Grass Fishing 101
SKIPPING GRASS
If the creek or lake is clear and has weedy flats with three to five feet of water along the outside edge of the grass,
one should opt for poppers such as the Rapala Skitter Pop, Rebel Pop-R, or a Yellow Magic Popper.
A good color combination is black back with a pale-gold baitfish pattern and a white belly.
Try dressing the rear treble with 1 1/2- to 2-inch white hackles to create a livelier teaser.
Move the bait quickly, since working the bait fast lets you cover more water, and prevents the bass from getting a good look at the popper.
Keep his boat moving and make quartering casts to the edge of the weed line.
A 6 1/2-foot medium-action bait casting rod and 15-pound mono works well.
Fluorocarbon with any top water plug can sink and can kill the bait's action. After casting,
try pointing the rod straight at the popper and make quick, short, downward rod flicks while continually taking up slack with the reel. The
rod tip moves only inches up and down.
By moving the rod too far, the popper makes a 'blooping' noise,' and that's wrong. Short rod movements skip the popper across the water. That works
best. This pattern produces good numbers of bass up to 3 pounds and an occasional larger fish. It
should draw strikes all day when if you can find enough weed beds to continue hopping from one to the next. The popper
can also come through in clear creeks with rocky banks. Look for rocky shorelines where the bottom gradually slopes from the bank before dropping off into deep
water.
DEEP GRASS
When aquatic vegetation such as milfoil and hydrilla grows in depths of 10 feet or more,
your equipment should be a flippin' rod matched with 65-pound test Power Pro or
other suitable braided line. Tie the line directly to a 3/4- or 1-ounce green-pumpkin or black-and-blue
jig, dressing the hook with any brand 3-inch craw-style worm. The heavy jig punches through matted grass on the surface and through submerged grass that forms caves. Bass lounge under the surface mats and in the caves and tunnels formed by submerged weeds. The
flippin' rod and no-stretch braided line are necessary to muscle the bass out of the greenery.
Look for weed mats with submerged grass - for example, 8-foot-tall grass in 15 feet of water-and
a good flasher depth finder to keep you on track. Points of grass are key bass locations, and the fish occasionally hold in pockets along the
weed line. A ditch within a grassed should never be overlooked. When fishing these areas,
move the boat slowly and pitch the jig to the grass, speeding up along straight stretches and slowing down when
you approach a point or ditch. If the heavy jig lands on a grass mat or on a "roof' of submerged grass,
jiggle the bait until it pops through the vegetation. About half of the strikes occur when the jig first breaks through the grass. If
the bait doesn't get bit when the jig punches through, just let it sink to the bottom. Then
hop the jig once or twice, pull it up until it touches the grass, and shake it for about five seconds before pitching to another spot.
Drop a marker buoy whenever you get a bite. Bass really gang up in thick grass.
You can load the boat with big bass many times over by fishing around a buoy. This technique is most productive in the middle of the
day.
