Eel Grass

Any of y’all got any tips/thoughts on casting jigs into this stuff? I like to bank fish a good bit in the fall/winter at Guntersville and this crap is everywhere worse than I’ve seen it before. One of my favorite spots you can’t hardly fish because of it. Obviously there are weedless jig heads, but what else should I be mindful of? I’m guessing it’s going to affect how fast your jig falls if your line is being buoyed by the grass? Didn’t know if any one else has found a good method to fishing in it because it isn’t going away looks like.


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If you figure it out let me know. I’d like to go fish some over there but can’t deal with that stuff.


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Is that how you spell that stuff.
I thought it was ILL GRASS.

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Wind use to be the biggest threat to stop you from fishing the big G now this cursed grass makes me wish for the days of floating milfoil and hydrilla islands . Least you could usually work around that and it stayed together mostly. Ribbon grass doesnt, it floats in islands but there will be hundreds of individual pieces floating out from it. The problem is 1 foot long piece of this ribbon. ill or eel grass will start your jig going up when you run into it and by the time you realize it you are almost back to the bank fishing top water. Or worse you get into a blob and have to start over.If you are fishing in the dark of early morn, its impossible to see. Even if you went to a one eighth or even a quarter oz jig you will collect enough of it on your jig you will be pulling in a blob. I have gone to as many as 4 places before I can fish on a good day which is about all you can do . Maybe if they would have about 1 big hydro boat race a month on the big G they would have to keep clean it up and eventually get most of it like they had to do this summers race

Its getting started on wheeler, some of the docks that i shoot when it get under them just go some where else. Jigs will just set on top of that stuff.
Where did it come from

It’s a scourge for sure. You’d think that Game & Fish or TVA would do something about it sooner than later. It’s sure causing a huge problem for one of the state’s best and biggest fisheries.


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Not gonna happen unless it starts upsetting the green carp guys and their tourneys . Unfortunately they love grass any kind ........... Its so bad at time on the big G they have a hard time launching in places

Makes a huge mess when it is broke loose in fall and winter

It's worse this year than I've ever seen it. My son and I went Sunday afternoon, after church and I ran 8 miles down the lake to a "can't miss" dock. Floating eel grass was 6" thick under the dock. There was also more than 6" hanging off the guys boat lifts. I don't like to longline nearly as much as I did when I started crappie fishing a few years ago, but you can about forget that in the spring. All you do is reel each line in, clean it off and move to the next. Then start over.

I can't believe the property owners that join the lake aren't raising all sort of fuss about it. We do work on a good bit of TVA's equipment. I have talked to them every time they come to the shop till I'm blue in the face. They have NO plans to do anything about it. Currently. I think we all need to start pestering the heck out of our state Representatives and Senators.

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Originally Posted by DockShootinJack

Makes a huge mess when it is broke loose in fall and winter

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And spring and summer. It's gotten to the point when there is no period of time it isn't floating everywhere.

Certainly sounds lile it has gotten a lot worse simce when I fished it

It’s really disappointing they’ve let it get so bad and basically have no plan to address the problem. Is it a native grass or invasive? I suppose maybe if the city of Guntersville starts to see a downturn in revenue due to fishermen going elsewhere they’d push the issue. I don’t guess it’s gotten to that point yet. It’s so bad at all the usual bank fishing spots it’s almost pointless to go.


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Didn't they used to spray the grass with airboats?

I suppose on strategy might be to get a bucket of minners and a slip float. May have to try that.


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The fish probably love it

I took a few minutes and did some looking. It is called vallisneria. Eel grass or tape grass. Supposed to be a native species. To the the lakes in the Tennessee river system. It is a evergreen grass that grows year round.

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Originally Posted by BankBound

I suppose on strategy might be to get a bucket of minners and a slip float. May have to try that.


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But won’t the minners just land on top and lay there and die?


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Originally Posted by BankBound

I suppose on strategy might be to get a bucket of minners and a slip float. May have to try that.


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I would have needed post hole diggers to accomplish that under that dock I was talking about.

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Originally Posted by Damion Kidd

But won’t the minners just land on top and lay there and die?


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If you can find a hole to drop them in I think you could get them down where you want, with a heavy enough split shot. It wasn’t as thick as what Fur ran into where I’ve been. It’s just bad enough that if you try casting a jig into a hole, you eventually end up reeling into a wad of it.


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Originally Posted by FurFlyin

It's worse this year than I've ever seen it. My son and I went Sunday afternoon, after church and I ran 8 miles down the lake to a "can't miss" dock. Floating eel grass was 6" thick under the dock. There was also more than 6" hanging off the guys boat lifts. I don't like to longline nearly as much as I did when I started crappie fishing a few years ago, but you can about forget that in the spring. All you do is reel each line in, clean it off and move to the next. Then start over.

I can't believe the property owners that join the lake aren't raising all sort of fuss about it. We do work on a good bit of TVA's equipment. I have talked to them every time they come to the shop till I'm blue in the face. They have NO plans to do anything about it. Currently. I think we all need to start pestering the heck out of our state Representatives and Senators.

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TVA will tell you they are not in the fish business they are in the electric business LOL !!!! You just make sure and keep that stuff up towards your area and don't send any down here please.

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Originally Posted by Javelin 180

TVA will tell you they are not in the fish business they are in the electric business LOL !!!! You just make sure and keep that stuff up towards your area and don't send any down here please.

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As much trouble as the local guys say they have keeping it out of the cooling intake at Brown's Ferry it seems like it would be on their hit list.

It's gonna get in your water before it's over with. As much of it that's moving downstream, constantly, I don't know how it's not already there.

How deep does it grow? I seldom fish deep, but then I do the deep edges of vegetation seem to be the best fishing.

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Originally Posted by Ditch Basser

How deep does it grow? I seldom fish deep, but then I do the deep edges of vegetation seem to be the best fishing.

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4'-6' from what I know. It's not what's rooted to the soil that bothers us, it's the bazillion metric tons of it that float down river, into every slough that bother us.

In right conditions 20-30’
but in most places less than 12’