads work quite well,working them like a buzzbait but if a missed strike occurs kill the bait they will hit it on the fall.

[CMorg]

I used spinnerbaits during todays tourny. It worked. The wind was fierce , this was the second time I had to fish in wind that I prefer to stay away from. Constant on off the trolling motor. If those darn powerpoles werent so expensive I would be on that.

[geezer1]

I normally don't fish shallow grass in the summertime. I do, however, like to fish deeper grass then.

[ted48]

Love running spinner baits near the surface over shallow grass Dyno-mite

[Ebbetsguy]

If it's Grass ( not weedy like hydrilla) an up to 10 ft of water, I like to throw a scaled down c rig. 1/8 to 1/4 ounce egg sinker, circle hook 1/0 and either a Zoom Salty Centerpide or a Manns Jelly Worm. The wieght kicks up sand and silt, gets em looking

If It's Weedy Like Hydrilla:
T Rigged/Weightless; Craw,Worm or Stick Bait, dead sticked. If no weeds within 4 to 5 inches on top of water TOPWATER TIME!

[Solidbad]

Try soft plastics texas rigged. Cast past the grass and bounce a lizard or worm along the bottom right around the grass where the bass are hiding. This works for me especially well with zoom lizards and yum ribbontail worms. Also, the yum crawfish is a good option. Give it a try. Good luck!

[rodnreel]

I like the shallow crank idea. I fished a pond this past weekend with weeds that are very similar to what you're describing and caught them on a Bandit 100. If I made a long enough cast, it would tick the weeds about half way back to shore and that's where most of the hits came.