Fishing matted milfoil

[fishn]

For those that fish this type of cover where do you guys/gals start? Is there a certain depth you look for? Is it possible to narrow some of these areas down before going out or do you have to fish everything? I've always fish weedline and docks but this is something new that I'm trying to work on.

[Fever]

I start from outside and work in. I flip a creature bait with pegged Bullet sinker (3/4oz)through the mats. If you have bigger holes I'd flip a jig. The depths will vary so to give you a depth would be hard but look for small openings or small irregularities and flip into these with a silent entry. Let weight bring presentation down, lift rod tip up down and if nothin taps it move on. I did this exact thing this morning on a west metro lake near Annandale and had a fantastic morning. Got on lake at 6:45 am and fished till about 11:15. Caught about 20 + ish fish ( kinda lost track ). No real big pigs but did have several fat 17's. Got pretty hot out there with no wind and high sun, humidity. Got myself a nice case of the bass thumb.... which is nice.

[Deitz Dittrich]

They move around under the matt, a good spot one day may or may not be a good spot the next.. IF you know where hard bottom is, thats usually a good spot. Depth will often depend on water clarity. Starting from the outside and slowly working shallower is a good place to start.

[fishn]

Thx for the input guys, Sounds like I would need to just find those key areas and put the trolling motor down and go.

[st.crioxfishin]

If you can find a ditch or a rise in the bottom under the mat that makes an irregularity from the rest of the flat bottom, those areas can hold more fish than you would think. You may fish 100yds of a mat, then run into a 1-2ft depth change and find them stacked up. Stay persistent, and when you get a few bites, stay even more persistent in that specific area. I've spent full tournament days in small areas picking apart mats in specific areas where they are grouped together. It is very easy to pass up fish in cover that thick, so to really take your time if you can stand to do so.

[Juan Grande]

What's the best way to fish milfoil if it's really thick, but not really matted on the top? I fished Crooked Lake in Coon Rapids on Friday and there's a ton of milfoil this year. I'm new to flipping, but I was doing my best to drop the bait into holes but didn't get anything. Can you fish it that way if it's not matted on top without spooking the fish?

[Cecil]

You can, you just need to be as quiet as possible. The tricky thing is you will cover 75 yards of it and there will be a 10 patch where they are grouped up.

[bucketmouth64]

What is best method to move thru quietly? Do you use a push pole or paddle? I have a MK and I have to dial it high to get thru which I think may be spooking the fish.

[Cecil]

I dont use a push pole or anything, just try to use the motor as little as possible. If there is a little wind I will keep the trolling motor up and try to drift accross an area. If that won't work out, then I will just use the trolling motor, stop, make flips all around me, if nothing go a lil further, stop, and start flippin again.

Matted can be tough to get thru though.

[Juan Grande]

Cecil,

Have you fished Crooked Lake? I thought you might have since you're from Blaine. I used to do pretty well there, but the milfoil has been out of control the past couple years.

[Cecil]

Probably one of my best days ever was out there. But I haven't been on that lake in more than a few years. The only foil I consistently did well on was to the right of the fishing pier by the beach. My best luck on that lake was always docks and a couple weedlines.