So the lake fishing alot from the boat has super thick grass fields. 4-7 foot of water and some spots it grows all the way to the surface. I’ve been working the edges when I can find them and thinner spots with swim jigs and having success. I also tried a zoom. Speed work and 1/4 ounce weight but really need to try 3/8 to get through it. And as summer keeps coming it will only get thicker.

What’s everyone’s tips or tricks for this situation? Thought this would be a fun topic.

It really depends so much. First off grass is like anything else. No point in fishing it if there aren’t bass there. When looking for productive grass I’m normally looking/listening for bluegills and sunfish. Also the thickest and greenest grass out of the bunch is generally the best. Any differences can also be key. Small points or pockets, wood rocks or docks in a grass field and even different types of grass mixed in. Baits are my last consideration honestly. A jig, swimjig, Texas rigged craw or worm ( can turn into a punch rig as it gets thicker and eventually mats over), and a frog can pretty much cover it bait wise.

Do you know what type of 'grass' it is?

Generally, you want to fish the tops of weeds, or the base. A Zoom SpeedWorn, buzzed across the tops and allowed to dip below the surface where applicable, is a good choice as is any topwater that won't get fouled in the weeds. A punch rig, or a heavily weighted, pegged T-rig will get you to the base, but avoid plastics with a lot of action as they can catch the weeds on the way down.

Now for almost everyone's favorite, a hollow body frog. Work it fast, slow, with pauses and you can even add a rattle. Just don't fall into the trap of setting the hook as soon as a fish blows up on it. Wait until you're sure he/she has it first.

@papajoe222 and @10,000 lakes Bassin shared the good stuff. I would only add that bass in the water I fish move a lot, from one type of plant to another. So, while Eel grass might be great one morning, they might not be there the next morning. So, yes, fish grass like Papa Joe and Mr. Bassin say, but I'll generally know within fifteen minutes if the bass are relating to the grass...and if they aren't, I'll try some other cover...like Pondweed, Wild rice, reeds, lily pads, Coontail, Cabbage, etc. I don't know if you have brushy banks in Iowa, by which I mean short bushes that overhang the water, but that's my number one plant. Bass park under the brush like cars under car ports.

I fish only 1 lake that has a surplus of grass and it's a fun lake to fish.

In the spring just as the grass is starting to tickle the surface, nothing beats a spinnerbait.

Later in the year when the grass is really thick I mainly concentrate on the outside edge with a wacky worm.

It's mainly Milfoil and Eelgrass and prefer not to get hung up 😁.

Curly tail pond weed- that’s what makes the dense mats growing to and on the surface.

Eurasian mill foil

Coontail

Guess I’ll just keep what I’m doing then. The pondweed grows so thick. I’ll

probably have to frog and punch it as summer goes on.

9 hours ago, papajoe222 said:

Do you know what type of 'grass' it is?

Generally, you want to fish the tops of weeds, or the base. A Zoom SpeedWorn, buzzed across the tops and allowed to dip below the surface where applicable, is a good choice as is any topwater that won't get fouled in the weeds. A punch rig, or a heavily weighted, pegged T-rig will get you to the base, but avoid plastics with a lot of action as they can catch the weeds on the way down.

Now for almost everyone's favorite, a hollow body frog. Work it fast, slow, with pauses and you can even add a rattle. Just don't fall into the trap of setting the hook as soon as a fish blows up on it. Wait until you're sure he/she has it first.

The Ultravibe speed worm is my back pocket go to when I am struggling. That worm rigged weightless, texas style comes through the grass like a ninja and really drives the fish crazy. I upsize to a magnum when I know there are bigguns about

3 minutes ago, IYAOYAS said:

The Ultravibe speed worm is my back pocket go to when I am struggling. That worm rigged weightless, texas style comes through the grass like a ninja and really drives the fish crazy. I upsize to a magnum when I know there are bigguns about

So in 4-6 foot of water and thick almost ropes out grass you throw it weightless? ( I also love these worms lol) you don’t peg a weight and essentially punch it

5 minutes ago, Joedodge said:

So in 4-6 foot of water and thick almost ropes out grass you throw it weightless? ( I also love these worms lol) you don’t peg a weight and essentially punch it

You said it goes all the way to the surface. The submerged stuff I mentioned a swim jig. I fish the UV like a topwater through emergent vegetation and I like a swimjig for submergent stuff. Sorry for not clarifying.

27 minutes ago, IYAOYAS said:

You said it goes all the way to the surface. The submerged stuff I mentioned a swim jig. I fish the UV like a topwater through emergent vegetation and I like a swimjig for submergent stuff. Sorry for not clarifying.

No no. That was my fault lol. I’ll have to give that a try. I’ve been finding some on a swim jig each time out. I threw a buzzbait and a chopo around yesterday but no interest at all. I’ll bring a popping frog and a mag speed work next time! And probably a 1 ounce weight and try kinda punching to the thinner spots

You may want to try fishing areas where you have stumps or laydowns surrounded by vegetation, or spots where the different types of growth are all mixed together.

Most of the time I'm fishing with a 1/8 or 1/4 ounce bottom jig, a 1/8 ounce Texas rig, or a shallow running crankbait.

I fish in between the weed mats where the growth is around a foot or so off of the bottom, and I'll work the Texas rig and jig on top of the submerged growth. I don't want the bait to sink into the shallow vegetation and be hidden.

If there is surface activity in the then I'll work a topwater in between the mats.

4 minutes ago, Bankbeater said:

You may want to try fishing areas where you have stumps or laydowns surrounded by vegetation, or spots where the different types of growth are all mixed together.

Most of the time I'm fishing with a 1/8 or 1/4 ounce bottom jig, a 1/8 ounce Texas rig, or a shallow running crankbait.

