When it's time to talk grass-fishing in winter, it's time to talk to Terry Scroggins. The Florida pro is one of the absolute best in the green fields, and his record in Florida – three BASS wins – proves he's dialed in.
What follows are his tips for fishing bowl-style vegetation lakes in winter.
Tighter in Fronts
When December blows through Florida, cold fronts are coming. As the mercury rises, fish that were relating to a particular grass mat react and bury themselves deeper in the grass. What that means is that fish you caught on the edges the day before are now probably smack dab in the center of the mat.
"After a cold front, you need to move in tighter to the cover and downsize your bait," Scroggins said. "That's where a 3-inch crawdad really becomes effective. If you were throwing a big Brush Hog or other bait, you need to go smaller."
There's two reasons why a smaller bait is more effective. For one, post-front fish often just nip at a large bait, but they'll take a smaller bait fully in their mouth. Two, because you're fishing the interior of the mat, a smaller bait more easily penetrates the cover.
"You also need to go to a 1 1/2-ounce tungsten weight," he added. "You'll want to color it up so it's not too shiny. And tungsten is more compact, so it slides through the mat better."
Since tungsten, by its nature, is shiny, Scroggins has a trick to remove the sheen. "You can take a torch and heat that weight up cherry-red, then let it cool down. It'll turn a real dark-gray/black. Then, use some 14-gauge electrical wire coating for your sleeve. Now you've got a weight that's painted, but it'll never flake off."
He also noted that you can use your big motor to get into the middle of the mat, and it won't spook the fish. "You can run your boat right up, then sit there for a few minutes. When they're in the post-front stage, they won't leave. They'll stay right there."
Another post-front tip: "Most of the time after a cold front, the fishing's not that good in the morning hours, but it excels from around 1:00 or 2:00 into the p.m. hours."
Lastly: "You also need to let your bait soak in the water a lot longer. I normally jig the bait off bottom once or twice, but after a cold front, I may jig it seven or eight times."
Moving Out
It won't take long for the fish to change back. According to Scroggins, with just a single warm afternoon, the fish will become active again. The trick is to stay in-tune with the conditions, and follow the fish.
"It doesn't take more than 5 or 6 hours of warm weather and they'll change and start getting back to the edges and feeding again. You want to slowly work back toward the edges until you find them.
"Whenever I see a warming trend and change in temperature, and I'm not getting bit as much, I know I need to change. They'll move and change location around the mat, and you need to stay with them."
Two big differences here are presentation and bait choice. You can fish faster as the fish become more active – flip, then jig it a few times off bottom and move on. Also, it's generally better to go back up in bait size, say from a 3-inch craw to a full-size Zoom Super Hog.
Miscellaneous Tips
Here are some extra tips from Scroggins to consider when fishing winter grass:
Bang the Hyacinth
Hyacinth is a long-rooted plant, and oftentimes, the bait will be up at the top of the root, directly under that mat.
"When you're fishing hyacinth, after you jig on bottom a few times, bump the bait on the bottom of the mat before you pull it through and back to the boat."
Small's Okay
He noted that Florida forage is typically on the small side, and that's probably why small baits work so well in there. "What's down there is small crawdads, grass shrimp and small baitfish."
The Spawn's Likely On
The spawn can start as early as October on lakes like Okeechobee. Fish will usually spawn on flats, so the mat-fish are actually staging fish. Without structure like ledges, creeks and points, the green stuff is often the only staging option.
That means two things. One, December and January is absolute prime time to catch egged-up staging females (read: big fish). Also, some of the best mats will be those adjacent to spawning flats.
Think Vertical
Just like dock-fish, mat-fish also relate to vertical cover. "If there's a pencil reed or root going to the bottom, most of the time that's where you'll find the fish. It seems kind of weird, because you'd think they'd be more around the forage in the mat, but they still want something vertical to relate to."
