Weed and Grass Beds

[Bonefish]

I was reading some comments the other week from a biologist on lake systems which include grass and weed beds. One of the comments made was crayfish love to winter in dense weed beds. They make their migration sometime in the fall and can even stay in weed beds in 20 to 30 feet of water all year. Not only do minnows, shad and bluegill stay in the weed beds, but addition of the crayfish is what makes the weed beds for smallmouth so good. I have been reading some of the posts lately about how the next world record is ripe for the picking. Dale may just be the place this for such an avent. Can you imagin what might happen if elnutsmalljaws was one the one to that? Well, my imagination doesn't go that far. Anyway, I also read where the pro's are using natural colors in plastic craws with stubby, cylindrical profiles, which imitates the "scooting posture" of a crayfish. The records show more big bass are caught on plastics with shorter bodies in the 2 to 3 inch size in pale smoky or milky translucent which imitates the soft craw.

[elnutsmalljaws]

I can imagine and have done so a million times. Especially on those slow Dale Hollow days when they are not co-operating. I imagine the next cast is the 12 pounder, but most of these thoughts end up in the big girl spitting the jig just out of net range so I will be haunted for life. I still think of the one that got away February of 2005 that was an easy 7 and possibly and 8. I can only imagine if I ever hooked one bigger than that and she got away. I would say it would be hard to judge the weight of one that size. I have landed 4 and 5 pounders at Dale that were 18 and 19 inches long. They get so fat feeding on crayfish and stocked rainbow trout that I do feel the world record is swimming in Dale and it will take someone with some skill and probably more luck to land her. Ralph Sandfer told me that he was scuba diving Dale last summer and he saw a fish that looked like a 4x12 board. Said it was easy 4 inches thick and a good 12 inches tall but could not tell how long she was. He said it was easy over 10 and very well could be the record. I don't think the big girl will be landed on a FNF rod with 6lb test line. Way too big and powerful and I would think even the ABSOLUTE best in the world at fighting a fish on light tackle would have his hands full, mush less an amateur like me. Someone trolling for Muskie with heavy action rod and 17-25 lb test will most likely land the world record fishing the river channel in 40-60 foot deep of water. I think one that big stays VERY DEEP most of the time and rarely travels to the shallows, maybe to spawn. I don't know, do fish get so old that they quit spawning? If so, she may stay deep all the time. Whoever catches it, my hats off to you. I will say that sitting here, without her in my boat, I will get her weighed and certified then I would release her alive. I may change my mind when she is actually in my possession but I can honestly say that I would have no problem in releasing an 8 or 9 pounder.

[Bonefish]

Elnut, you are a good man. I will have to agree with you releasing the big one. It would be hard to kill a big fish like that, but I am sure a lot of people would enjoy seeing such a fish. It is fun to dream, but great things do happen, someone will break the record in time. I hope it is one of you guys who love the big bronzebacks. Boy! Wouldn't it be something to see someone battling a 12 pounder on a Float-n-fly rig. If you had a good reel, and more importantly, a good drag, it could be done. So, that is a thought for you guys out there with cheap drag systems. You may want rethink things. I know one thing, there is nothing more stimulating to the human nervous system than a big smallmouth that wants to rip your fly, line, rod and reel right out of your hand. I wish everyone a great Float-n-Fly season. The "battle with the fly" is closer than you think!

[elnutsmalljaws]

Thanks for the kind comment. My luck, if I ever did hook the record it will be when I am fishing with about a 14 foot leader, by myself (like I do most of the time) and it is dang near impossible to land a 3 pounder with that long of a leader much less a 12. Sure would be fun to try.

[Moose1am]

I use to do a lot of scuba diving in lakes when I was much younger. I worked at this one swimming lake and had access to it year round. During my days off I sometimes would take the scuba gear to the lake and dive there. I would swim around just off the lake bottom and watch for anything that moved. The lake bottom consisted of soft mud which was easily stirred up. As long as I was moving forward the water in front of me was clear. After I passed though an area my flippers would stir up the bottom muck and the water was too muddy to see anything. This lake was about 5 acres in size so I had a lot of room to play with.

I often would find small crayfish on the bottom right out in the middle of the lake. The lake was only about 12 to 15 ft deep for the most part. There was some deeper water that existed below the diving platforms but that area has been excavated when they built the lake and the diving platforms. It was about 25 ft deep in this area. I use to dive there also and find coins that fall out of the swimmers pockets. It was always good for about 3 dollars worth of nickles dimes and quarters. This area was hard clay and it was easy to see the money sitting on the bottom. It gave me something to do and it paid for the air tank refill too.

But my memories are of the crayfish that would get frightened as I approached them. The visibility in the lake was not that good so my face mask had to be less than a 24" from the lake bottom to see anything on the bottom. So when I did come across these small crayfish they would flip their tails and vanish in a puff of smokey muck. I was amazed at home many crayfish I saw in each dive. This was during the hot summer months of July and August though.

I suspect that crayfish are in the weeds looking for food too. They may feed on the tiny critters that feed in and among the weeds. Things like mayfly nymphs or snails maybe. Maybe the crayfish are eating the plant material too. Weeds are always a good place to find fish.

I also remember diving in Linton's strip pits years ago. We did a night dive there once. It was a strange dive. Using underwater flashlights we swam along the edge of the weed line in about 15 ft of water. The weeds stopped growing abruptly around 10ft deep. So there was this vertical wall of weeds that we would swim along the side of. I remember finding bass that appeared to be sleeping right at the edge of the weed line. They would not move until you got really close and then they would wake up and dart off when you shined the light directly onto them. This was many years ago back in the early to mid 1970's but I'll bet the fish still behave the same now as they did that night.
Regards,

Moose1am

[Bonefish]

Moose, this is very interesting. I bet a lot could be learned if fish could be studied from below from one season to the next. I bet we would be surprised at fish behaviors on that level. And even more surprised about the fish's food selection with the changing of the seasons. I think a lot of people think crayfish are only near rocks along the shore. I caught a bass a few years ago and I cut it's stomach's open to see what it was eating, and to my surprise, it was full of hardshelled, bug-looking worms of which I have never seen before. So, you just never know what is on the lake floors which could be a very attractive food source that we don't have any idea it exsist. It is always good to see crayfish in our waters because it says the water is in good condition.