Had a situation in a local tournament yesterday and wondered what everyone's opinion is on it. Temps have started dropping and water temps are down to around 70. The lake we fished is all about grass during the warmer months.  We caught our first and best fish of the day early on a beaver in the grass. Then it got tough.  The grass is turning brown and we pondered whether this has them leaving the grass? However...there was tons of bait in and around the grass everywhere we went. Tons of small 2-3 inch shad I assume.  We ground out a 6 lb limit and actually took 2nd place so it was tough for everyone.  So....what do these fish do? I've heard they leave the grass when its dying...but what about when there's bait in it? The other 4 fish we caught were small keepers and were all near the grass but not in it. Got a regional tournament on this lake in 2 weeks and itd got me confused about how to approach it. Thanks

Would you believe they go to Disneyland?

 

OK, being serious. Bass will remain in the area they lived when there was grass.  Some will still be in the dead grass while others will be on the outside.

 

All you can do is keep fishing while trying different baits and presentations.

Dead to dying grass in my waters often seems to put bass to the outside of it, as if they are still relating to it, but not in it. Also, open pockets (sometimes called "confined open water") holds bass. Secondly, the retrieve that seem to work best at this time are smooth glides and falls. Two top baits for this are a 1/4oz jig-n-trailer, and a lightly belly-weighted soft jerk allowed to fall.