Smallmouth Bass Fishing

by Juan Veruete, KayakFishPA.com

This time of year I get a lot of questions from fisherman about approaches to fishing river grass. Folks tend to get very frustrated after a day of pulling up salad! Honestly fishing in the river grass is one of my favorite summer time target areas.

Tip#1 Understand the grass you are fishing and its characteristics

First, I want to define what I mean by “river grass”. In my neck of the woods , central Pennsylvania, eel grass is the dominate river plant. Eel grass can choke a river leaving only very narrow channels. In the clear summer river, it can grow in some fairly deep water. Sometimes 6-8 feet.

Understanding the physical characteristics of eel grass will help us better know how to fish it effectively. Eel grass grows long and slender (like grass) and has a very distinct twisting of the individual “blades”. Eel grass can  get to be several feet long and typically grows in clumps. Because of the river current the grass very rarely creates a canopy on the waters surface. Most often the clumps will lay over forming bundles of grass that gently wave in the current.

Fish love to hide under laid down bundles of eel grass to seek shade during the heat of the day or to have a safe haven from predators. There will also be an abundance of crayfish and minnows seeking refuge in the eel grass. Smallmouth will never be far from the food source.

OK..now we understand a little about “river grass” and why we would want to fish it, so lets find out HOW it can be fished.

Tip #2 Use unweighted or lightly weighted baits

Unlike other grass situation, you’re not going to be “punching through the eel grass because it typically does not form a canopy on top of the water when current is present. You”ll typically be fishing around and possibly on top of the grass. Some of my favorite baits are unweighted nose hooked stickworms, Small 4″ or 5″  finesse worms rigged on a 1/16 oz football or jig head. Worms rigged on jig heads are great for ripp’n off the grass and drifting baits through open lanes in the grass.

Tip#3 Fish moving and casting upstream

Fishing upstream can work to your advantage in two ways. First, fish will be oriented facing upstream so your approach will be more stealthy. A stealthy approach is particularly important when you want to target trophy smallmouth bass. Second, you’ll be working your bait back downstream with the flow of the grass. This will reduce hang ups and weed covered lures significantly.

Tip#4 Find pot holes and find fish

What’s a pot hole? It’s any drop in depth associated with reduced or no weed growth. Sometimes the pot holes are only 2 or 3 square feet. Other times they can be larger. Pot holes typically indicate hard bottom which is often preferred by smallmouth holding in weedy areas.

Tip#5 Fish the lanes

Another major structural feature of areas with significant eel grass growth are “lanes”. Basically they are the open areas between the eel grass. The lanes are used like roads by baitfish that make their homes in the river grass. Smallmouth will often lay in wait under the laid down bundles of eel grass and ambush groups of baitfish that swim by.