I fish in between the weed mats where the growth is around a foot or so off of the bottom, and I'll work the Texas rig and jig on top of the submerged growth. I don't want the bait to sink into the shallow vegetation and be hidden.

If there is surface activity in the then I'll work a topwater in between the mats.

The lake does have field of lay downs on the other end. With grass beds near it. I have fished down there each time just no luck. So I fish the grass beds on the north end. Since I’ve had success there. Maybe I’ll venture back that way next trip.

I’m not sure I could fish it that light in 4-6 foot of water and the grass grows to the surface in areas

10 hours ago, IYAOYAS said:

The Ultravibe speed worm is my back pocket go to when I am struggling. That worm rigged weightless, texas style comes through the grass like a ninja and really drives the fish crazy. I upsize to a magnum when I know there are bigguns about

Love the mag speed worm too!

If you have side scan, this is a good time to use it to find open pockets in the weeds. Bass will sit nearby and ambush whatever swims through that pocket.

12 hours ago, Joedodge said:

Curly tail pond weed- that’s what makes the dense mats growing to and on the surface.

I know it well

This stuff is a menace on our natural lakes up here where it takes root. Its an invasive that grows super-fast and thick, crowding out the native vegetation. Unfortunately, it's not really preferred by either bass or the main baitfish species and is so thick there usually aren't a lot of pockets or spaces underneath. It makes one of my best lakes nearly unfishable for about a month in late spring/early summer. In most cases, the only choice while it is thick is to try fishing over it or around it. However, it will begin to die back and thin out before too long. By July here, it has usually thinned out enough to provide some irregular edges and openings that can be picked apart.

6 minutes ago, MIbassyaker said:

I know it well

This stuff is a menace on our natural lakes up here where it takes root. Its an invasive that grows super-fast and thick, crowding out the native vegetation. Unfortunately, it's not really preferred by either bass or the main baitfish species and is so thick there usually aren't a lot of pockets or spaces underneath. It makes one of my best lakes nearly unfishable for about a month in late spring/early summer. In most cases, the only choice while it is thick is to try fishing over it or around it. However, it will begin to die back and thin out before too long. By July here, it has usually thinned out enough to provide some irregular edges and openings that can be picked apart.

Yes exactly! You know exactly what I’m dealing with then. I’ve been reading up on it and it being invasive. The stuff makes it dang hard to fish in! I’m glad it will be dying back though. I guess I’ll stick with what I’ve been doing

21 minutes ago, Joedodge said:

Yes exactly! You know exactly what I’m dealing with then. I’ve been reading up on it and it being invasive. The stuff makes it dang hard to fish in! I’m glad it will be dying back though. I guess I’ll stick with what I’ve been doing

You also said milfoil and coontail. Both of those hold bass better than curly-leaf pondweed. The Eurasian milfoil is also invasive, and similarly crowds out native plants, but is much easier to fish. Underwater it looks like long "tubes" with red tips, but collapses easily, so you can kind of rip stuff through it to an extent. Coontail is native and excellent to fish where you can find it. It will grow deeper than most other weeds and stay green later in the year. Has a sort of "christmas tree" appearance in the water.

5 minutes ago, MIbassyaker said:

You also said milfoil and coontail. Both of those hold bass better than curly-leaf pondweed. The Eurasian milfoil is also invasive, and similarly crowds out native plants, but is much easier to fish. Underwater it looks like long "tubes" with red tips, but collapses easily, so you can kind of rip stuff through it to an extent. Coontail is native and excellent to fish where you can find it. It will grow deeper than most other weeds and stay green later in the year. Has a sort of "christmas tree" appearance in the water.

Thank you so much for the help and info. Any tips for fishing the curly leaf? I’ve caught bass in it. But kinda sounds and seems like it isn’t worth the work lol. I was considering punching.

Green grass

Brown Grass

Submerged Grass

Emergent Grass

Scattered Grass

Isolated Grass

And the absolute best of all…Matted Grass!

It’s what I look for first above all else

You got great advise already about what to use.

My first choice regardless of the type is a Magnum UV Speed Worm.. Always

However, my advise is not to get too hung up on what to use.

You’ll find out soon enough what’s best in your waters and where your confidence will lay.

Concentrate on where and how at first (which is a whole different discussion)

Mike

1 hour ago, Mike L said:

Green grass

Brown Grass

Submerged Grass

Emergent Grass

Scattered Grass

Isolated Grass

And the absolute best of all…Matted Grass!

It’s what I look for first above all else

You got great advise already about what to use.

My first choice regardless of the type is a Magnum UV Speed Worm.. Always

However, my advise is not to get too hung up on what to use.

You’ll find out soon enough what’s best in your waters and where your confidence will lay.

Concentrate on where and how at first (which is a whole different discussion)

Mike

Thank you so much! I enjoy fishing it. It’s really the only structure this lake has besides a small field of lay downs. I know bass don’t love the curly tail pond weed from what I’ve read. But it’s the majority of the cover in this lake. And I’ve caught them out of it. I’ve basically been throwing a buzz bait and chopo early. Then a swim jig and uv worm with a 1/4 ounce weight. I’m gonna up that to 5/16 or 3/8. And probably rig up a punch rig also with a creature bait.

From the state of year round heavy vegetation:

Heavy action rod, 65 lb braid, no leader! 1 oz swim jig w/ sweet beaver trailer, 1 oz punch rig, 5/0 superline ewg, uv speedworm or magnum lizard with front legs removed, 3/4 oz rattletrap with treble changed to 1/0 circle crankbait hooks. I've also had some success with a Gambler 6 inch Fat Ace, 5/0 hook, 3/4 oz worm weight pegged and superglue. Heavy vegetation is a real piece of work, but the really big girls live there!!!