During the summer months, the vegetation is in full bloom. It causes havoc with the boats and fishing these weed beds can be very frustrating. I have noticed a big drop-off in fisherman coming out to fish during this time. Most anglers are discouraged when they see all this thick vegetation and don't come back to the lake until fall when the vegetation has tapered off. However, you can have some great days out at the lake if you have the right technique for fishing these weed beds.

First of all, get out there early when the bass are most active. Bass love weed beds, especially milfoil weeds, these weed beds provide great cover for ambushing pray; weeds also provide oxygen for the bass, and believe it or not, the temperature is cooler in the weed beds. Early morning, try fishing with top water lures. Their are two I strongly recommend. The first one is a buzz bait. I like the chartreuse green. Buss baits are perfect for dense weed beds as they ride right along the top. I reel them in at a fast steady pace. The second lure I use is a weedless spoon. I use the gold are silver color. Both of these lures work great during the morning and evening times. I like to use these lures in the evening as well.

Later when the sun is starting to bare down on the lake and the fishing slows, I switch over to a "Gary Yamamoto plastic grub." You will want to rig this, Texas rig style. All you need is a bullet weight that you will slide on your line before you tie on your hook. I like to use a half ounce sinker with a 1/0 straight shank hook. I also use a plastic bead as a buffer between my hook and sinker: this also makes a clinking noise when the sinker clashes up against it, it's just another way to catch the fishes attention.

You will want to make sure your hook is weedless, I just stick the hook back into the grub to make it weedless instead of leaving it exposed. This works well later on in the day when the bass are not as active and they will be even deeper in the weed beds and tend not to be eating off the top. You will want to use short casts. This is a vertical bait and shorter casts will get better results. Use heavy pound test (14 to 25 pound) so you can muscle the fish out of the heavy weed beds.

So don't be discouraged when you see dense weed beds. Use your buzz baits, weedless spoons, and Texas rigged grubs, and you will be putting fish in the boat.