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  1. #1
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    How do you guys fish hydrilla?

    how do you guys fish hydrilla? I went to fish a small lake that is covered in hydrilla (80-85 percent of the lake), most of them come up right below the suface of the water. Is it a waste of time to punch right through the hydrilla or fish a frog on top of that stuff? Or should I just fish the edges and the holes without hydrilla on them?
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  2. Member
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    #2
    Personally I would do all the above. Big momma maybe laying in that grass anywhere.

  3. Member DrewFlu33's Avatar
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    #3
    I've not fished hydrilla, but I've got to believe it's similar to fishing milfoil and coontail. Assuming so, it's not a waste of time to fish a frog over it, though it's not the best way to cover vast weed flats in my opinion unless it's matted. Run a buzzbait over it instead, or a swim jig or chatterbait through it if they're not going on topwater. And that swim jig will work really well even if it is matted.

    Edges and holes are probably your most high-percentage areas, but past that you might really want to try flipping it, especially on sunny days. It's one of my favorite things to do! They'll definitely get up in it.

    I'll usually find the deepest stuff that I can still see the tops of it and start there. Flip a pegged heavy weight and flipping bait of your choice and add a punch skirt if you want. You can also flip a heavy grass jig like a Grassmaster. Let it hit the bottom, hop it once or twice, lift it carefully to see if a fish has it, and if not reel in and flip again. The biggest key is to keep moving - you want a reaction bite when you drop it on their nose, doesn't usually pay flip at the same stalk from different angles for example unless you've got a bite there - and to mark spots where you catch them by dropping a waypoint or buoy. Often there's something about an area where you catch one that you'll catch more than one. Watch your line for jumps, as it's really easy to pull too hard on one that grabs it and either miss them or have them spit it out once you get into a rhythm and haven't had any bites for a while.

    I usually try to flip every 10-15 feet or so...that's far enough apart to cover some water, but not so far that you're likely to miss a hot spot. Vary where you flip - try flipping into thick clumps, next to individual stalks, in holes, where two different types of vegetation meet, where there's a piece of wood mixed in, etc. Pay attention when you get a bite as that will often tell you what they want for the day. Also try to pay attention to depth. It's really common to find not only hot spots, but also days where they're relating to something very specific that can help you find those hot spots without having to fish everything. For example, you might notice that you're getting bit in 10-11 feet when you flip into the thickest clumps you can find. Or maybe in 8 feet where two types of vegetation meet. And so on. This makes breaking down those giant flats much easier. If you're marking waypoints, going back and looking at where they are in relation to contours (if available) can help key you in, too.

    On a related note, when trying to pattern something, getting on an area with some depth change is often helpful so you can get some variance to more quickly find if there's a "magic" depth. Either a flat with some slope to it, or even a point or inside turn. I like to find something like that then sort of zig zag in and out so I'm not only covering water "horizontally," but also checking different depths. Last, always look for/listen for bluegill or other bait in the area.

    If the flipping bite isn't working or stops working, casting a lighter Texas rig and letting it settle after you pop it off a weed can work well. On the most painful of days, I've had success getting away from an area where I've had bites on another day or maybe even earlier in the day or even in the moment when they're not getting it well enough then just casting that lighter Texas rig at it and letting it sit. It's surprising how often a fish will pick it up after 15 or 20 seconds. That said, this really isn't practical unless you know fish are there as you'd waste a ton of time in dead areas.
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    #4
    Flip down into it. I like running a really shallow jerkbait over it if there is enough room between the surface and weeds.

  5. Member
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    #5
    thanks guys!
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  6. Better Lucky Than Good! Casslaw's Avatar
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    #6
    What kind of depth are we talking here? In the right spots noisy topwaters can really draw some great strikes! Buzzbaits & poppers are fun! I like when the wind is blowing enough that you can cast downwind in the small trails the wind leaves, spinnerbait and/or swimjig for that technique.

    You can’t go wrong getting a soft plastic down in that stuff; if the wind will allow for a slow float you can kinda drag it and keep it down but you really have to watch for strikes since you’d be fishing upwind and in solid grass.

    If its matted to the surface surface or just under I like to pitch to ANY opening you can find, I use a bobber stopper, smallest tungsten weight you can get through the grass and a baby brush hog in that scenario. If you can find some bluegill beds where they’ve cleaned the bottom off it creates nice vertical ledges to fish.

    Best of luck.
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