Lake Guntersville, vegetation e'rwhere

I got back into fishing last fall, so granted I haven't been on the lake in 7-8 years, but what in the heck is responsible for Lake Guntersville looking like a bush hogged field? Every part of the lake that I went to this afternoon had so much eelgrass and hydrilla pieces floating on top (mostly eelgrass) that it was impossible to throw a bait with a treble hook on it without getting fouled up with grass. We were fishing for schooling stripe and were fishing close to and on the main river channel and I gave up after 20 minutes. I ran up to Short creek and it looked exactly the same way. From Pole Cat hollow to the big river bridge, to the big bend above the bridge on Short Creek was just one big mess.

This was vegetation anywhere from 2" long to a foot long. Millions of pieces of it. It was so thick out in the river channel that it showed up from the surface to the bottom on side scan in some spots. For those of you who have a Helix and know what it looks like when you cross a wake, that's what the screen looked like from top to bottom of the entire water column.

What in the heck causes this?

I don't know how it got in there, but I can remember years ago before it took over. I actually liked it better before it got all matted up.

I know the lake produces big fish year in and year out but I do not like that lake. Every cast almost you pull up some grass. Annoying to say the leaast.

They actually chop some grass with boats. I have seen them doing it numerous times. It’s a boat with a big wheel looking contraption. I have also noticed it’s really bad after a bow fishing tournament

This wasn't matted grass, it was like the clippings from a bush hogged field, floating all over the lake.

Shane, it is a pain to fish but it makes for some big fish, of all species. I remember back in the late 80's TVA had killed all of the grass at least on the south end of the lake, and by the early 90's the quality of fish was way off. I caught an 8-4 bass on 7/10 in 92 or 93 and that was a monster then. That fish wouldn't draw much attention now.

I've seen that boat that chops the weeds before and I wondered if that might be the cause. I don't know if it could cause that much stuff though.

Y'all bow fishermen, lay off the grass carp!

That's why I move to below the dam this time of year. But I'm after catfish, not stripes.

Bowfishing rigs don't clip the grass in any way unless they're running the outboard or trolling motor like a bass boat. The air fan doesn't do anything to the grass.

All the clippings likely are remnants of whatever shoreline management is being done with the giant mulcher boat used to clear boat lanes and in some specific coves. Definitely is aggravating trying to throw anything with exposed hooks.


Grass carp won't eat the eelgrass and hydrilla isn't high on their list of preferred vegetation. In the early 1990s when the pissy "stakeholder" group was trying to force TVA to release grass carp, TVA did a study of the potential impacts and/or benefits. They used a huge block net in either Short or Spring creek to contain three times the amount of grass carp that normally would've been stocked in an area of the size protected by the net. If I remember correctly the creek had ample hydrilla, I think some milfoil, possibly coontail and whatever native vegetation was in there. (This was well before eelgrass was discovered upriver.)

TVA determined that the carp wiped out the beneficial native vegetation first, with the more coarse hydrilla at or near the bottom of the list of preferred vegetation. Their recommendation was that grass carp would not affect the hydrilla in the lake, would harm native beneficial vegetation, and it also would be financially unsound to attempt to stock grass carp in the reservoir.

Of course, the "stakeholders" didn't give a chit about it and didn't believe them. They pooled their money, maybe got whatever other financial resources they could, and released a bunch of grass carp. Of course, TVA was correct and the hydrilla still remains. Bowfishermen certainly enjoyed shooting the giant grass carp the pissy stakeholders wasted their money on with the stocking.

Ma Nature takes care of vegetation, usually, in cycles. About the only way to truly get rid of it would be massive poisoning like what was done on Lake Conroe in south Texas years ago. Conroe went from one of the best lakes for fishing to a giant suckhole good for nothing but recreational boaters. Fortunately some of the grass has returned there now.

BS, the grass carp devastated Conroe. It was the only vegetation in the lake. A school would move in a cove and graze. In a day it smelled like open sewage. It was a super big bass lake until that. It took several years for the fish to get back on the old deep treelines and things. I agree with thinning it around docks, but why kill it out whee boats cant run? It makes no sense. Vegetation provides protection for fry and microorganisms flourish there that bait fish eat and the food chain starts there. Grass is good for a lake. It also serves as a filter for muddy water. If you have grass you always have clear water too. Believe it or not, fish prefer clean water. I'm sure its difficult for them to breath with mud particles in the water. I assume it's like us going into a smoke-filled room.

