The lives and feeding patterns of largemouth bass revolves around plant life year-round. Aquatic plant species form the foundation of healthy and flourishing underwater ecosystems.

Most largemouth habitat on my eutrophic and mesotrophic lakes is vegetated. Native plant species like bulrushes, lily pads, coontail, northern milfoil, and pondweed varietals are most common. Meanwhile non-native invasives and introduced species like Eurasian milfoil, hydrilla, bladderwort, and curly-leaf pondweed may also be featured and in some cases take over the entire lake. Largemouths find ways to utilize them all!

My best largemouth lakes contain several weed beds and deep weedlines of green cabbage. Once fully established, on the onset of summer peak, it becomes a player for all the deep weedline fishing we will do through year’s end.

Green cabbage is the deepest-growing, producing much-needed oxygen can last through late fall into early ice. These characteristics are what makes mid-summer deep weedline fishing productive and this pattern so predictable every July and August.

The magic depth for this plant species tends to be between 10 and 15 feet. I find it so appealing to largemouths because in these depths they have the entire water column of the plant and its edges to utilize for feeding and cover.

Prioritize fishing the edges and outside edges as often as possible. On my local waters, massive congregations of juvenile bluegills are drawn to these locations. Groups of largemouths commonly cruise the outside edges, scouting for prey and then flushing them out. If positioning the boat next to the edge, vertical presentations like a drop shot and jig works best. If positioned a cast-length away, parallel casting swim jigs, jig and wacky rigs, Carolina rigs, and crankbaits are my top choices. Locate the plants, establish the edge, find the fish, and you’ll be in business.

Packs of largemouths often work together for feeding. We often see this throughout the shallows of some lakes, and along deep weedlines on others. Specimens could be of moderate to desirable sizes.

While largemouths work together in packs, the big queens I am after are usually solitary. I’ve never fully understood this solitary behavior, but it makes sense as the biggest fish want to be in isolation, situated in the best habitats available and to have the greatest individual feeding opportunities.

Side imaging enables me to examine weed beds and their edges at long-distance from each side of the boat while on plane and at idling speeds. My Lowrance HDS-12 Live units with Active-Imaging 3-in-one transducer works marvelously. Down-imaging used in conjunction with fish-reveal will display the shape and features of every plant, and what could be inhabiting them.

Learn to differentiate between plant species, and study everything underwater in your local waters. The more you learn about aquatic plant species and how largemouths use them and position themselves, the better a trophy hunter you’ll be.