Jig Fishing in Heavy Grass
The grass is showing signs of thickening and it's time to find some of those Guntersville hogs in the heavy grass. This time of year there are several ways to find big fish; one of them is flipping a 1oz. Tight-line Jig in the heavy grass along the grass beds. The key is finding productive grass.
One question I always get asked is how do you find that productive grass? There are some key elements that I believe the grass must show for me to fish it. Remember there is a reason that bass head to the heavy grass in the heat, the water is generally cooler under the grass mats and the bait is generally buried in the grass. So the elements are simple, the grass must be thick enough to block some of the heat from the sun, so the water cools underneath it and next the bait must be visible at some point around the grass edges.
Take those two basic elements combine it with a few more natural surroundings and you will have a formula for a good flipping area. The other natural elements I look for is pretty simple, the grass must have a deep edge on some side of it, an area that the bass can quickly move deep if spooked, I believe some depth of around 10 ft. or more is all the depth you need.
Next the grass must offer enough breaks or holes in it for the fish to ambush bait, and for you to flip a jig in it. If I don't see enough holes to flip in I generally find the bass don't feed in it and move on. Lastly I look for activity, not necessarily bass activity, but carp activity, if the carp are active and creating movement the bass are more apt to react and feed just out of pure reaction. When I see that kind of activity I can promise you that the bass are present and will react to a big Tight-Line Jig dropped on its head.