Fur, you failed to mention where you were(or did you???) I've seen a barge in Honeycomb that cut and bailed hydrilla. I know that would leave scraps in the water. A lot of what you are seeing is from boats running and clipping it then it being blown around. This is where you use weedless lures, Trebles always catch that stuff. The Pro's throw them in it and jerk them. jerking will snatch most of it off. You also figure where it tops out and fish a cranbait that just tickles the tips.. This works great in the fall. grass is the best thing for big bass, just look what happens to lakes void of timber or vegetation. Years ago water Gremlin made needle nosed worm weights that work great in hydrilla. I still have a bunch of them. Fish the edges. they are there, giv'em a try. we all get frustrated by it, but the fish love it. If I was on Guntersville, I'd also throw a frog at those lily pad fields. Just don't waste your time unless you hear bream popping in theml.

The TVA guys say the true name is “tape grass” but we call it eel grass. I think a chacteristic of the species is it breaks off and you get the loose, floating grass that is impossible to run a treble hook through.
Brett Hartis of TVA said we’ve had a little in the lake for a long time. But something happened a few years ago and the stuff has exploded. It’s aggravating as all get out when it’s loose floating on top like that.

It only prevents topwater. You throw a crankbait, once it is submerged jerk it, that clears the hooks. I mean snatch it hard a couple of times.

I know air boats don’t clip grass but I believe they disturb it enough from traffic that it moves around and then wind or current spreads it.

Many of the bowfishung folks have opted for kicker motors instead of fans. I’ve been seeing more and more of them.

It only prevents topwater. You throw a crankbait, once it is submerged jerk it, that clears the hooks. I mean snatch it hard a couple of times.

If you think the vegetation is bad rite now....wait until late august! It will be a maze. Make sure you keep extra fuel in your tanks at that time. I use to fish a lot on the upper end of the lake. Up there, the vegetation is even worse. You have to pay extra attention on your path or you will follow an open maze just to realize that its the wrong one and have to turn around to re-group and find your way out to the path you came in to get back to the ramp. Its really tough at night time to follow. The whole lake chokes up the further into summer. By late august and september its almost choked up completely. It was so thick they use to clear paths and mark the path with buoys just for that reason. Im anxious to see If they still do it this year as i have been out of the game for a while.

Now i have a boat. I have been out of fishing the last 10 years on that lake. Im getting back on it the way i use to fish it. I use to fish it 2 days a week....all day long back then. Back then they would spray and try to keep the main channel clear. They would try to keep a path clear from each ramp out to the channel but it was still thick and very narrow. If it wasn't for boat traffic, it wouldnt stay clear. I been sick and havent fished it in the last 2 weeks but...2 weeks ago the eel grass was starting to get bad. The clippings were drifting everywhere causing my outboard foot to collect grass and give me problems. It is a pain. I think a lot of it is from bank clearing and props cutting the tops out of the grass.

With that being said....all the vegetation is exactly what makes Gunterville lake known for fish. Without all that vegetation, our lake would be no better than any other lake. It provides cover for the fish. Its a sanctuary for all species. Its a pain to deal with but thats how the lake grows huge fish. Its so vast, with all the pressure, it still provides a safe haven to grow big fish. The vegetation is our number one friend in my mind. Wait until late august. Get out there with an 8 or 10 inch worm and fish the edge of vegetation. Its slow action but when you do get a bite...it can be worth the time and effort. And Perch is correct...pull up to a weed bed and listen for that popping sound. If you hear the poppin...the fish will be a knockin. The vegetation also blocks the heat. Them fish will stack up rite along the edge where its thick and weedy then has a deep drop off. Thats the ticket.

The first I heard of it was early 2000s from two friends who found a patch upriver from BB Comer. They fished quite regularly and had no idea what it was for sure but it looked like the eelgrass from the Florida flats. I'm sure it had been in the river long before that since the patch they found was well established and of decent size.

Sadly, I have never seen any there. There are definite tricks to fishing it, I learned those on the causeway in Mobile.

It's pretty much everywhere now on Big G, Perch, and also downriver on Pickwick on some of the bars but in smaller amounts.

