Punching Mats

At the time this is being published, it's still too early to tell whether mat- fishing will again be a big factor in winning or placing high at the Okeechobee FLW. But it looks like at a minimum, some of the high finishers will have fished thick, nasty vegetation, which basically is mats.

While all lakes don't have big floating hyacinth mats, many do have some form of heavy vegetation, usually hydrilla. You know the fish are in there, but it just looks too tough to fish, right? Not for the pros.

To get a little insight into this big-fish pattern, we went to Lake Fork Tackle owner and tour pro Mark Pack because he has spent a lot of time fishing mats all over the country – for business (tournaments and lure design) and for pleasure.

What To Look For

On many grass lakes, and especially at a place like Okeechobee, there's a lot of vegetation. Where to start? "You're looking for funnel points where fish stack up to move in or move out," Pack says. "Look for a big flat with trails – thinner areas they're using to move in from and out to the main lake. Boat trails are good. Any kind of thinner water."

From there, concentrate on the "thicker grass closest to (those trails). The best area to start in is right at the mouth, where it dumps into the lake from the shallow bay. That's basically the best starting point because everything funnels down right there. That's where they're coming in from. From there, they scatter out back in the flats and spawn."

He used Okeechobee as an example. "Moonshine Bay is a huge bay, and the only way to get in it is Cochran's Pass, which is only like 100 yards wide. All the fish that have to move in and out have to go through there."

If you don't get any bites at the obvious funnel spot, "work your way back in," he says. "You're looking for isolated clumps of thick stuff – openings with the thick stuff closest to it, and something other than the ordinary, which (at Okeechobee) is just miles and miles of cattails."

He also notes that clumps, or mats, "are probably 100 yards by 20 yards, and most of the fish are coming on the ends of them (front and back). You're catching most of the fish within 5 feet of the edge."

How To Fish Them

"Flip it in there – bust (your bait) through and let it go to the bottom," Pack says. Though a lot of people shake it and then heave it back out, he recommends shaking it 4-5 times and then pulling it to the top, meaning the underside of the vegetation.

At this time of year, "most of the fish are suspended because the warmer water is on top. So pull your bait up right underneath the mat and shake it there. Sometimes you get more bites doing that."

Another key most people forget or don't pay enough attention to is being quiet. Although big mats look like shelters that noise can't penetrate, that's not true. "Try to keep as quiet as you can with your boat, and try not to make a lot of noise when you bust through (the vegetation)," he says. "Look for little bitty openings to put your bait through. Try to be as quiet as you can."

Gorilla Gear

"If you get one of those 8-10 pounders on, the only way to get it out is through the hole you just flipped through," Pack says. "Then you have to ski it back on top to get it in. We call it gorilla fishing." Here's his gorilla gear:

Rod
> 7' 2" Falcon Pro Grass rod (extra-heavy). "It has extra-heavy action for handling bass in the grass, and a sensitive tip to detect subtle bites," he says. "About the first 6-8 inches have a little movement to where you can flip pretty good with it – it's not stiff all the way to the tip. But it's pretty stiff at the butt. The thing I like about this rod is that it's not real heavy, so it doesn't wear you out flipping all day. And once you hook one, you can just pull him and get him out of there without worry about breaking (the rod)." He adds that a stout rod helps because "as soon as you set the hook, you have to get them turned back up to come through that hole, or they will pull off."

The Rest

> Shimano Castaic reel with 80-pound SpiderWire Stealth

> 1-ounce new tungsten Lake Fork Tackle Screw-Lock Mega-Weight (black). "Underneath those mats, everything is kind of dark. I'm trying to blend it in – you don't want anything real shiny."

> 5/0 Owner Big Bite hook. "That's the hook I use most of the time for flipping because it's real stout. You need a hook that won't open up on you when you set the hook."

> Lake Fork Tackle Craw Tube and 5-inch Fork Creature, both in junebug or a green color. "I just let the fish tell me which," he says. "I usually start out with Craw Tube. It's a little more subtle – it doesn't wobble like the creature does. But if the fish are more aggressive, and the weather is warm, I'll go to the Fork Creature. It moves more water, and seems to call them from farther away."

> Lake Fork Tackle Jig and Tube rattle – (Editor's note: This is a new, loud tungsten rattle that isn't on the market yet.)

Notable

> Mat-fishing is good in early spring "and it's also really good in the summer where there's matted hydrilla," Pack says. "It works all day long, but is better from 9:00 to 3:00. It seems like in the early morning they get out of the mats and roam around in the low-light conditions. Once the sun gets up, they move right underneath the mats."

> Look for a for-BassFans-only Lake Fork/Falcon grass-fishing package coming soon to the BassFan Store.