Big Indiana Bass: Vegetation ("Weeds")

February 29, 2016

Green Vegetation A Key for Late Winter Bass

As the waters begin warming coming off winter lows, one area to start looking for early season bass in abundance will be locations with the earliest emerging submerged vegetation (fresh, green). On most bodies of water, it is highly likely that will either be curlyleaf cabbage (left) or coontail (right). Find either and your odds of catching some late winter bass will go up immensely. As for baits to throw, look toward lipless vibrators and suspending crankbaits for aggressive bass, and jigs or Ned rigs for less active fish.

photo credit: Ned Kehde

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December 18, 2013

Indiana DNR Notes of Interest

NORTHERN INDIANA

> Biologists continue to monitor the state of cisco (Species of Special Concern) in Indiana lakes. From 2012-13, staff have sampled 22 of the 45 lakes known to have had ciscoes in 1955. Data suggests just 7 of those lakes still have cisco populations.

> Black crappie consistently ranks second or third in our (northern Indiana) angler preference surveys.

> Biologists have been working to standardize ~250 June glacial (natural) lake fish surveys going back to 1985. These standardized datasets will allow them to quantify and trend various metrics.

> In 2013, district biologists conducted a muskie survey, four largemouth bass surveys, four status and trends surveys, seven standard surveys, 14 vegetation surveys, a river survey, a cisco survey, a wiper survey, four walleye surveys, and one summer creel.

> Pine Lake in LaPorte was stockjed with walleyes.

> There were three reports of pacu being caught from Cedar Lake in Lake County. These are the tropical fish commonly (and erroneaously) claimed to be piranha.

> 2013 produced a near‐record summer and fall steelhead run on the St. Joseph with over 7300 steelhead being counted at the South Bend fish viewing window.

> Over 3400 trout and salmon caught by Indiana anglers this year have been examined, collecting valuable data for the federally‐funded Mass Marking program.

SOUTHERN INDIANA

> In August, a public meeting was held at West Boggs to discuss the timeline of the 2014 renovation plan. Biologists have began assessing private ponds in the watershed for threats to the success of the project. To date, 78 of the 148 ponds identified in the watershed have been checked and no undesirable species have been found.

> Bass sampling occurred on the Flatrock River as part of a statewide black bass management plan. Smallmouth bass as large as 19 inches were collected.

> Biologists also collected bass from the East Fork of the White River. Bass tournaments are a weekly event throughout the summer in this stretch. The survey will act as baseline catch data for monitoring the (new) protected slot size-limit. They collected 56 spotted bass from 3.0 to 13.3 inches inlength, and four largemouth bass from 9.3 to 14.8 in total length.

> A Sullivan Lake creel survey was completed at the end of October. Data includes angler creel stats, a fish community survey, and largemouth bass and channel catfish surveys.

> Did you kow there are American eels in Indiana? Though not overly common, there were several reported in the state this year.

> Vegetation surveys at Salinda Lake, Hardy Lake, and Pride’s Creek Lake were carried out. Electrofishing samples at Huntingburg Lake for saugeye and Patoka Lake for walleye were also completed. Bryant's Creek Embayment had a general survey done to assess the fish community, and a shovelnose sturgeon survey on the Wabash River was also finalized.

> Trap netting at Hardy Lake was done to help assess a possible crappie length limit in the future.

> A lot of time was spent collecting and tagging bass for this years tag reward study. This study covers three river systems which include the West Fork White River, St. Joseph River and the Eel River. A total of 406 bass were tagged throughout these three rivers. Tagging began in June, and already they've had 11 tags reported, and most of them have been returned.

> Indiana's urban fishing project from this year is being evaluated. Preliminary creel results for the nine urban lakes surveyed from April to August showed over 24,000 anglers that fished more than 44,500 hours. The total catch of all urban fishing program lakes was over 11,000 fish, of which ~6,000 were harvested. Bluegill and catfish made up 85% of the total harvest in these urban areas. The most heavily used areas were Garvin Pond and Diamond Valley Pond in Evansville, Terre Haute’s Dobbs Park Pond, and Krannert Lake which is located in Indianapolis. Fishing pressure was highest in the months of May and June and went down after stocking of catfish stopped in early June.

