Mattawoman and invasive grasses

[Slackdaddy]

4 of us kayak fished Mattawoman Saturday morning - 6:30 - 11:00
I only fish Mattawoman 1-2 times a year, and typ may-june.
I don't recall the river being choked full of "Aquarium grass" ??
This is not the single blade "Ell grass", this is the thick mats of impenetrable floor to ceiling "mats" of growth.
It made any chance of fishing the pads hopeless.
In fact it made fishing in general hopeless

Is this grass new? or have I just fished it earlier in the year before it shows up?

Slack

[whenican]

You have just fished it earlier in the year before it takes over. Also, at lowtide the mats appear more thicker. This is why the Mattawoman produces so well. You have to entice the fish to leave their comfy zone.

[Patapsco Mike]

http://web.vims.edu/bio/sav/maps.html is a link you can use to see how grasses (aka SAV) have changed since 1985. Zoom into the Mattawoman and then scroll through the years to see.

You are probably seeing hydrilla- it's been in the Potomac for decades. It is much more dense some years than others, and it's always worst in late summer to early fall. And as stated above, at low tide it can be impenetrable even in a kayak. Try again on a high tide and it will look completely different.