Here in Maryland the grass all dies during the winter.  I have found a stretch of grass in my favorite place to fish where I was catching bass all summer.  Now the grass is all dead.  The water is about five feet deep.  The deepest area in the place I fish goes to about 12 feet deep but there is no grass there.  Do you guys think the bass would be hanging around the grass or do dead and dying grass really take oxygen from the water?  If you want to see the place send me a personal message, there is a good ammount of scrolling around on google earth in order to find it.  I already showed the spot to Catt.

Fish will still use dead grass just as they do live grass but the water temperature will be the biggest determination on how long. When the water temperatures get down into the 40s and below I would say you'll start to see fish move out of that area and venture to deeper areas.  They will move out to the deeper areas on any cover or structure you can find.  If there is no cover or structure they will most likely suspend at say 10ft in the 12ft area if that is the deepest.  If you have a good day or two of warmer weather with sunshine you could possibly get some fish out of that old grass on the Northern side of your lake.  Although dying grass does not produce oxygen it seems like I do just as well in these areas as when the grass is alive (when the conditions warrent).  Late fall and early spring can be good dead grass times.

Is there any grass that hasn't died yet, like near a power plant? I assume your on the river. The bass will keep moving from dead grass to live grass until they can't find anymore. After that they will usually move to the deeper water.

Is there any cover in the 12 foot area you talked about?

I would find some cover in there, such as stumps, rocks, logs, whatever you can find, and fish that.

Thats what I think....but i'm sure someone will give you a better answer ;D!

Good luck!

                                                           Ian

Most of the time I avoid dead grass but the exception is during winter when dead grass will hold a little more heat and with water temperatures in the high 40's this little bit of warmer water can be the key to productive fishing.

If the bass are not holding to dead grass I'll switch to wood

Agrees With Catt - Although this weekend i was fishing an area with dead grass and caught a 4lb and 2 2lb - from bank - Worst you could do is loose lures.

Have you taken a water temp reading in the grass Vz Deeper water if its warmer under the grass try there if its warmer towards the main body id fish there...

Grass that is in the process of dying stinks to fish because of the depleated oxygen but after a few weeks of the grass being dead if the baitfish move in so does the bass. Pay attention to the wind at times it will funnel baitfish to a particular shore and the bass follow or move up to feed. The main thing I look for is areas of grass that sits in the northern part of the shore. Dead grass and the protection of the northern wind is a good combo. Hard wood and rocks are other great options. (any place protected by northern wind that has a migration route to deeper water should hold fish) Watch the bottom and look for a drop in depth that is close to shore. Cover or not the break off into deeper water is structure and should hold fish.

I fish the Va side of the Potomac and I know exactly what you are talking about. I have not been out much this winter but last winter I was out almost every day last winter. This time of year you want to find a spot way up in a creek where the really shallow water meets a channel. In the summer I fish lilly pads that are very shallow but have a deeper channel running near it. The winter is not very different except that there are no lily pads, no grass but you are looking for any type of structure that is in the channel. When I speak of the channel I'm looking for a depth of 10'- 14' I have found many spots that have wood structure, hard bottom, large boulders and dead grass. That large rocks will soak up a lot of the sun's heat during the day and it will continue to stay warm throughout the night. I like to throw a deep diving bomber Fat A or any type of a large profile jig with a slow movement. Also this time of year I like to use a lot of scent to my soft plastics. If you fish anywhere near Quantico I could give you a lot of good winter/spring/summer and fall spots that would knock your socks off.