Veg Out: Four Tips For Summer Bass In The Grass

If you say summer is a good time to veg out, you’re right on point — for a couple of reasons. From the vacation standpoint, this is definitely the time when many book their vacations and catch up on R&R.

It’s nice to take it easy, but largemouth bass anglers veg out in a more direct sense — targeting emergent and submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) for the big bass therein. From hydrilla to eel grass, lily pads to tule berms, the combination of feeding opportunities with shady cover makes this a prime summer strategy.

The options are just about endless, so rather than attempt an exhaustive summary that would exceed our space and attention spans, let’s touch on a handful (four, to be exact) of helpful pointers.

Close Contact

Flipping, pitching or punching typically refers to sending a Texas-rigged soft plastic bait through matted grass. It’s one of the most reliable ways to find a legit arm-stretcher. Vegetation density determines the requisite weight to rig with, but seasoned anglers typically prefer the lightest weight they can get away with.

That being said, bait choice also matters. In simplest terms, the more bulk and appendages a bait has, the more likely it will hang on the denser mats, while a slender, streamlined bait tends to slide through with greater ease.

Punch skirts can help the process, while providing the appearance of greater bulk once the bait clears the mat. Fiddle with these variables until you find a setup you can fish efficiently.

Match the Hatch: Reeling and ripping vibrating jigs through deep grass beds offers another reliable summer pattern. While the vibrations and the sudden snapping action hold most of the appeal, pay close attention to color selections. Defaulting to the green pumpkin stuff will only carry you so far, so heed the local forage tones and choose accordingly.

Case in point, during a photo shoot with Bassmaster Elite Series angler Bernie Schultz, big bass chasing golden shiners prompted a color change from those natural greens to a forage-matching gilded look. The results were immediate hook-ups.

Transition Zones

While a massive field of homogenous vegetation growth may offer a day’s worth of potential, you’ll often fare better by locating blended areas where one plant species merges with a different type. That could be one SAV to another, pads amid grass, or grass adjacent to the vertical stuff. Whatever the case, merging habitat features often expands the forage options and creates unique ambush spots.

Floating vegetation such as wind-blown hyacinth rafts often bank into grass mats, thereby choking out grass growth and creating spacious caverns below. Fishing offers no guarantees, but this is pretty close to a sure bet for attracting a big fish — possibly a cluster with a high level of feeding competition.

Likewise, dead reeds or tules blown into stands of vertical vegetation offer prime targets. Punching these isolated umbrellas can reward you with a legit day-maker.

Within a deep grass bed, one of the more subtle transitional elements that you don’t want to overlook is the random holes forming around hard sand/shell bottom. The bigger fish will claim such sanctuaries for the easy feeding ability, with quick access to safe cover.

Pitch a jig or Texas rig, drop a shaky head, rip a bladed jig or yo-yo a lipless bait here. Another option would be to swim a big ribbontail worm over the grass and let it fall into the holes.

Look for the Lanes

Nothing complicated here; just pay attention for the distinct guts, cuts, gulleys and passages. This could mean the edges of boat lanes blasted through the Kissimmee grass, a winding path through a spatterdock field, or ribbon of deeper water snaking behind a broad grass mat.

In any case, consider how summer bass may relate to the depth changes and, particularly, the edges of those lanes. These passages also offer observant types a sensible course for dragging a Texas rig amid dense cover without hanging up every couple feet.

On the California Delta, a once-guarded secret now pretty widely practiced involves riprap levies with adjacent grass or tule lines. Between the two, that inner lane can be golden, as fish can munch on the crawfish living in the rocks or the baitfish and bream that cling to the grass line.

When you see a boat tucked in tight to the riprap and making long, parallel presentations, that’s likely what they’re up to.

Tidal Clues

From bulrush on the St. Johns, to West Coast tules, mud lines marking the stalks offer a quick visual reference to the current tide level. Similarly, debris lines comprising dead grasses and stalky vegetation ride the tide onto riprap or natural angled banks — another indication of how high local tides reach and where the current stage stands.

Such recon matters because bass will push farther into overhead cover as rising water allows and drop to the outer edges, or adjacent channels on falling tides. (Ditto for the pockets within reeds and tules.) On the outgoing cycle, expect opportunistic bass to position near the drains, as these concentrated flows deliver a baitfish and crustacean bounty.

Note also that falling tides pull cleanly filtered water out of the thicker vegetation. Baitfish often gather in these favorable conditions, so send a topwater, spinnerbait, and bladed jig through this high potential zone.

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