Summer lovin' - it happened so fast!*

Fishing Summer Vegetation
Hereafter affectionately referred to as ‘weed’ or ‘grass’ (not the smoking kind), can prove to be pretty frustrating if you don’t really understand the ‘How’s’ and the ‘Why’s’ of this type of cover.
During summer aquatic vegetation grows profusely and provides ideal habitat for bass and other species that provide forage for bass.  
Fishing water with a lot of weed can turn out to be joyful if you know which sections of the cover to fish or cursed if you don’t. Bass are not often evenly distributed amongst weed cover, and if there is a lot of grass in a lake you may find yourself wasting plenty of valuable time fishing unproductive areas.

Picking your weed
It is important to evaluate the weed cover when faced with a grassy stretch of bank or a weedy bay.  Move quickly past large stretches of similar-looking vegetation and look for areas more likely to hold a concentration of bass. Bass is a predator so it will pick a spot within cover that will maximize its feeding opportunities. Look for the following:
* indentations or ‘pockets’ in the grassline
* open holes within the cover
* boat lanes
* places where the weedline forms a point
* spots where two or more
species of vegetation grow together * places where vegetation and wood cover occur together (jetty pilings / standing timber /
submerged log / etc.)
* areas where the grass suddenly changes in density
* any other area which looks dif-ferent to the majority of the cover *

Picking your presentation  
When fishing weedy habitat you will have to select a presentation best suited to the type of vegetation you are fishing.
Some types of grass grow vertically and form thick mats on the surface. You will need to use a lure that can penetrate the mat to reach the relatively open water underneath. One of the best tools for this job would be a plastic creature bait or worm, rigged

Texas-style
Texas-style with a heavy sinker (heavy enough to easily penetrate the weed, up to 1 ½-oz).
Peg the weight to prevent it from sliding up the line. There are two ways to get the weight through the mat – (1) Pitch the lure onto the mat and shake the rod tip repeatedly until the sinker works its way through the grass, or (2) ‘Punch’ the sinker through the mat with a sharp downward stroke of the rod.
Lily pads provide excellent cover and shade for bass lurking underneath. One of the most fun and effective ways to fish the pads would be with a Floating Frog.
Target openings amongst the pads; spots where big pads transition to smaller pads; outer edges of the pads; or any other area which looks different to the majority of the cover.  Often the best pad bite will occur when the sun is at its highest because bass that have roamed open water during early morning hours will move in under the pads later to take advantage of the shade and cooler temperatures.
*(Song Extract courtesy of GREASE)