stages is real clumpy, and it’s a hard
grass, so it has a [sonar] shadow
behind it. It grows really round; most of
the clumps will be roundish.
“Then they start growing together.
The clumps get bigger and start getting
together and making different kinds of
lines. A grass like hydrilla will start at a
depth and create a line for a mile along
that contour. Eelgrass kind of just
grows in the bottom of places, and it
just spreads out.”
Gross says that as eelgrass clumps
grow together, holes form within the
beds. Though he’s not sure why they
form – perhaps patches of harder or
softer bottom – keying on those voids
can lead an angler to the fish.
Aside from how it grows, the grass
itself is also distinguishable.
“It takes time to tell the difference
[in eelgrass and other grasses], but if
you see hydrilla on StructureScan, you
can actually see the stalk going up and
Eelgrass is distinguishable on sonar due to its bright returns.
72
the leaves,” Gross says. “The leaves will
be the harder places, and a hard line
[sonar return] will form on those
places. Eelgrass will be a hard line from
top to bottom. It’s such a hard, crispy
grass. It’s like a shell bed. It’ll be bright
white.”
ALL ABOUT
EELGRASS
fishing eelgrass on the
tennessee chain isn’t quite the
same as fishing it elsewhere in
its range, and the system’s cur-
rent, channels and other govern-
ing factors require some study
of how the grass grows.
common eelgrass (Vallisneria
americana) is known by a variety
of names, including tape grass
and wild celery or water celery.
often used as an aquarium
plant and eaten by waterfowl
and some shorebirds, eelgrass
in various forms is found
throughout the world. it’s hardy
enough to withstand low water
temperatures in canada as well
as equatorial heat and high
salinity.
eelgrass can grow to about 5
to 6 feet long and has long
leaves that usually are about an
inch wide or less. with no
branches like hydrilla, coontail
or eurasian milfoil, the eelgrass
might grow in large areas, and
will mat up in shallow water, but
not to the same density as
hydrilla.
eelgrass might grow in small-
er clumps or wide swaths thanks
to its rhizome root system (a rhi-
zome is actually a horizontal
stem that grows out and pro-
duces new plant shoots and
roots, allowing the plant to
spread). like most aquatic vege-
tation, it will capitalize on the
best available bottom surface –
it prefers a hard bottom – for
growing and proliferation.
unlike milfoil or hydrilla,
which have nodes on their
stems that allow the plant to
re-establish and grow else-
where when pieces are broken
off, eelgrass leaves that break
away can’t produce a new
plant. ■
FLWFISHING.COM I MAY-JUNE 2017