Hyacinth Mats Bass

These aquatic plants are not rooted to the bottom and will drift with wind and current. They’ll pack into river bends and calm backwaters, offering superb overhead cover. Hyacinth Mats Bass have complete mobility beneath hyacinths to chase bluegill and shiners. Pull a heavy tube bait, jig or craw off the edges of the mat. Or drop it vertically between the plants to bass suspending beneath the cover.

Water hyacinth is a common matted grass type throughout the deep south and western states. When pursuing bass around Hyacinth Mats, catching fish out of this stuff requires an understanding of how it grows. You must also know how your bait should be presented when it punches through to attract Hyacinth bass effectively.

When I fish my now home state of Florida during the cold months, I usually concentrate on mats of hyacinths. This is the thickest cover available to bass at this time because submerged grass, such as hydrilla, dies down in cold water. In the wintertime, Hyacinth Mats Bass love to get under heavy mats. It holds heat, and the bass can bury in it when cold fronts hit. I prefer hyacinth mats that float over 4 to 7 feet of water. In shallower water, Florida bass are too adversely affected by cold fronts. Along with depth, look for hyacinths that have blown into lily pads, bulrushes or some other rooted vegetation that holds the mat in place, which bass favor for security.

Most effective method is to punch through it!

The most effective method for fishing a dense hyacinth mat is to punch through it with a heavy weight. Build your hyacinth system around a 1 to 1 1/2 ounce tungsten bullet weight. Use a 3/0 to 4/0 High Performance Hook. Use 50 to 65 pound Braid.

Nobody likes to pick weeds off their lure after every cast. However, a lot of that aggravation can be avoided if you’ll use a super heavy 1 1/2 oz. weight to rocket your lure through the hyacinths. It is also helpful when pulling the lure back up through it on the retrieve. A weight that big scares a lot of anglers. Even some Elite Series anglers try to fish with weights in the mat that are way too small. But I’m telling ya’ – go big! With these techniques, Hyacinth Mats and Bass can become a rewarding combination for anglers, providing an ideal setting for Hyacinth bass fishing.

Excerpts taken from Lee’s new book “Strategies for Bass“.