How to make fishing in grass work for you
The Lower Laguna Madre in South Texas is a unique hyper-saline lagoon that offers a variety of species from redfish, trout, flounder, occasional tarpon, and a growing population of snook. What separates the Lower Laguna from other parts of the Texas coast? Its the abundance of sea grasses.
The Laguna Madre is full of sea grasses that are home to many marine creatures. The flourishing algae on our part of the coast has made a major impact on the success of our fisheries. The sea grass beds are not only home to marine life but also serve as structure and ambush points for our local fish species.
People who are not familiar with fishing in the Laguna Madre can have a real problem with their lure from getting stuck in the grass, which can make for a frustrating experience. The unique grass beds cover 85 percent of our local waters so there is no escaping this problem that doesn’t exist in other parts of the Texas Gulf Coast.
The species of grass named Thalassia testudinum (aka turtle grass) in particular is all over the place. This turtle grass is a favorite for holding fish, but can also be the most challenging. Whether you are an experienced angler or not, trying to navigate this grass can really ruin your day with frustration if you aren’t prepared for it.
It is important that your lure stays in the key “strike zone” as much as possible. In order to do this you have to keep the lure just above the grass without catching it. What I do to accomplish this task is keep my rod bent at a 45 degree angle, maybe even a little bit higher when the grass is thicker. The next half of the puzzle is your lure retrieval.
What you want to focus on is making sure that your lure is constantly in motion when over thick grass so that it doesn’t get stuck. This can take a while to learn, but once you get the rhythm down pat your success rate of landing fish can skyrocket.
My retrieval technique is a bit unusual, and other anglers complain about their arm getting so tired when they try it, but you don’t have to do it just like me. Everyone needs to experiment with their own particular technique, but here is what I do. My lure constantly moves, either up or down, with non-stop action of my rod tip. A lot of people prefer to bounce their rod a few times and then let it drop, which can be successful as well.
This may take a lot of practice, but it is very important to keep the lure constantly moving so that it doesn’t get hooked in the grass. Pay attention to those fishing around you and see if they are getting hooked on grass. Watch the angle of their rod tip and how fast they are retrieving, this can give you a clue as to what you need to be doing. Remember, practice makes perfect, so feel free to experiement with various angles, retrieval speeds and other techniques, and maybe in time you can be an expert in fishing soft plastic lures over grass beds.