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May 18, 1998
How to fish hydrilla, from Ron Brooks
The Hydrilla Cure
Ron Brooks
Hydrilla is a semi tropical aquatic vegetation found in most lakes from Georgia South and as far west as Texas. It is the familiar “aquarium vegetation” you find in so many pet stores. Imported to the U.S. many years ago, it began to spread when tropical fish owners who tired of raising their fish innocently dumped the fish and hydrilla into neighboring waters. It has spread, mainly on the trailers of boats, throughout the southeastern U.S. It has the ability to dry out and remain dormant for long periods, only to refresh itself when the trailer is submerged launching a boat in yet another lake. It can clog a lake literally to death, but at the same time it is a bass haven, providing superb cover and ambush points. It grows in huge mats in relatively shallow water.
These mats of hydrilla will be right on the surface with holes intermittently dispersed across the mat. Some of these holes, about 2 to 3 feet in diameter, go all the way or most of the way to the bottom. Sun can penetrate there, and anything that makes an appearance in or around one of these holes is subject to annihilation by Mr. Bass.
Huge mats of hydrilla cover sections of Lake Seminole in South Georgia and North Florida. Because so many bass love to hide there, and because I had lost so many after they buried my lure in the weeds, I decided to devise a means to catch them.
Spinnerbaits can’t be fished in these holes. Sometimes worms don’t attract enough attention. You need a bait that will remain in the strike zone for a longer time. That would indicate a noisy top water lure, but with so many hooks hanging down, casting inaccuracies, the extra hooks hanging on everything in site after a strike,… well you get the picture. I had to figure this out.
Here’s what I did. Ever miss a fish on one bait and throw right back and not get a strike? Ever try that with a different bait on the second cast? Usually a different bait on the second cast will bring a second angry strike.
I took a 7 inch 3 hooked silver side/ black backed Bango-lure with propellers on each end, and removed the three treble hooks. The propellers are important for the noise factor. To compensate for the weight difference of the three missing hooks, I stuck three of those “sticky” weights on the lure where the hooks came from. I put this hookless lure on one rod, and a Texas rigged worm on another and went looking for holes in the hydrilla.
I would throw the topwater well beyond the hole and carefully bring it back, positioning it to get several nice stationary jerks right in the hole. Because I had no hooks, I didn’t hang on anything getting to the strike zone. When I got a strike on this one, I simply jerked it clear of the hole and immediately followed up with a worm. Because the worm was weedless, I could throw beyond the hole again and drag it over. If he struck the top water, I can guarantee you he will take the worm on the next cast. It works better if you can “plop” the worm right in the middle of the hole to get his attention again, but if you aren’t an accurate caster, an overthrow will do fine. If you have ever caught bass in heavy hydrilla on lures with multiple treble hooks, you know how many fish and lures you have lost because of all the exposed hooks.
I can tell you from experience; this works. Only problem is it won’t do for tournament situations, since most tournaments have a one rod rule. You would have to reel the top water bait in completely rather than jerking it out of the way and laying it down. You won’t get as many fish that way; the bass needs that second presentation immediately to get the anger strike.
It really works on Lake Seminole up in Spring Creek on hot sunlit days when the bass are deep in the hydrilla mats. It also draws some stares from other anglers back at the dock as they check out what lures you have been using! Try it sometime if you are there, or anywhere that hydrilla poses the same problem.
