โIโm a weed guy,โ I recently started a fishing seminar. Then, I explained why I am fond of fishing heavy aquatic vegetation. After a few seconds of snickers and murmur, I realized that I probably should have selected a better choice of words to open a talk with a classroom full of high school outdoors club members.
Also at my disposal, other terms for aquatic vegetation include moss, cabbage, lettuce, salad, or, for the nerds, macrophyte. But weed seems to be the term most anglers use.ย
Get Lost in the Weeds to Find the Best Fishing
Whatever you want to call it, you can usually find me in the weeds. Since boaters canโt reach the deepest, darkest patches, weeds provide a kayak-exclusive zone for big bass and pike.
In Pennsylvania, seasons are dramatic and roll around quickly. Everyone seems to know this. On the first 45-degree spring day, the local motorcyclists celebrate by driving their hogs to an ice cream stand.
Northern seasons offer brief windows of opportunity. Miss the window and it will slam closed on your fingers. After years of observations, I can recognize and anticipate these shifts. One of my favorite signs is the sudden explosion of weeds in local waterways.
There are places where the salad gets so thick it temporarily hinders my kayak. In seeking a canal-less-paddled, Iโve mucked through damp corn fields. Iโve kayaked in small lakes that could support a Rent-a-Manatee franchise. There are times when a shallow paddle stroke becomes entangled in weeds. As I continue to paddle, the mass of grass clings and grows around my paddle blade like Iโm a cotton candy vendor at a carnival.
When the water is completely choked with vegetation, I blaze trails across the lawn, punching mats and accessing the few open holes with a weedless lure.Really thick grass and suspended filamentous algae find a way to cling, clog and and complicate my presentation.ย
To fish the thickest grass, I go with a hollow-body frog with hooks protected inside the lure. A plopper or buzzbait is no good in the thickest grass unless I start my retrieve before the lure lands.
Snagging grass is as inevitable as a backlash. Many times I mutter a choice phrase, give up on the cast and race the lure back to the kayak. When I try the same cast again, I hope the fish have a short memory.
There are several ways I remove vegetation from my lure. If Iโm lucky, as I retrieve the lure I can clear the grass with an aggressive jerk of the rod tip. When power fishing machine Kevin VanDam reels in weeds clinging to his crankbait, he smashes the water with his lure and weed combo like heโs trying to scare away a water moccasin.
I admit, sometimes instead of using my hands to pick the grass off the lure, I let it ride. With the lure covered in grass, I make another cast hoping the velocity of the flying lure makes salad rain from the sky.ย
When I get a bite from a sea monster deep in the grass, the fight is surprisingly subdued. The fish quickly becomes tangled in grass and I simply reel the mysterious wad of vegetation to the kayak. Then, I begin the unsettling process of removing layers and layers of organic matter, like unwrapping my birthday present in front of my crazy aunt. What could be inside? Is it a giant bass or does it have teeth? Is there even a fish in the mess?ย
Luckily, the lettuce-wrapped contents rarely disappoint. And even though the fight may not be as acrobatic as in open water, I still love fishing in heavy vegetation, because Iโm a macrophyte guy.
Feature illustration: Lorenzo Del Bianco
