Find the Fish Through the Trees

Native Eelgrass lures like
 weedless spoons swim through easily

Fishing in the brackish waters of southeast Louisiana allows you to catch two of the most sought after game fish Largemouth Bass and Redfish in the same spot. The mixing of the fertile Mississippi river and the salty Gulf of Mexico creates a perfect habitat for these two to coexist along with many other species. The fertile waters are a great habitat for aquatic plants some which is good and bad. While this this influx of fresh water is good for fishing it allows for extreme growth of submerged aquatic vegetation which clog shallow waterways. The good native plants like Eelgrass and widgeon grass don't clog the entire water column and aren't that bad for fishing.                                                                            

Thick Millfoil impossible to fish here.

The widgeon grass does get thick in spots but it is a flimsy plant and not the worst to fish in. The stuff that people dread is the invasive Eurasian Water Millfoil which grows throughout the entire water column. When its paired with Filamentous slime algae it can turn a productive fishing pond into a parking lot. For many Fishermen this combo causes a huge headache and leaves them searching for less green pastures but I use this grass to my advantage.

Video of me fishing in the grass  http://fishxscale.blogspot.com/2014/04/april-fools-redfish-video.html

The first benefit of the grass is it holds bait and we all know bait attracts fish. I like to match my lure selection to the bait that I see adjusting color and size/profile of  my baits. Texas rigged flukes and paddle tails or weedless gold spoons usually can be fished effectively when the weeds are thick.
The second benefit of the grass is it keeps the water clean and these ponds will have crystal clarity. The mass of plants dampens the wind and wave action keeping these ponds clean when the wind is blowing and muddying up other bodies of water. This clarity makes these ponds great places to sight fish for redfish.

Working your way around the clear shorelines will yield fish but don't overlook the areas where the open areas are and the grass is thinner like the three areas circled.

The main reason I like to fish the grassy ponds for bass and redfish is it makes it easier to catch fish. The grass creates areas that are unusable to fish which sounds bad, but it leaves a smaller area that the fish can use. Concentrating the fish into a smaller area making them easier to locate and catch. Looking at these ponds from afar it may look like 100% grass coverage ,but if you work your way through you can find the passages.In the thick stuff even the smallest cut will hold fish I have caught a limit in single prop scar that runs across a pond. Beyond the simple space occupation The weeds create good structure for the bass and redfish they cruise along and use the edge to ambush bait fish. When I enter a pond I start near the banks there is usually a weed free zone that can be fished without snagging weeds every cast. After making a lap around a pond I move on to the interior fishing the submerged grass edges in the middle of ponds. This is where I usually catch most of the fish in these ponds. I look for submerged edges that resemble the points and cuts of the marsh grass. At first it may seem a little tricky to avoid the grass but with a little patience and practice you will be catching limits of reds and bass together in the grass. Just remember to wear a good pair of Polarized Sunglasses and use Weedless lures.

Hopefully reading this helps you catch some fish, but if you are still catching more salad than fish shoot me an email at Fishxscale@gmail.com and we could maybe take a trip to the pond pictured above.