The Pros vs. the Harris Chain

Bass and Eelgrass Go Together

January 30, 2004

At 50,000 acres, the Harris Chain can be a bewildering place to fish. No other bass water in the county contains such a wide variety of watercolor, cover and lake conditions. All of these factors coupled with the incredible fishing pressure our lakes receive, can make for tough fishing. Fortunately, there is a way to shorten your search for Harris Chain bass.

The bass recovery that has taken place over the past ten years is mainly due to the return of submergent vegetation. Before the weed spraying gods made their move in the late eighties, underwater weeds were plentiful throughout the chain. After the nuking of the lakes, the lake bottom was covered with rotting vegetation, suffocating whatever other growth had escaped the sprayers nozzles.

A lot has changed in the last five years. There was a time when the predominant bass holding cover in the lakes was Kissimmee Grass, the straw colored grass that rings the banks of the chain. Five years ago, using a long rod to flip plastic worms and craws in the grass was the best way to work up a limit of keeper bass. Today, the lakes have cleared considerably and flipping has taken a back seat to casting, crankbaiting and Carolina rigging.

A little known fact is that many Harris Chain bass have packed up and relocated to new territory. Today, they are much more abundant in and around deeper eelgrass beds. Eelgrass is a submergent grass meaning that it lives totally under water. If you are looking for eelgrass, and you should, it’s dark green in color and resembles lawn grass only the blades are much wider and longer. The best way to find eelgrass is with a shallow running crankbait like a Rattle Trap. Eelgrass in the Harris Chain rarely grows over 4 feet deep and is especially plentiful around clean shorelines where the Kissimee grass has been removed to make a path for a boat dock or beach. It is also found at the entrance to canals and spring fed runs. This grass is the gold standard of bass cover in our waters!

There are many successful ways to fish eelgrass including shallow cranking, spinnerbaiting and casting a light worm. One of my favorites early in the season is to cast a weightless watermelon colored Zoom Super Fluke around the beds on light line. It doesn’t matter how you fish around eelgrass, just knowing the fish are there goes a long way toward narrowing your search.

See you next week!

Captain Phil Kelley