That's not true. Some of the best years on G'ville lake were after the massive weed die off. I can remember people yelling to high heavens how bad Guntersville was because the weed had all died. The fact is, it may make it easier to catch/locate fish for fisherman, but the lake was just as healthy after the weed died off as it was when it was there. I can remember Auburn/TVA or some group roping off areas and letting fisherman fish the now "DEAD WEEDLESS AREA" for a couple hrs. Always the same results, the fisherman would fish and not catch anything worth while because the fish just "weren't in there like the used to be" Then they'd move in and shock the area and loads of bass would float to the surface, big, small and everything in between. There is no doubt that vegetation is healthy to a certain extent, but it's not the end all be all of Guntersville Lake.

I've been on the shocking boats and have seen the results. I agree that "the fish aren't there!" is bullchit most of the time.

However, I liken the lake to your house and the vegetation to furniture. You CAN live in an empty house. But do you want to live in an empty house? Or would you rather have furniture to make things better?

Fish can live in a lake devoid of vegetation. But vegetation helps with the spawning cycles to provide shelter to fry from predators. Vegetation provides shade in summer and warmth in winter. It gives forage species such as shad (and bluegill) places to get. It gives panfish, catfish and the non-glory species the same benefits. The only screwups it provides are to anglers - who like to bitch about anything that isn't perfect in their world.

Guntersville's fishery - from a technical standpoint - may have been OK during the 1990s when the vegetation was gone. From an overall standpoint of recreational angler satisfaction with sizes of fish caught, the income from bass tournaments in the cities, and in some ways the lack of protection for idiotic boaters who might go into shallow areas where normally the grass would re-route them, that was a terrible period.

Fish can live in lakes without vegetation, but are harder to locate and catch. They suspend over deep water o close to the bottom deep in clearer lakes.. It's hard to catch them anywhere there is no cover to target.

Well, I hate the vegetation. I went with my son and his family today and we struggled to bream fish, from the bank, due to matts of eel grass and hydrilla floating by. I caught 2 small bream and one of the girls caught a tiny one. We could only cast between the matts as they floated by. There is such a thing as too much of a good thing. I wish TVA would accelerate and expand their spraying.

I will take the vegetation everyday and appreciate that its there.

If all the vegetation was gone tomorrow, and had the same amount of anglers fishing it.....get back to me in 3 years with your shock data and tell me it didnt change. I think it provides a safe haven for them. It cant get fished out with heavy cover like it can with no cover. Sure there is other cover besides vegetation. But every lake has that. Not every lake has vegetation as thick as g ville and thats exactly WHY it stands out as a top lake in the nation.

Common sense tells me if the fish are hard to reach due to massive cover that it will be more productive on population and growth size. Thats not hard to believe. Whats hard to believe is a guy telling me....we are gonna strip all the grass outta this lake then let yall fish it like normal then 1 year later we are gonna tell you it has the same amount of fish in it. Im gonna say well you need to check it in 3 to 5 years. You have not given it enough time. And....common sense would tell you that if you take out vegetation that is a main stake in a lakes cover and food provider, the fish are gonna starve or be stunted. Not to mention get picked off like fish in a bucket with the same pressure as before. That dont take shock testing to prove that. Shock testing 1 year later aint gonna prove much in my mind anyway.

I don't have any hard data to back up anything I'm about to post, but I remember well when the lake was "defoliated."

The fish were still there, but the quality of fish caught were nowhere near what they were before, or after the vegetation returned.

The vegetation is a two edged sword. It provides much needed cover for spawning baitfish, cover for their growing fry, as well as the game fish too. It does make fishing hard.

You guys that think it makes bass fishing hard should try pulling or pushing crappie jigs. Some days that's impossible.

There's got to be a happy medium somewhere. I think the pendulum has swung to the too much vegetation side right now.

Its like bush hogging a field. The grass is high, full of rabbits everywhere. A place to hide every 2 feet. The rabbits populate and thrive to the point its well known that the field is outstanding. We cut the grass low, all the rabbits run to whatever cover is left. They will be concentrated in those areas. A few hunters come through and hit those obvious areas up hard each trip. After billy joe and his family and friends hit the field and keep their bounty, the rabbit hunting aint great in that field anymore. Sure there are rabbits in the field. But nothing like before. Because the field can only support a small number of rabbits due to the amount of cover provided. Now its just another plain old field. Nothing more. And g ville would be just another lake after a few years. Sure there will be bass. But nothing like it was before. Thats my point.

