How Smallmouths Relate to Submerged Grass

Smallmouth bass are typically found in cool, clear lakes and rivers, and they are known for their aggressive feeding habits.

Submerged weed beds provide smallmouth bass with a number of benefits, including:

• Cover: Weed beds provide smallmouth bass with a place to hide from predators and as ambush points to help pick off their prey.
• Food: Weed beds are home to a variety of small fish, crawfish, and other organisms that smallmouth bass eat.
• Temperature regulation: Weed beds help to regulate the temperature of the water, which is important for smallmouth bass that are spawning or that are trying to avoid predators.

Smallmouth bass typically relate to submerged weed beds in three ways:

• They use the weed beds as a place to hide. When smallmouth bass are not actively feeding, they will often retreat to the weed bed edges to rest.
• They use the weed beds as a place to ambush their prey. Smallmouth bass are ambush predators, which means that they typically wait for their prey to come to them before they strike. Weed beds provide smallmouth bass with a number of places to hide, which makes it easier for them to ambush their prey.
• They use the weed beds as a place to spawn. Smallmouth bass typically spawn in the spring, and they often do so in weed beds. The weed beds provide a number of benefits for smallmouth bass that are spawning, including protection from predators, a place to lay their eggs, and a place for the eggs to develop.

But unlike their largemouth cousins, smallmouths definitely use different parts of weed beds as underwater videographer Kim Stricker in this short "under the water" video...

Tips for Fishing Dense Vegetation

Fishing in heavy vegetation can be challenging but also highly rewarding, so be patient, precise with presentations, and persistent when working dense vegetation. 

By understanding the nuances of weed bed make-up; using the right techniques and equipment; and remaining alert, you increase your chances of landing a potential personal best that may be lurking beneath the vegetative canopy.

Here are some tips to help you catch more and bigger bass from heavy vegetation:

Use heavy tackle: Working baits in and bass out of heavy vegetation can put a lot of strain on your gear, so use a heavy rod and line to pull fish out of the weeds. A 7-foot or longer heavy or extra-heavy rod with 50-65 lb braided line will give you the power and sensitivity needed to handle big bass when fishing thick cover; a 7-foot M/H action rod with 15-25 lb fluorocarbon line works well when fishing weed edges and lanes.

Use weedless lures: Heavy vegetation can quickly tangle and snag your lures, making it difficult to fish effectively. To combat this, use weedless lures like plastic worms, frogs, or spinnerbaits that are designed to be fished in and around vegetation without getting snagged.

Try punching: If the vegetation is particularly thick, you may want to try a punching technique. This involves using a heavy weight and a weedless rigged, thin-profile soft plastic bait to punch through the vegetation and get your lure to the bass below.

Fish the edges: Look for areas where the vegetation meets open water or where there are breaks (indents, lanes, points) in the weed line. Bass often hang out in these areas, waiting for prey to venture out into the open. When fishing edges additional baits like lipless and squarebill crankbaits, walking and prop-type topwaters, and suspending jerkbaits come into play.

Target shady areas: Vegetation provides shade and bass are known to seek refuge in these cooler areas during the hot summer months. Fish these shady pockets with snag-proof baits like jigs and Texas-rigged soft plastics.

Take a moment and watch as bass pro and 2022 Classic Champ Jason Christie offers some great insight into his approach to selecting baits when fishing dense vegetation below:

Finding Bass in Submerged Grass

What is the one type of cover most anglers fish?

Vegetation…

Although all forms of vegetation are not created equal, there are some basic principles you can apply when trying to unravel the main fish holding areas…

And in this video, the folks from Angling Edge TV show you how to locate the weedy hotspots in this case relative to milfoil.

Personally I catch more bass "out of the grass" each season than from any other type of cover or structure!

How about you?