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January 23, 2013

Three Must Have Items for Bass in the Grass

FLW Tour Pro Todd Hollowell searches out and fishes grass beds on lakes all over the country to catch oversize bass. Whether he's punching the heavy hyacinth mats of Okeechobee, or flipping plastics in the milfoil at places like Champlain, Kentucky Lake or Geist Res., there are three items of terminal tackle he says anglers don't want to leave home without.

#1) Bobber Stops: These little $0.79 pieces of rubber aren't just for crappie fishing with slip bobbers. According to Todd, they are the ideal way to peg your sinker on the line without the risk of damage you might incur with a toothpick or similar item. "The beautiful thing about it is when I catch a fish, it will go ahead and shove the sinker out of the way, so you get a good hookset, but I punch 1-1/2 to 2 ounce weights with that bobber stop and it doesn't move until I swing."

#2) Braided Line: A lot of people have tried braid and found out that they don't necessarily like it. However, according to Todd, you really need to be using it around grass. "I like braided line when I'm fishing in grass. I don't care for it a lot on my moving baits, but I definitely want it when I'm fishing in the grass." Whether he is throwing a topwater frog over mats, pitching a Senko to weedlines, or flipping into holes and pockets in the vegetation, Todd has braid spooled up. "Braid cuts through grass. It's strong and doesn't stretch. You don't even need a net - just flip them in the boat. It's game over when you catch them on braid."

#3) Sharpie marker: You might have guessed the first two, but chances are this one may have slipped under your radar screen. There are three things Todd likes to use a Sharpie for when fishing grass bass. One is to color the tail of his plastic trailers. "If you've ever seen a shad, a lot of times it's tail will be black. So when I'm fishing shad pattern lakes, or if it is in the fall, if I'm using a trailer on my spinnerbait, a lot of times I'll just take a Sharpie and color up the tail and make it black." Todd says this is a quick way to make your bait look more like the baitfish bass are feeding on, and makes your bait a little different than what other anglers might be throwing.

The second use is for coloring up the bottom of a frog. "If you've ran out of or don't have a black frog in your box, you can take a white or green frog and with your black Sharpie, color up the bottom of your frog", he says.

Finally, according to Todd, "after using braided line for most of the season, that nice original dark green colored braid you use will have become a lot lighter, almost fluorescent. That can be too bright for a bass at times." In those instances, Todd simply uses the Sharpie to color the last couple feet of his line and make it dark again. "That way, the only part the fish is going to see is dark and camoflouged", he states.

So the next time you're headed out to a lake containg any type of green vegetation, follow Todd's advice and be sure to have these three items stashed in your boat somewhere. Chances are, you'll land more bass because of it.

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December 01, 2010

The green, green grass of...winter

One of the best areas you can fish around this time of year if your lake has it is the remaining green vegetation. Several of our central and southern lakes have some submerged vegetation, including Summit, Hardy and Patoka. I've heard of some deep grass at Brookville, also. There are probably others.

Even in this really cold water, certain species of grass will still be green and thriving. Two of the last to go are cabbage and coontail. In the pic above, that's some coontail that Jacob pulled up out of a 35-acre pit he was fishing last weekend with the rattle bait he had tied on. On the right was the 6.1 lb. reward for his efforts. For some tips on fishing lipless baits around vegetation in the winter, check out these tips from Alton Jones.

There's not a lot of time left to fish open water around these parts, but if you venture south or west to a lake with grass you'll be able to apply this information this winter. These same species of grass will be some of the first to come out of hibernation and green up in the spring, where again lipless baits will be one of the strongest patterns.

A couple interesting tidbits to throw in...

In the last Bassmaster Classic this past February, Kevin VanDam won throwing a Red Eye Shad around green coontail he found in Beeswax Cr. with water temps in the mid 40's. Other top finishers found the same pattern and area.
Up until just a couple years ago, Lake Waveland had a good bit of coontail in it.
The last IBF tourney I fished down on Patoka in mid-August 2003, I sacked a limit of bass for a 2nd place finish, all by cranking a couple patches of deep coontail I found that apparently nobody else had. It's probably still in there if you look.

