how to fish river systems with eelgrass?

[coldfront]

a question for all you more experienced anglers.  especially the Florida folks?
Eelgrass.  when I first moved here 8 years ago (chattanooga, TN) the only place I'd run across eelgrass was in Guntersville.  Over past few years it's moved 'upstream' into Nickajack to the point that we're now seeing some pretty large beds of it.  the stuff is a bit of a PITA to me as it wants to break loose and float everywhere.  plus, I just don't seem to find fish in/around it.

can anyone chime in and talk a bit about approaches, strategies, seasonality to eelgrass and bass techniques? 


https://www.tva.com/environment/environmental-stewardship/angler%27s-aquatic-plant-id/eelgrass-tapegrass

[Capt. BassinLou]

I don't fish a river system, but I do fish areas that have eel grass. Too much of it offers way too much cover, and spread out the bass imho. As mentioned it can also be a pita navigating around it.  An approach that works for me is finding isolated mats or sections of eel grass. Especially if its mixed in or close to other types of vegetation. I fish in or around the mat until the bass tell me what they want.

[Mike Cork]

It's tough fishing. I don't have it here but have fished it a lot in my travels. I gravitate towards vegetation and if it's the only thing then it's what I'm fishing.

I have found that rabbits or toads over the top of it to find a bass, then punch back with a heavy weight. Unlike hydrilla or cool tail that will mat up and kill the plant under it, there really aren't any open areas under it.

Shad love this stuff and will spawn on it, so during the late spring a spinnerbait on the edges is always a great choice. Flukes can be really effective then as well.

This time of year it's a weedless topwater, and trying to stay on the edge as it's a PITA to get a quality bass out of it.

[topdsm0138]

My local lake, Osbourne, has quite a bit of this stuff. All in all, I'd rather fish it than hydrilla. Frogs, or weightless soft plastics are my go to. When it gets hot, I look for "holes"/openings in it to pitch into. Sometimes burning a trailered swimjig over the top works as well.

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[coldfront]

thanks all, and keep the thoughts coming.

I grew up fishing (first 30+ years) relatively 'turbid' waters of KS, NE that had really limited submergent vegetation.  So main cover components were rock piles and brush piles.  or rocky shorelines.lakes were small (usually 300 acres or less) and did get hammered.  so all the 'ledge' stuff and vegetation is relatively new to me. 


trying to adapt and overcome.  it's slow, tedious, painful work overcoming a lifetime of 'how I learnt it'.  I do 'stubborn/stupid' really really well.

[Deadeye]

Depends a LOT on where it is in relation to the Surface.

1-2 ft Under the surface and you got yourself a Gold Mine.

Use Speedworms and weight them just enough to hold them under or no weight at all. Swim the Worm back to you.

The Bass will get called up from the Tail and crush them.

Thicker to Topped Out your better off working the edges or a HB Frog or Buzz Toad.

It is the Natural Grass in the St John's River System and Bass love it.


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[coldfront]

thanks Deadeye.  man, don't know WHY IN THE WORLD I was not thinking speedworms.  i fish them late summer over the weedbeds (milfoil) and let them drop into the pockets.


been a while since i tossed buzztoads too... did some serious damage to my arm with hooksets on braid a few years back.  old guys apparently aren't as 'bouncy' as young guys ONCE were.