Complementary to the grass-snagging tactic, burning Texas-rigged soft plastics over and through the grass can prove equally productive.
Used as a search tool or a pestering tactic over the spot where you missed a traditional ripping bite, a brash presentation with a swim bait, a Fluke or maybe a big ribbontail worm can draw explosive grass strikes.
During early summer, Guidry likes running a V&M Kicking Shad over thick hydrilla. Adding a 1/16- to a 1/8-ounce bullet weight to the bait’s nose provides protection and helps guide the plastic lure on its aggressive course.
“You can put a little more speed on the bait with that weight,” Guidry said. “I find the weight helps protect the nose of the bait, also. It keeps the bait from tearing and pulling down on your hook.
“You can run it on top almost like a frog, and drop it down in the holes.”
Earlier in the year, when the prespawn period finds fish moving up to the grass lines outside their eventual spawning zone, Guidry likes burning a swim jig with that Kickin Shad over the vegetation.
With any bait choice, repetition and varied presentation angles pile on the irritation.