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February 18, 2010

Invasive Vegetation Presentation Available

Over the past couple years we've covered things like snakeheads and asian carp, all considered invasives. I received a new presentation to share on the site which I have added to the 'Reports' section (lower left sidebar). You can also access it and download at the following link:

Why Should I Care About Invasive Plants

If you live in Central Indiana and are concerned about exotic, invasive plants, you may want to attend a meeting at the Hamilton County 4-H Fairgrounds on March 2nd from 2-3pm. A regional group of conservation professionals (SWCDs, RC&Ds, DNR,etc.) are beginning to establish a cooperative weed management area in Central Indiana. The first steps to establishing this group is to know what is out there, where priorities should be, and what the public knows/cares about. If you want to learn more about aquatic, invasive species, you should make plans to attend this meeting.

For more information, contact Shaena Reinhart with the Hamilton County SWCD.

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October 06, 2009

A New View Of Cover

An interesting piece of research recently published had a different perspective on a traditional habitat approach. Evaluating the Effectiveness of Grassbed Treatments as Habitat for Juvenile Black Bass in a Drawdown Reservoir by Ratcliff, et al. looked not at how planted habitat benefitted adult fish or forage, but instead how well it could attract juvenile fish when properly arranged. Fluctuating water levels, especially during or after the spawn are believed to be a big contributor to poor year classes, partly due to lack of cover options (vulnerability) and feeding oportunities for YOY and juvenile fish.

In the above study, researchers placed man-made grassbeds at strategic elevations so that regradless of water level, some cover was always available. They compared this to no cover as well as planted natural grassbeds whose appeal might be partially determined by existing water levels at any given point. Turned out the artificial grassbeds were about 230 times more attractive than no cover and significantly more utilized (4X) than even natural grassbeds.

How do you make an artificial grassbed?

"Artificial habitat treatments, constructed of polypropylene rope and artificial lawn (Astroturf), were placed in 15-m2 patches (335 m) at each site. Each artificial grass habitat patch was composed of 15 units made of 1-m2 pieces of Astroturf wired to a welded rebar frame on the perimeter. Artificial stems were created by attaching 195 sections of yellow, three-strand polypropylene rope (20–25 cm long, 1.5-cm diameter) through small holes in the Astroturf. These rope sections were knotted on both sides of the hole and were unwound above the Astroturf to mimic grass. The number and length of stems per unit were based on previous measurements from planted grass treatments."

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August 14, 2009

Got Cyclotella meneghiniana?

An update and detailed information from Lenore Tedesco and our friends over at the IUPUI Center for Earth and Environmental Science concerning the various troublesome algae blooms we're experiencing this year in central Indiana.

Yellow-Brown Algal Bloom Makes White River Water Brown and Foamy and May Be Responsible for Fish Kill

Algae Information Resources

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July 31, 2009

Algae and Its Aftermath

The algae issues on our central Indiana waters just keeps getting worse. Here is the latest from FOWR as well as several news links following:

"An algae bloom in Hamilton and Marion counties, first reported on July 12 by members of Friends and others who live on the river or use it recreationally, is continuing to impact water quality. The free floating algae species first observed south of Noblesville has spread throughout Indianapolis, and is thought to be the reason as many as 1,000 dead fish have been reported since July 17.

The species initially impacted were a variety of suckers, with larger carp and catfish now showing up, especially in the section between the Broad Ripple dam and 30th Street. We asked representatives of state, county and city agencies responsible for monitoring the river’s water quality to meet July 29, and discuss the many unknowns surrounding the event. (See Algae are killing fish, but how is a mystery, The Indianapolis Star.)

The algae problem is expected to continue until a sustained rain event flushes the waterway. Its occurrence 10 years after a chemical discharge killed millions of fish between Anderson and Indianapolis again illustrates the role advocates for the waterway can play in sounding an alert. Our organization also continues to advocate for a reduction in non-point pollution, such as from fertilizer run-off, which can create conditions leading to algae blooms and otherwise degrade water quality.

Friends encourages those who observe conditions on the river that are out of the ordinary to call the state’s “Spills and Kills” line at 888-233-7745. Calls are answered 24/7 and automatically logged into an emergency response system that tracks their number and area of origin."