Fishin' Grass

[Wishing2BFishing]

I have a tournament on the Northeast this weekend. The partner that I am paired with is very familiar with this water. He indicated that we will be fishing the grass. All of my baitcasters are medium action. Will this setup work for throwin' cranks into the grass in a river?

[buddy_fuentes]

I have always used a medium heavy rod (6' to 6' 6") for Traps in the grass. You want to hang the trap up in the grass and rip it loose. A fairly stiff rod will give you more control of the bait for ripping, however, you could probably use what you have and do about the same.

Good Luck

[BASSFISHINCHRIS20]

I would go with a medium action rod 10 or 12 pound line, shad pattern crankbait or possibly a DT 10 from rapala in baby bass color or try a brush hawg from zoom bait company watermelon with red flake works in the rivers I fish

[3dkicker]

Medium rods are fine for fishing crankbaits on rivers. The type and thickness of the SAV is the question. You probably would like to have some low stretch line so in case you have to get your fish up and out of the grass you can but with crankbaits that can be tough.

Be ready to flip heavy grass just in case.

[jasonfish320]

I have fished a lot of area in the Northeast and this rig http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/st..._SearchResults has really worked well for me in rivers, especially in the grass. Tie on a jig-head, weedless if you have 'em..just my thoughts..

[keithdog]

When I think of grass plus current such as you will have in a river, I think spinnerbaits. Like a 3/8-1/2 oz with a calorado/willow blade combo. And your medium action casting rods should handle that well enough.

[3dkicker]

Good call dawg! Got on a nice blade bite the last time on the river myselt.

W2BF - Give up some details! How'd it go?

[Wishing2BFishing]

3d,

Not much happening in the grass so we fished the marinas and docks. The pattern was a crankbait bite which was not what I expected at all (I brought a whole tackle bag of plastics and a few cranks). Nevertheless, I placed 2nd and missed the lunker prize by .01 (my big fish was 3.47 and the lunker winner weighed 3.48).

[robertmee]

Originally Posted by Wishing2BFishing

3d,

Not much happening in the grass so we fished the marinas and docks. The pattern was a crankbait bite which was not what I expected at all (I brought a whole tackle bag of plastics and a few cranks). Nevertheless, I placed 2nd and missed the lunker prize by .01 (my big fish was 3.47 and the lunker winner weighed 3.48).

That slim a margin brings to mind something....What would prevent a dishonest angler from dropping split shot down a bass's gullet to gain a little edge on each fish? Especially in catch/release tourney's.

[jooleyen]

I was wondering the same thing... or...

For those who have lost/won by such a small margin, do you think the winning bass actually swallowed a sinker? Maybe due to someone snapping their line?

[doc]

Its possible that bass have had sinkers in them in weigh ins im sure. In my local club we would shun you so bad you wouldn't be able to show your face at a body of water for 200 miles. Thats what keeps us honest!

[Fishnngolfn]

Next thing you will see x-ray machines at weighins. With prizes and money at stake, there will always be people who will cheat. We have people cheat at our charity golf events. It is sad but true. I believe in kharma and that those who cheat will eventually get what is coming to them. I also believe that God provides for those who "play by the rules".

[cassidyta]

This is from another website I visit.
The stories just don't get any more outlandish than at Miramar. This is the lake where a 21-pound, 10-ounce bass was caught that was discovered to have a lead diving weight in its stomach--and also the place where a 20-pound, 15-ouncer is alleged to have been floating, dead of old age, and then scooped up and presented as a record catch. Regardless, Miramar is something of a miniaturized factory for making big bass. It is a tiny lake, just 180 acres with an estimated population of 5,000 bass. But they get huge. Stocked trout are like growing pills, and good numbers of threadfin shad are available as well, as prime forage." (California Fishing; T.C.G., Tom Stienstra 1995/96)

There is always someone looking for an angle. Perhaps God, or Kharma will get them. If nothing else, they will have to look at the eyes that stare back from the mirror and know they are just not good enough.

[Fishnngolfn]

With my luck, my first hawg will have a strange shape to its belly due to some large weight in it unbeknown to me.

The thing with some people is that they tell that lie so many times that they honestly believe it to be true when they tell it now.

[Wishing2BFishing]

I just can't stomach the idea of killing a nice bass for the sake of "claiming" a win. You know that if lead weights are inserted into the fish, the fish will eventually die or at the very least, become sick. That just makes me sick.

[3dkicker]

W2BF - Well done on the finish. What cranks did you use to catch your fish?

[Wishing2BFishing]

All of my fish were caught on Rapala DT-6 crankbaits. I used three different color baits (not by choice but because I was throwing the cranks into everything . . . docks, overhangs, timber, fences, ect). The three colors that I used were parrot, shad, and blue shad.

[Wishing2BFishing]

I forgot to mention that I lost several crankbaits during the tourney.

[Wishing2BFishing]

One of the baits cracked on the tail end. I never had that happen with the DT-s (which are made of soft balsa).

[3dkicker]

Save them up and ship the busted ones back and maybe, if you've been nice and said your prayers every night, they may replace them for you. Worth a try....