Fishing tip of the week

Fishing Tip of the Week

Wednesday, 15 September 2021 06:18

Not all grass is created equal
by Mike Gerry

As we move further into fall fishing there are keys as to grass that will hold fish and grass that will not.
It is probable that the key is not what you might think, especially if the fall is extremely hot and dry; as these conditions change all your past beliefs. The fall can really be different, as oxygen in the water depletes quickly when the fall gets hot, dry, and turn-over occurs. The first thing you must do in the fall is identify the good grass, the grass that will hold fish and give you a fighting chance to catch them.

I know most of us believe that green grass is the key . . . well it is, and it isn’t. Again, the kicker is the weather, if the fall is hot, dry, and steamy, it will change all of your beliefs. This means the green grass is not necessarily the only key to finding fish.

Often, in the fall, you pull up to a grass bed and it looks nasty, brown, and foamy but underneath there is green grass. I contend that this is the change from your “must be green or it won’t be good fishing” to “this could be the spot I load the boat”. There are many reasons, most importantly is the simple fact that hot, dry weather depletes the dissolved oxygen in the water and nasty, brown grass puts off carbon dioxide that pulls and creates oxygen in that area and moves the fish the nasty grass.

It’s also important to visually survey the grass bed for a couple of things. Look for bait action moving about the grass and the sound of bream sucking insects off the top of the grass. When you see and hear this, it doesn’t matter what the grass looks like, it’s got fish in it and, in the fall, this is an important factor to catching fall fish in the grass.

Lastly, look for holes in the grass. If it has voids, it more than likely is holding fish, as bass generally feed upward and when there are visual voids it gives them space to feed to their natural feeding habits.
Becoming a fisherman that can identity these areas quickly will help you stop wasting time and will allow you to quickly catch fish.
Captain Mike