Lanier
Smith
Lakes in Arizona, New Mexico

Let's drop a 4-inch worm on 3-pound test line on a spinning rod in 67 feet of water, down to 38 feet where bass are suspending over the lone rock on the bottom.

Hurray. Sounds like a blast.


IMO the aggravating thing about all the floating grass and clippings is we don't get enough OhShitWillThisEverStop! rain in summer on a consistent basis to keep the river rolling and cleaned out.

Also, with all of the hydrilla, milfoil and eelgrass clippings with the nodes attached that float downriver, it's amazing that nothing grows in the Decatur Flats anymore except (it seems) every few years. Whatever nasty chit has been dumped in the river over the years over there must have really $*(@*$#@-up the system to prevent anything from growing on a consistent basis.

It's no surprise to see that ONLY the bass are of concern to 99% of y'all. If every other fish could survive I'd be for killing off every damn bass in the lake.

Schit like this is why I'm glad I hate fishing.

I guess i should have used the word fish instead of bass. I fish for blue gill and catfish the most. Then bass then crappie. The last 4 years i been taking my little boy. So we used night crawlers only basically. Tryin to catch anything for him. But this year we have been swapping over to bass too.

I been bass fishing my whole life from an early age. I honestly get more enjoyment out of using night crawlers, bobber and a lite rod. You just never know what you might catch that way. We fish for pleasure but we keep fish to eat half the time. Especially crappie.

Three good things about the green growing across the lake....good fishing, beautifull scenery and....no wake boarding boats!!!!! The wake boats can go play in the river

The vegetation's great for crappie, cats and bream, too. Provides habitat, hiding places, etc.

We have water-drainage lakes in our neighborhood and the HOA gets Aquaservices to come airboat the lakes with chemicals to kill the shoreline primrose. I get that, or otherwise the primrose would take over.

But almost anywhere I can find a little patch of primrose growing I can flip in a worm, craw, jig, etc., and catch a bass or a cricket under a cork for bream. Vegetation makes a difference.

Now Clem, you done gone and are gonna get something started! Best pre-emerge herbicide...EVER!

Back several years ago, we got on crappie and bluegills in the submerged milfoil. I caught so many fish, I quit. 7 straights casts at one time. Couldn't tell you how many other back to back fish were caught. Any grass is good.

Yeah I catch the piss out of fish when fishing above grass. It’s hard to do that though when there’s so much broken up crap floating above the other grass or just all over the surface in general.

TejasNative, if the water above the dam looks that way how can the water below the dam not look the same? They do release water every day when they generate electricity. That last time I fished below the dam, there was lots of the same stuff I’m describing flowing down stream. That was just before the tropical storm hit a few weeks ago.

There is plenty below the dam. We went yesterday. Grass in the current seams 3 bluffs down

Thanks for the post. Thinking about taking Fur lite down there cat fishing before the week is over.

Unit 1 is down for maintenance. Prolly don’t affect y’all but thought I’d mention. Got a buddy who bank fishes and I think it’s messing with them.

Fur....the water level is pretty good rite now. Not too high. Current should be just rite for the rest of the week if we dont get a lot of rain. I dont know about the dam being repaired but it looks good when i cross it to and from work.

I drift fish for cats. So my bait is dragging the bottom. The floating grass on top doesn't affect me.

Ok thanks.

All about the flow of the river. Boaters chop it up with their props or the TVA mulchers. When water is being released through the dam, the fragments are pulled to the channel from the coves and pockets. Then when the dam stops releasing, all of the fragments remain near the channel. I have found several crankbaits in the trash mats this year.

We need a good 3- or 4-day soaking OMGWillThisStop rain here and upriver that would get the floodgates open for a good cleansing.

just drain it and make an atv park out of it. Problem solved!

You done lost yo dam mind!

If they dropped the water about 5' in the winter wouldn't it take care of much of the really shallow grass? I know it would be back the next year, but they NEVER drop Guntersville much at all. A foot or two max.

They can't go any lower. Several cities water supply inlets are pretty shallow, of I'm not mistaken. I think Grants is only like 5 foot.